Every Irish writer takes their hometown with them to the page, whether that influence is obvious or not.
Some of our finest writers dwell in the world of imagination, like Brian Friel, who spun the town of Ballybeg out of memories of childhood summers in Glenties, Donegal.
Others stick to reality, creating a universe of characters who can live in a range of Irish locations, like Anne Enright.
So why not take a ‘reading roadtrip’ around Ireland, and experience life in different counties without leaving your house?
We’ve gathered a mix of 15 contemporary favourites and new novels together to help you begin the journey around the island of Ireland.
Ballymena-born author Jan Carson excels in writing fiction with a magic realism twist, and this is her at the peak of her powers.
is set in Ballylack, a fictional small village inspired by the Ballymena (and surrounding areas) that Carson grew up in.
Something strange begins happening in Ballylack in 1993 to young pupils in the village school.
At the centre of the story is a young girl called Hannah, who escapes a mystery illness but finds herself visited by her dead classmates.
A gripping and astute novel that brings us into the world of evangelical Protestantism and explores its impact on young people.
One of this year’s best novels comes from Belfast’s Wendy Erskine, who is already well-known as a stellar short story writer.
In , we meet Frankie, Miriam and Bronagh, three mothers whose lives collide when their teenage sons are accused of a
crime. While the main plot might be dark, Erskine is always able to bring a shimmering levity to her work, and the novel is crammed full of amazing characters.
Plus, she also creates a Greek chorus of Belfast voices that paint a multifaceted picture of the city. Simply stunning.
The Madigan children were all brought up by their mother Rosaleen in a house called Ardeevin in Co Clare.
In , Anne Enright – one of the country’s finest writers, and the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction – lets the Madigans tell their stories as the grown-up children head back for a last Christmas at their childhood home.
There’s so much here to enjoy about the various Madigans and their foibles and struggles, as well as the humour Enright injects into so many of the situations (particularly around how she depicts Celtic Tiger excesses).
While she journeys throughout the globe in this novel, the north star for this story is the family’s Co Clare home.
This funny, perceptive book about a close friendship between two students (one a relatively wild young woman and the other a closeted young man) captures Cork city in the 2000s perfectly.
O’Donoghue, who grew up in Rochestown, creates utterly real characters – the book is partly based on a friendship of hers – who bumble their way carelessly through life as they try to figure out how to live as adults.
This is a real time machine back to a Cork of a certain era. Channel 4 is currently adapting the book into a TV series.
Although Sarah Gilmartin is from Limerick, her first novel is set between Carlow and Dublin.
This is a family saga that moves between past and present, opening and closing with a family dinner party. At the centre of the story is Kate, who is holding the dinner party to mark the 16th anniversary of her sister’s death.
Regardless of where in the country you read this, you’ll find much that’s compelling in the story of this fractious Carlow family.
‘We were a hardy people, raised facing the Atlantic.’
So opens this debut novel from Garrett Carr, set in the fishing port of Killybegs in Co Donegal.
This epic part of Ireland’s coast is a fitting location to set a book about something as dramatic as the discovery of a baby alive in a barrel.
Lyrical, moving and full of beautiful descriptions of nature, this is a novel that brings us right into life in rural Donegal.
There are countless books you could read to give you a sense of Dublin past and present – from by James Joyce, to by Sally Rooney, to by Roddy Doyle.
But to get a glimpse of an underexplored part of suburban Dublin, try Youth by Kevin Curran.
This polyphonic novel, set in Balbriggan (where Curran is an English teacher in the local secondary school) is a propulsive, empathic book centred on the voices of four young people growing up in the town, each dealing with their own issues.
The latest novel from Elaine Feeney is set, like her previous two novels, in her home county of Galway.
(which takes its name from the Sophocles play Electra) is a story about home, about memories that linger and family ghosts that still haunt.
At its opening, Claire O’Connor is living in London. But soon she is back home in Co Galway, dealing with the loss of her mother and caring for her dying father.
Through Claire’s story, Feeney deftly moves through Irish history and examines the reasons why people have such strong links to the land.
This is a book that contains multitudes (and trad wives).
The Skellig islands are one of Ireland’s true wonders, not just because of their beauty but because of their sheer, raw power.
The idea of people living on Skellig Michael seems absolutely unbelievable, which is why Donoghue’s novel is so interesting.
tells the story of three monks who set off from Clonmacnoise to make their home there in early medieval times.
She explores in fascinating detail exactly what it took to live that remotely – those who aren’t into eating seabirds, look away.
Though you might consider this a ‘Trinity novel’, as the protagonist Debbie goes to the university in Dublin, it’s partly set in Kildare.
Debbie lives on a dairy farm with her mother and uncle, and it’s these scenes that give this book its emotional heft.
Rather than being the typical story of someone who decamps to Dublin for college, Snowflake draws its tension from Debbie returning each evening to her eccentric and at times difficult life at home.
Nealon herself grew up in Kildare, so you never have to doubt her love for the county.
Thriller fans will find plenty to be spooked about in this standalone novel from Andrea Carter.
Her Inishowen series sees her focus on the activities of a solicitor based in Donegal, but in she brings us to Laois, and specifically the foot of the Slieve Bloom mountains.
The beauty of the area becomes threatening as a heartbroken Allie moves into a tiny cottage to try and cope with the disappearance of her partner.
Carter grew up in the area, so is well able to mine its dark sides – as well as the more lovely sides of rural life. But you might not look at a raven the same way after reading this.
Admittedly, this is set on a fictional island off the coast of Co Mayo.
But there’s so much to that feels utterly real – its depiction of island life, how the 17-year-old protagonist John Masterson tries to figure out love and relationships while hanging out with friends, working shifts in the local hotel and going to GAA practice.
This is a trip to the west coast but it’s also a trip back to those heady, unforgettable teenage years.
Donal Ryan is a native of Nenagh, Co Tipperary, and it’s in North Tipperary that he set his first novel, a series of stories told by locals from a small town.
Set just after the recession, this captures all the heartbreak and confusion of that time, but is deeply rooted in the individual voices of those he focuses on, from single mother Réaltín who lives on a ghost estate to Vasya, a Siberian worker learning about life in Ireland.
Nature always features massively in Ryan’s work, as it’s through the changing of the seasons and the tiny details among the hedgerows that he often finds meaning.
Enniscorthy native Colm Tóibín has returned frequently to his hometown in his novels, and it would be easy to pick or his latest novel to showcase the vivid stories he conjures from the area.
But one of his most heartbreaking books is , about the titular character trying to get her life back together after her husband dies.
There is a real truth to how Tóibín captures the comfort and drama of living in a small town, where everyone knows your business before you even know yourself.
Welcome to Tramore in the Sunny South East, a place that will immediately lead to images of funfairs and summer craic.
This all lies in the background of Aingeala Flannery’s debut novel, which is a series of interlinked stories about life in the town, featuring characters who move in and out of the foreground.
With such a wide variety of stories, you really feel that you get to experience life in Tramore, both good and bad.
Flannery is a native of the town, meaning she captures many small details that others might not notice.
