Last updated on September 26, 2026 by Shannon
With a last name like O’Donnell, my Irish heritage was a vibrant thread woven into the fabric of my childhood. My parents and grandparents ensured that, long before my first trip to Ireland, I dined on a steady diet of the greatest Irish authors of all time.
By the time I reached adulthood, I had watched every great movie about the Emerald Isle, and all of those filmed there too. I even spent years as a competitive Irish dancer!
Those are my street creds for this list of books to read before visiting Ireland, the “island of saints and scholars,” as Thomas Cahill calls it. It’s a mix of Irish novels, memoirs, and funny travelogues, plus a few movies for the flight.
Fun fact: C.S. Lewis was born in Belfast, and the landscape of Narnia pulls heavily from northern Ireland, which is also where HBO filmed much of Game of Thrones.
If you only read one before your trip, grab McCarthy’s Bar. He covers the whole country, one pub at a time.
3 Novels Set in Ireland That Explain Its History
Almost everything you’ll see in Ireland ties back to three stories: the Famine, the 1916 Rising and the fight for independence, and the Troubles. The Famine memorials, the GPO in Dublin, the murals in Belfast and Derry all make a lot more sense if you know a little of this history. I’d rather get it from a great novel than a textbook, so I picked one for each. All three are on my list before my next trip.
1. Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor
The Famine, told through one ship. It’s the winter of 1847, and a crowded boat is headed for New York with a bankrupt lord up top, starving families in steerage, and someone on board planning a murder. It reads like a thriller, and by the end you understand why so many Irish families ended up in America.
2. A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle
Henry Smart is born in the Dublin slums in 1901, and by fourteen he’s inside the GPO during the Easter Rising. Doyle (yep, The Commitments guy) follows him into the War of Independence and keeps the jokes coming even mid-revolution.
3. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Northern Ireland, 1975. A young Catholic teacher who helps out at her family’s pub falls for an older, married Protestant barrister, and the violence around them keeps closing in. Kennedy grew up outside Belfast during those years. Want the true story instead? Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe reads like a thriller.
More Books About Irish History
4. How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
Could be because I’m Irish, but I really enjoyed this read about the untold story of Ireland’s heroic role from the fall of Rome to the rise of Medieval Europe, and the case made for Ireland’s preservation of knowledge through the Dark Ages.
5. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
This captivating memoir is heartbreaking, poignant, and very often quite funny. McCourt was born to Irish parents in Brooklyn, but most of his childhood was spent in poverty in Limerick. It’s not an uplifting read, but it’s a tale that faced many immigrants and Irish during that era. I stole this off of my mother’s bookshelf years ago and never returned it—it so perfectly intertwines Ireland’s history of religion, poverty, and immigration.
Books About Traveling Around Ireland
The first two writers are English (McCarthy at least had an Irish mom), and watching outsiders bumble through Irish hospitality is half the fun. The rest are local voices.
6. McCarthy’s Bar by Pete McCarthy
You’re going to laugh the whole way through this one. McCarthy travels Ireland by one rule: “Never pass a bar with your name on it.” I didn’t have the stamina to follow that rule, but his adventures led him to colorful locales and a host of eccentric characters, all while delving into his own Irish heritage.
7. Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks
Not every book about Ireland need be a downer (though some on this list are a bit of a downer). Hawks loses a bet and hitchhikes around Ireland with a mini-fridge as his companion, and the Irish take the wacky and unexpected in stride.
8. The Aran Islands (Free on Kindle) by John M. Synge
The Aran Islands are still a bastion of traditional Irish culture. Synge lived with the islanders for several summers and wrote down their stories. Download it if you’re heading out to the Aran Islands, where I enjoyed some of the best music and traditional culture in all my months in Ireland.
9. Twenty Years A-Growing by Maurice O’Sullivan
When I drove Slea Head Drive, I stood on the cliff looking out at the Blasket Islands, drizzle and wild wind beating me in the face, and wondered how anyone could have lived out there. O’Sullivan did. He grew up on the Great Blasket, and his memoir of island life, first written in Irish, went straight onto my to-read list. The last islanders left in 1953.
10. Dubliners by James Joyce
I daresay it would be heresy to not include Joyce on the list, but Ulysses is a bit dense for most travelers just going to Ireland to see the sights. Dubliners is a collection of short stories about Dublin’s middle class, inspired by his childhood. It’s an easy read, and since nearly all travelers pass through Dublin, download it before you leave—it adds depth to the city’s streets and neighborhoods.
Movies and TV Shows About Ireland to Watch Before You Go
Derry Girls
This sitcom follows a gang of Catholic teenagers in 1990s Derry, with the Troubles in the background. It’s hilarious, and it grounded a lot of the graffiti and history I saw walking around Derry.
The Banshees of Inisherin
A large part of this award-winning movie was filmed on Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. The Aran Islands stand as one of my favorite places in all of Ireland. The movie itself is a slow, plodding, character-driven drama.
The movie is beautifully filmed, but both my dad and I kind of hated it. I’m clearly in the minority though—it took the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in 2023, which is why I watched it.
The Secret of Roan Inish
This movie is utterly delightful, and if you’re taking kids to Ireland, stream this family-friendly movie. Filmed in Donegal, it’s centered on the Irish folklore of selkies, or rather seals, that can shed their skins to become human. My dad and I watched this film together when it was released in 1995, and to this day I still remember the enchanting story and how it led me deeper into Ireland’s most fanciful myths and legends. Years later, the first time I met a cousin in Ireland, he was more than 80 years old and walked me around his land pointing out the spots where the fairies lived.
Dancing at Lughnasa
This short play by Brian Friel is a quick read and I absolutely recommend it for the rich dialogue you can hear nearly pop off the page. Once you’ve read it, stream the movie version (which features Meryl Streep) and transport yourself to 1930s Ireland.
PS I Love You
This film is also a book by Irish writer Cecelia Ahern—and a good one at that. Although critics panned the film, it’s a rollicking good time through all that makes a film about Ireland lovely: The music is top-notch, the countryside gorgeous, and the brogue a delight. Book or film (or both!), you can’t go wrong with either of these before you visit Éire, especially if you like a heavy dose of romance in your books and flicks.
Best Travel Books: By Country, Region, & Review
I’m passionate about the value in reading books about the specific places you’re traveling. For that reason, I’ve rounded up a number of guides to books about countries like Spain and Ireland, regions like Africa and Central America, and a fair number of individual travel book reviews.
