Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Celebrate by adding these Irish reads to your TBR
If you know me you know I have two great loves: new releases and Irish authors — and boy are there some seriously incredible-sounding books by Irish authors out in 2026.
But before I get to that, the Trans Rights Read-a-thon begins on St. Paddy’s day this year, ending on Trans Day of Visibility (the 31st). If you’re looking for a crossover Irish + Trans book, join me in reading Wild Geese by Soula Emmanuel. It’s also International Women’s Month, so wow: three birds with one book stone!
Here are the 2026 Irish books on my TBR (to-be-read) list:
Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise - A quiet, character-driven novel about a young woman who fleas a traumatic childhood in the United States to start over again in Ireland, changing her name most aptly to Saoirse, the Gaeilge word for “freedom”. I read an early copy of this one, and while it is heavy and heartbreaking in a way that the Irish are so so good at, it is very beautifully written.
Few and Far Between by Jan Carson - In 1958, an Irish politician proposed creating a seventh county for Northern Ireland by draining Lough Neagh—the largest lake in Ireland. While this never happened ended up happening, author Jan Carson imagines an alternative timeline where it did: known as “The Ark”, the seventh county is a safe haven away from the violence and prejudice of The Troubles. But decades later, as a toxic algae outbreak destroying the ecosystem threatens to re-flood the area, the arrival of a young researcher forces Ark residents to confront whether their isolated community can survive and if they can truly leave their haunted past behind before the waters return.
Esther is Now Following You by Tanya Sweeney - An Irish woman abandons her life and husband in London to pursue a relationship with a famous actor in Canada. With dark humor, this is a cautionary tale against leaning into fandom to escape life’s harsh realities.
Library of Brothel by Anakana Schofield - Rumors swirl around a crumbling structure and rapacious developers have their eyes on it. But what we find inside is a unique economy: customers take shelter, workers love their jobs, and each room offers a new kind of intellectual stimulation. How can such a precarious place survive?
Prestige Drama by Séamas O’Reilly - This is a comedy about dramatizing tragedy: a famous American actress arrives in Derry to film a movie set during The Troubles only to go missing. From the author of the moving and hilarious memoir, Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? about being one of 11 children and losing his mother at a young age, I’m looking forward to reading O’Reilly’s first work of fiction.
How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh - An ambitious American editor travels to Ireland to help the daughter of a legendary fantasy author complete her father’s final book, only to fall in love with her in the process. Catherine Walsh is truly the queen of witty banter.
Said the Dead by Doireann Ni Ghriofa - In Cork, Ireland, a woman becomes irresistibly drawn to a derelict Victorian mental hospital being converted into apartments—a place she once feared she might have been held. Haunted by the whispers of the women who lived there, she abandons her daily routines, obsessively researching old casebooks and investigating the building. Doireann Ní Ghríofa's Said the Dead is a boundary-breaking ghost story and a tender reclamation of erased voices, blurring the lines between past and present, history and fiction.
Land by Maggie O’Farrell - By the author of Hamnet, I Am I Am I Am, and This Must Be the Place, among myriad other incredible novels, Land is a sweeping historical, multi-generational epic of survival and colonization set in 1865 Ireland, focusing on the Great Hunger and the enduring ghosts of Irish history.
The Red Mouth by Sheila Armstrong - When a dog unearths a prehistoric antler in a restored bog, its owner discovers an ancient dying ground of the Great Irish Elk. But the peat hides more than just animal skeletons: it holds the mutilated remains of a 2,000 year-old sacrificial victim. While the public treat the bog body as a national treasure, others must reckon with its otherworldly influence over their lives.
Into the Wreck by Susannah Dickey - As the funeral of their distant father approaches and they are back under their mother’s roof, three siblings’ personal crises boil over. Gemma is struggling with her identity and sexual liberation, Anna is trying to balance a messy relationship in London, and long-buried secrets from their aunt’s past threaten to surface. Told in five POVs, this book examines the messy process of mourning someone you never truly understood.
All Them Dogs by Djamel White - Exploring themes of violence, loyalty and queer desire, this is a gritty Irish noir novel about Tony Ward, a young gangster, who returns to Dublin only to find his mentor dead and his best friend gone straight. Being forced to navigate a brutal new reality is further complicated by a mutual attraction with his new boss.
Banshee edited by Ailbhe Malone - Editor and journalist Ailbhe Malone was raised on these legends; but the women are always cast as mothers, warriors, or witches and never given the lead. Banshee is not just a retelling, but a radical reclamation transporting you to treacherous landscapes and crashing seas, generational curses and mystical islands. Here you’ll find unruly mothers, rule-breaking queens, and women outrunning their destinies—their stories pulsing with desire, danger, and defiance. With contributors like Wendy Erskine (The Benefactors, longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction), poet Nikita Gill, and Sarah Maria Griffin (Eat the Ones You Love), this is a celebration of womanhood and an homage to the ancient stories that still shape us.
Other Irish Tings
As a huge fan of the show Derry Girls, Meghan insists I watch the new show by the same writer and creator: How to Get To Heaven from Belfast. Have you seen it?
I recently ordered the book Striking Back: The Untold Story of an Anti-Apartheid Striker by Mary Manning and Sinead O’Brien after seeing this remarkable clip from Irish comedian David Nihill about “the Grapefruit Ladies” of Ireland:
An Irish politician from County Cork recently went viral in Jamaica after Jamaicans noticed the similarities between their patois and the lilt of an Irish accent. Love this analysis as to why that similarity exists. Did you know?
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Want more Irish book recommendations? Check out Meghan’s previous post here and last year’s St. Paddy’s Day post here.
Happy reading!
Courtney x