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No 259 Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu #readingirelandmonth25
What was it, I wonder, that drew the Irish to vampires? Bram Stoker is often referred to as the literary father of the vampire tale, but twenty-six years before he published Dracula, Sheridan Le Fanu...
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Lantern Slides by Edna O’Brien #ednaobrien25 #readingirelandmonth25
You see, everyone is holding on. Just. There’s an atmosphere to Edna O’Brien’s writing that hums with secrets. Her short story collection Lantern Slides, first published in 1990, is no exception....
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‘Begin’ by Brendan Kennelly for World Poetry Day #readingirelandmonth25
Today is World Poetry Day and I thought I would share one of my favourite poems from Brendan Kennelly, who sadly died in 2021. Brendan Kennelly, (1936 – 2021) an Irish poet and novelist, was born in...
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The Paris Express by Emma Donohue #readingirelandmonth25
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue is a historical novel set in 1895, inspired by a real-life disaster at Paris’s Montparnasse train station. The 1895 Paris train crash occurred on October 22, 1895,...
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Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn #readingirelandmonth25
Liadan Ní Chuinn’s debut short story collection, Every One Still Here, is published by The Stinging Fly – always a seal of approval and the mark of something interesting. Ní Chuinn offers six stories...
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No 257 Blue is the Night by Eoin McNamee #readingirelandmonth25
Eoin McNamee has made his name as an author of noirish literary reimagining’s of real-life crimes. From the Shankill Butchers (in Resurrection Man) to Princess Diana (in 12:23), he mines the...
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The Wardrobe Department and The Glass House: Two recent releases for...
As Reading Ireland Month reaches the end, I am frantically trying to cram all my reviews into the last few days. Here are two mini-reviews of two interesting recent releases from Elaine Garvey and...
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No 256 Mother of Pearl by Mary Morrissy #readingirelandmonth25
First published in 1996, Mother of Pearl is Morrissy’s debut novel, and it’s an impressive and moving first work from an Irish writer who’s probably better known for her short stories. Mother of Pearl...
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New to my TBR for #readingirelandmonth25
Despite reading a lot of Irish writers throughout the year and exclusively Irish writers during March, I always love that you guys throw up some new reading options that I either hadn’t heard of, or...
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Goodbye to Reading Ireland Month 2025!
Well, that’s a wrap on another successful Reading Ireland Month! Ten years on and there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of new Irish books to read and review. Thanks so much to everyone who was so...
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