by Hayley Charlesworth
It’s St Patrick’s Day, and while the day celebrating the patron saint of Ireland has mostly become an excuse for drinking, we here at the I’m With Geek books team see it as a time to celebrate Irish writers. Of course, there’s the big names like Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats, but there’s plenty of other Irish novelists and poets that we think you should check out. Here’s just a few of them.
It’s St Patrick’s Day, and while the day celebrating the patron saint of Ireland has mostly become an excuse for drinking, we here at the I’m With Geek books team see it as a time to celebrate Irish writers. Of course, there’s the big names like Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats, but there’s plenty of other Irish novelists and poets that we think you should check out. Here’s just a few of them.
Eimear McBride
Eimear McBride may have only published one novel so far, but she should still be a writer on your radar. Her debut, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, was the recipient of both the prestigious Goldsmiths Prize in 2013 and the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2014. While born in Liverpool (to Irish parents), McBride’s family returned to Ireland when she was three years old, moving again to London at the age of 17 to study at The Drama Centre. A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing took nine years to publish, it’s stream of consciousness style of writing putting off many major publishers before indie publisher Galley Beggar Press took a chance. I bet said major publishers are now kicking themselves for not picking up this stunning and harrowing family drama now, and we at I’m With Geek can’t wait to see what McBride does next.
Eimear McBride may have only published one novel so far, but she should still be a writer on your radar. Her debut, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, was the recipient of both the prestigious Goldsmiths Prize in 2013 and the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2014. While born in Liverpool (to Irish parents), McBride’s family returned to Ireland when she was three years old, moving again to London at the age of 17 to study at The Drama Centre. A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing took nine years to publish, it’s stream of consciousness style of writing putting off many major publishers before indie publisher Galley Beggar Press took a chance. I bet said major publishers are now kicking themselves for not picking up this stunning and harrowing family drama now, and we at I’m With Geek can’t wait to see what McBride does next.
Emma Donoghue
Award-winning novelist, playwright and literary historian Emma Donoghue was born in Dublin but now lives in Canada. Her lauded novels have seen her sustain a career as a novelist since 1994. Of her eight novels, the one you have probably heard of is international best-seller Room, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was inspired by the devastating Josef Fritzl case. Earlier works have won prizes for LGBT fiction also, with Hood winning the 1995 Stonewall Book Award and Slammerkin winning the Ferro-Grumley Award for Lesbian Fiction. Her latest novel, Frog Music, was published in 2014.
Award-winning novelist, playwright and literary historian Emma Donoghue was born in Dublin but now lives in Canada. Her lauded novels have seen her sustain a career as a novelist since 1994. Of her eight novels, the one you have probably heard of is international best-seller Room, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was inspired by the devastating Josef Fritzl case. Earlier works have won prizes for LGBT fiction also, with Hood winning the 1995 Stonewall Book Award and Slammerkin winning the Ferro-Grumley Award for Lesbian Fiction. Her latest novel, Frog Music, was published in 2014.
Claire Keegan
Born in County Wicklow, writer Claire Keegan is best known for her award-winning short stories, found in her collections Antarctica, published in 1999, Walk the Blue Fields in 2007, and in 2010 she published the “long short story” Foster, which was selected as the winner of the Davy Byrne’s Irish Writing Award in 2009. Winning various other prizes over her career, such as the William Trevor Prize and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, Keegan has been praised for her exceptional selection of the right words and her stunning focus on consequence and finality.
Born in County Wicklow, writer Claire Keegan is best known for her award-winning short stories, found in her collections Antarctica, published in 1999, Walk the Blue Fields in 2007, and in 2010 she published the “long short story” Foster, which was selected as the winner of the Davy Byrne’s Irish Writing Award in 2009. Winning various other prizes over her career, such as the William Trevor Prize and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, Keegan has been praised for her exceptional selection of the right words and her stunning focus on consequence and finality.
Thomas McCarthy
Poet, novelist and critic Thomas McCarthy was born in County Waterford and attended University College Cork. Publishing eight collections of poetry and two novels since 1978, McCarthy’s most notable works include The Sorrow Garden, Mr Dineen's Careful Parade and The Merchant Prince, with the latter described as “an ambitious and substantive book” by Peter Denman. His most recent release in 2009, The Geraldine Officer, was also hailed as a major achievement. In 1977, McCarthy was the recipient of the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award, for his works which are mainly focused on Southern Irish politics, memory, and love.
Poet, novelist and critic Thomas McCarthy was born in County Waterford and attended University College Cork. Publishing eight collections of poetry and two novels since 1978, McCarthy’s most notable works include The Sorrow Garden, Mr Dineen's Careful Parade and The Merchant Prince, with the latter described as “an ambitious and substantive book” by Peter Denman. His most recent release in 2009, The Geraldine Officer, was also hailed as a major achievement. In 1977, McCarthy was the recipient of the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award, for his works which are mainly focused on Southern Irish politics, memory, and love.
John Boyne
Writer of nine novels for adults and four young adult books, you’ll probably know Dublin author John Boyne for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which has sold more than five million copies around the world. But his back catalogue of books has seen him winning awards such as the Bisto Children’s Book of the Year, the Hennessy Literary Awards Hall of Fame, and the Curtis Brown Award, as well as nominations for the Carnegie Medal and the Irish Times Literary Award. Now chairing the jury for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Boyne is bringing his own literary expertise to other writers, having achieved his success in only the fifteen years since his first novel was published in 2000.
Writer of nine novels for adults and four young adult books, you’ll probably know Dublin author John Boyne for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which has sold more than five million copies around the world. But his back catalogue of books has seen him winning awards such as the Bisto Children’s Book of the Year, the Hennessy Literary Awards Hall of Fame, and the Curtis Brown Award, as well as nominations for the Carnegie Medal and the Irish Times Literary Award. Now chairing the jury for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Boyne is bringing his own literary expertise to other writers, having achieved his success in only the fifteen years since his first novel was published in 2000.
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