About this list

The Irish Times, 25 Books

This list represents the result of a dual-selection process to identify the best Irish books of the 21st century, as determined by both a panel and public readers. Initially, The Irish Times convened a panel of 60 experts from various literary fields, including authors, critics, and academics, to create a ranked list of 100 Irish novels and short story collections from 2000 to 2025, based on the number of nominations each received. Subsequently, nearly 2,000 public votes were collected, allowing readers to express their preferences from the top 25 selections of the expert list. This democratic approach highlighted differences in opinion between the expert panel and the broader public, illustrating diverse tastes and perspectives on contemporary Irish literature.

This list was originally published in 2025 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.