The Greatest Irish Books of All Time on Memory

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
151 Molloy Samuel Beckett 1951 Irish French
270 Malone Dies Samuel Beckett 1951 Irish French
1408 Amongst Women John McGahern 1990 Irish English
1506 Selected Stories William Trevor 1992 Irish English
1508 The Tower William Butler Yeats 1928 Irish English
1790 The Master Colm Toibin 2004 Irish English
2244 The Gathering Anne Enright 2007 Irish English
2409 That They May Face the Rising Sun John McGahern 2002 Irish English
2967 The Sea John Banville 2005 Irish English
3169 North Seamus Heaney 1975 Irish English
3469 Solar Bones Mike McCormack 2016 Irish English
3926 In The Woods Tana French 2007 Irish English
4145 Krapp's Last Tape Samuel Beckett 1958 Irish English
4887 The Secret Scripture Sebastian Barry 2008 Irish English
5593 How It Is Samuel Beckett 1961 Irish French
5693 Night Boat To Tangier Kevin Barry 2019 Irish English
5902 Poems Of George Darley George Darley 1840 Irish English
5962 This Is Happiness Niall Williams 2019 Irish English
5995 The Green Road Anne Enright 2015 Irish English
6603 Collected Stories Elizabeth Bowen 1980 Irish English
8096 Molly Fox’s Birthday Deirdre Madden 2008 Irish English
8178 Three Novels Samuel Beckett 1955 Irish French
8277 Love And Summer William Trevor 2009 Irish English
8442 Faithful Place Tana French 2010 Irish English
8922 Poems Of Louis Mac Neice Louis MacNeice 1966 Irish English
9245 The Complete Dramatic Works Of Samuel Beckett Samuel Beckett 1986 Irish English
9548 Peppercanister Poems Thomas Kinsella 1972 Irish English
9833 Poems Of John Montague John Montague 1975 Irish English
10055 Collected Shorter Plays Samuel Beckett 1984 Irish English
10448 The Testament Of Mary Colm Toibin 2012 Irish English
10924 Stirrings Still Samuel Beckett 1988 Irish English
10936 Langrishe, Go Down Aidan Higgins 1966 Irish English
11165 Poems Of Paul Muldoon Paul Muldoon 1986 Irish English
11661 Checkout 19 Claire-Louise Bennett 2021 Irish English
11661 The Witch Elm Tana French 2018 Irish English
12028 The Heather Blazing Colm Toibin 1992 Irish English
12258 Lantern Slides Edna O'Brien 1990 Irish English
12325 Two Lives William Trevor 1991 Irish English
12325 After Rain William Trevor 1996 Irish English
12879 Birchwood John Banville 1973 Irish English
13969 The Birds Of The Innocent Wood Deirdre Madden 1988 Irish English
14042 Surrogate City Hugo Hamilton 1990 Irish Unknown
14344 The Woman Who Walked Into Doors Roddy Doyle 1996 Irish English
14345 Reading In The Dark Seamus Deane 1996 Irish English
14480 The Banyan Tree Christopher Nolan 1999 Irish English
14984 The Forgotten Waltz Anne Enright 2011 Irish English
14971 All That Fall Samuel Beckett 1957 Irish English
14984 The Weir Conor McPherson 1997 Irish English
17150 District and Circle Seamus Heaney 2006 Irish English
17150 The Spirit Level Seamus Heaney 1996 Irish English
17150 Human Chain Seamus Heaney 2010 Irish English
16796 The Little Girls Elizabeth Bowen 1964 Irish English
17150 Faith Healer Brian Friel 1979 Irish English
17150 Dancing At Lughnasa Brian Friel 1990 Irish English
17150 Company Samuel Beckett 1979 Irish English
17150 Are You Somebody? Nuala O'Faolain 1996 Irish English
17150 The Wych Elm Tana French 2018 Irish English
17150 Ancient Light John Banville 2012 Irish English
17150 Station Island Seamus Heaney 1984 Irish English
17150 The Wren, The Wren Anne Enright 2023 Irish English
17150 Old God’s Time Sebastian Barry 2023 Irish English
17150 The Lock Up John Banville 2023 Irish English
17150 Могила Шелли Уайльд Оскар Irish Unknown
17150 Foggage Patrick McGinley 1983 Irish English