35 Greatest Irish Authors

35 Greatest Irish Authors

Ireland is famed for its deep and impressive history of literature and several prolific writers that come from the country. Many of the writers have made significant contributions to the field of literature and are celebrated around the world. Furthermore, the writers have written different genres of books and thus make a diverse contribution to the field of literature. Therefore, this article will explore the 35 greatest Irish authors to give the reader insight into Irish literature and the advancements they have made.

1 James Joyce

A statute of James Joyce by Fabian Sandner-Wikimedia

Joyce s considered one of the most established, influential and innovative writers of the 20^th century. He is known for his experimental use of language and his love for exploring emerging literary methods while writing his novels. He remains incredibly significant to us because of his dedication to key ideas like the idea of the grandeur of everyday life, his determination to depict what goes through our minds moment by moment what we currently refer to as the stream of consciousness and his determination to accurately capture on the page the sound of language as it sounds in our minds.

His famous novels include Ulysses and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The novels are considered the foundation of modern literature. They also reinforced his place and prowess in Irish literature. His novel Ulysses explores the lives of Molly Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, and Leopold Bloom, three Dubliners. It is widely acknowledged that the book is one of the most difficult pieces of literature ever written because of its intricate stream-of-consciousness style. A semi-autobiographical book called “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” is a well-known piece of contemporary literature that describes the life and career of Stephen Dedalus.

2 Claire-Louise Bennet

She became popular because of her debut novel, Pond and is now one of the notable literary Irish writers. In 2015, she was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize for her book the pond. Her other book Checkout 19 was shortlisted for the Goldsmith Prize. Furthermore, she was also the winner of the White Review short story prize for her story The Lady of the House in 2013.

3 Mike McCormack

A picture of Mike Cormack by Astrid Eriksson Tropp-Wikimedia

Mike is another celebrated Irish author who is known for his innovative work. One of his novels Solar Bones was awarded the Goldsmith Prize in 2016. The award described the book as fiction that broke the mould and extended beyond the novel form. The novel has been written in a single sentence which makes it intriguing to the reader. Furthermore, his book was named Novel of the Year by the Irish Book Awards.

4 Samuel Beckett

Beckett was one of the most prolific writers of the 20^th Century. He was a poet, a playwright and a novelist. His work featured existential themes and was also known for its bleakness. His notable works include Waiting for Godot and Endgame. These two plays solidified Beckett’s status as one of Irish literature’s greatest playwrights and are regarded as classics of contemporary theatre.

The play “Waiting for Godot” depicts the lives of two tramps as they wait for a mystery character by the name of Godot. It is known for its use of absurdist elements. The drama “Endgame,” which is set in the aftermath of a nuclear war, is regarded as a modern theatre masterpiece.

5 W.B Yeats

W. B. Yeats. Photo by National Portrait Gallery-Wikimedia

He was another great poet of the 20^th century. Yeats’ work featured Irish folklore and mythology as he was a member of the Irish Literary Revival and thus wanted to ensure that Irish mythology was not lost. His most famous poems include Sailing to Byzantium and The Second Coming which are termed phenomenal.

The poem “The Second Coming,” which recounts the turmoil and devastation that precede a new era, is regarded as one of the most significant poems of the 20th century. An aged poet’s voyage to the city of Byzantium is portrayed in the poem “Sailing to Byzantium.”

6 Doireann Ní Ghríofa

She is a poet that writes in both Irish and English. She is devoted to looking at how the past influences the present. One of her notable works is A Ghost in the Throat In “A Ghost in the Throat,” a young mother is tormented by an 18th-century poet who guides her through visions of blood, milk, desire, and murder.

It was initially described as “powerful” by the New York Times, “captivatingly creative” by The Guardian, and a “masterpiece” after being written on the roof of a multi-story parking garage in Ireland according to the Sunday Business Post. A nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a New York Times Notable Book of 2021, “A Ghost in the Throat” won the James Tait Black Prize and was named the overall Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.

7 Emma Donoghue

A picture of Emma Donoghue by Katrina Afonso-Wikimedia

The Irish-Canadian playwright, novelist, screenwriter and literary historian were born in 1969 in Dublin, Ireland. Her father was a literary critic which influenced her choice of career. The author’s writing approach is unique in that she is industrious and aims to be unpretentious about the writing process.

Her first novel was Stir Fry which told a journey of a young Irish woman as she discovers her sexuality. The book won the Stonewall Book Award in 1997. She also released Slammerkin which is a novel with a historical setting of London and Wales that tells the story of a servant that killed her employer and was executed. The book also won an award in 2002. Other books she has published include Landing, The Sealed Letter, Room, Frog Music, The Wonder, Akin and The Pull of the Stars.

8 Seamus Heaney

The poet was considered one of the best poets of the 20^th century. He even won a Nobel Prize in Literature which cements the influence he had in the field of literature. Many people have termed him the greatest poet in Ireland. Seamus was a member of the Irish Literary Revival which means that he incorporated concepts about Irish folklore and mythology in his works. His notable work includes Death of a Naturalist and Digging.

The poem “Digging,” which recounts the labour of a farmer and his father, is regarded as one of the most significant poems in the field of literature. The poem “Death of a Naturalist” explores the passage from childhood to maturity and the loss of innocence.

9 Meave Binchy

A picture of Maeve Binchy by the Irish Times-Irish Times

The Irish columnist, short story writer, and speaker novelist were born in May 1939 in Dalkey, Dublin. She started her writing career in 1978 and continued with it until she passed away in 2012. Her novels were characterized by a comical portrayal of small-town lives in Ireland and a sympathetic tone. Her presence in the literature scene was huge as she had sold more than 40 million copies of her book around the world.

 Maeve was famed for her total absence of malice when describing and appreciating other authors. She has published four short story collections, 16 novels and a play. During her career, she won several awards including a Jacob’s Award, A British Book Award for Lifetime Achievement, Irish PEN Award and Irish Book Award.

10 Oscar Wilde

Wilde was considered one of the most prolific writers of all time. His parent were also writers with his father being a surgeon that also published books on folklore and archaeology. His mother was a revolutionary poet who wrote under the name Speranza. He was one of the most recognizable writers even though he lived a short life. He is also famed for his colourful writing style which was also reflected in his fashion sense. He published a range of influential works throughout his career and his epigrams and plays were well-received by the public. Some of his influential works include An Ideal Husband, A Woman of no Importance and The Importance of Being Earnest.

11 Roddy Doyle

Roddy Doyle. Photo by Christoph Rieger-Wikimedia

The author is famed for his prowess in capturing and conveying the sense of humour that can be found in Dublin. His ability to capture everything that the city represents is what makes him a great writer. His novels are typically set in working-class Dublin, and his writing style incorporates a lot of slang phrases, often written in local dialects, as well as a lot of character dialogue. Roddy was born, raised, and still lives in Dublin, where he also runs a creative writing centre for special needs children, young adults, and adults.

His Barrytown Trilogy has been adapted into films that have been well-received by the Irish public. The three books, The Van, The Snapper, and The Commitments, are not in chronological order, but they all feature the same cast of characters, a working-class Dublin family who experience all the ups and downs of family life with hilarious results.

12 Bram Stoker

He is one of the most celebrated writers of all time. He is famed for his work: Dracula. However, during his lifetime, he was better recognized for serving as Henry Irving’s assistant and as the Lyceum theatre in London commercial manager. He was raised in Dublin, attended Trinity College, and after earning a career as a theatre critic, he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to helping Henry Irving, who he travelled the world with. He wrote books and short stories in his own time.

He lost his original Dracula manuscript while travelling with Irving, and it was finally discovered in an old barn in Pennsylvania in the 1980s. His book Dracula is his best work that formed the basis of all vampire movies as that is where all the vampire stereotypes originated from.

13 Jonathan Swift

A portrait of Jonathan Swift by Charles Jevas-Wikimedia

This is one of the oldest writers having been born in 1667. Jonathan was a highly skilled poet and satirical writer. Having been born into a family that had deep literary connections it was easy for him to venture into the field of literature. He then started writing poems, novels and political papers. His most notable work is Gulliver’s Travels which is often viewed as a children’s classic but in actuality, it is a very complex novel that portrays the author’s Political views and experiences.

His story however ends in sadness as he had a stroke when he was 75 years old and thus making him lose his ability to speak and become mentally unstable. He later died and his fortune was used to fund a hospital for the mentally unstable.

14 CS Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis is famed for his Children’s Classics. The Chronicles of Narnia has seven novels that make the series and have sold more the 100 million copies worldwide. Furthermore, the book has been translated into 41 languages. It has also been adapted several times on television, cinema, radio and the stage. Lewis was raised surrounded by books and that made him a very imaginative kid. Therefore, it is no surprise that he grew up and decided to write children’s books. Throughout his life, he maintained his strong Irish sense of culture and even sought out Irish people when he was living in Britain. Lewis also wrote an autobiography that detailed his life in Ireland and the struggles he went through when he relocated to England.

15 Brendan Behan

A monument of Brendan Behan by Emkaer-Wikimedia

He was born in 1923 in Dublin. He was an Irish novelist, playwright, novelist, short story writer and a republican activist. He wrote in both English and Irish and was named one of the greatest Irish writers of all time. Having been born into a republican family, meant that he was very involved in the Irish Republican Army where he was a volunteer. It also meant that his literature greatly influenced his genre of literature and the path that he took. As a result of his being in the Republican Army, he was imprisoned in a youth prison in Ireland.

After being released, based most of his writing on the experiences he lived while in prison. His work was published in several magazines including Envoy, and The Bell which was the leading magazine in Ireland at that time.

16 Frank McCourt

The Irish American author was also one of the greatest Irish writers of all time. He was a prominent author during his career who wrote a number of well-known books, including Tis A Memoir, Teacher Man, Angela and The Baby Jesus. In 1996, his best-known work, Angela’s Ashes, was released.

The book is frequently regarded as his childhood memoir. It discusses his life in Limerick, Ireland, as well as what it was like for him to grow up in Brooklyn. The book caused quite a deal of debate because McCourt’s mother, Angela, thinks the historical accounts are a little exaggerated, yet it is still quite popular today.

17 J.M Synge

A plaquette of J.M Synge by Emkaer-Wikimedia

 Among the most significant playwrights of the Irish Literary Revival is J.M. Synge. His plays “Riders to the Sea,” “The Playboy of the Western World,” and “The Tinker’s Wedding,” which all examine the struggles encountered by rural Irish people, are among his best-known works. The language in Synge’s plays is well-known for being strong and evocative, and they frequently explore themes of love, sorrow, and the human condition. He started with the aim of becoming a musician while studying in Germany but quickly abandoned the plan and decided to concentrate on languages. Yeats greatly influenced him and inspired the enthusiasm for Irish Renaissance.

18 Gavin Corbett

Corbett was praised as one of the most innovative and captivating writers of contemporary Irish fiction by Matthew Adams in The Guardian, who also dubbed his second book, This is the Way, as unconventional, associative, and fragmentary.  The unusual elegance of Anthony’s voice captivates the reader’s attention more than the sparse storyline. There was a speech pattern that was constrained, sparse, distortedly lyrical, full of nervous repetitions and shaky tics, and nearly overwhelming in its total impact. Green Glowing Skull, his most recent book, just pushes the limit even further.

19 Sean O’Casey

The Irish dramatist and playwright is famed for being the first person to write about the working class in Dublin. Sean was born into a poor family and he educated himself while working as a manual labourer from the age of 14. He then became active in the labour movement. By 1915, he had stepped away from politics and was writing tragicomedies that were too realistic about the slum dwellers in Dublin. His plays that caused a lot of riots among patriots as they talked about the war and revolution include; The Shadow of a Gunman which he produced in 1923, Juno and the Paycock which was produced in 1924 and the Plough and the Stars produced in 1926.

20 Elizabeth Bowen

Elizabeth’s Plaque by Owen Massey McKnight –Wikimedia

Born Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen in 1899 in Dublin, Ireland, the novelist is well known for being a short story writer that knows how to employ finely wrought prose style while writing her fiction. Her stories detailed the unfulfilling and uneasy relationships that the Upper middle class often had. Most of these may have been covered in The Death of the Heart released in 1938 and also considered one of her best-known books.

According to Bowen’s autobiographical excerpt Seven Winters released in 1942 grew up in Dublin before relocating to Cork to a house she later inherited. The house’s history is detailed in Bowen’s Court, and also serves as the setting for her 1929 novel The Last September, which takes place during the events leading up to Irish independence.

21 Cecil Day-Lewis

He was one of the greatest poets of the 1930s. he was born in Ireland in 1904 to a father who was a church minister. With the “assurance of fresh life” serving as a crucial starting point, he saw himself as a poetic and political voice of revolution.

He received a scholarship to attend Sherborne School, and while at Wadham College in Oxford, he participated in exhibitions. He had little choice but to continue teaching at various schools until 1935 when he started devoting all of his time to writing, editing, and political action.

Lewis began writing poetry seriously when he was 6 years old and served as Oxford Poetry’s co-editor in 1927. But his detective novels, which have received high praise and are sometimes compared to his poems as works of art, were what allowed him to become financially independent.

22 Ann Enright

She is an Irish novelist that primarily writes nonfiction and short stories. Her books explore warm themes such as motherhood, identity, family and love. One of her works, Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood is based on her experience when she gave birth to her two children. In 2007, she won the Booker Prize for her novel called The Gathering. Her other novel What Are You Like? Was also shortlisted for the 2000 Whitebreads Awards in the novel category. Furthermore, her novel Actress was selected for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020

23 Eimear McBride

A picture of Eimear McBride by Larry. D. Moore-Wikimedia

The Irish novelist is one of the greatest Irish writers of all time in that her debut novel known as A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing won the Goldsmith Prize in 2013. The book also won The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction the next year.

Despite just taking six months to complete, McBride’s novel A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing took nine years to be published. It was finally published in 2013 by Galley Beggar Press in Norwich. The novel describes the complicated relationship between a young woman and her family in a stream-of-consciousness style. She also has another novel The Lesser Bohemians and has also written several poems

24 George Benard Shaw

The two plays “Pygmalion” and “Man and Superman” by Irish playwright and critic Shaw are his most well-known works. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925 for his witty and socially conscious writing.

Shaw frequently advocated eugenics and reform of the alphabet while opposing vaccines and organised religion. His expressed opinions were also divisive. While not a republican, he attacked British policies toward Ireland in the years following the First World War and so courted criticism by accusing both sides of being equally at fault.

These opinions had no lasting impact on his reputation or output as a playwright; the interwar period witnessed a number of ambitious plays that met with different degrees of critical and audience success.

25 William Trevor

The Irish writer is famed for his short stories and novels. He graduated from Trinity College in Dublin and began teaching in Northern Ireland while also working as a sculptor. He moved to England where he began writing. His first novel A Standard of Behaviour was published in 1958.

He then followed it up with The Old Boys which earned him great success as he was even the recipient of Britain’s Hawthornden Prize. Trevor went on to write many other books including The Children of Dynmouth and Fools of Fortune which earned him the Whitbread Literary Award.

26 Iris Murdoch

A commerative plague for Iris Murdoch. Photo by David Kernan-Wikimedia

The Irish-British novelist was famed for her novels that depicted the power of the unconscious, good and evil, morality and sexual relationships. She published her first novel in 1954 known as Under the Net and was well received by the public as it was selected to be part of the Modern Library’s 100 best English-language novels of the 20^th Century in 1998.

Furthermore, her other novel The Sea which she released in 1978 won a Booker Prize. She also has 11 other books that she published. Iris was also made the same by the queen in 2008 because of the contributions she made to the field of literature.

27 Edna Obrien

The Irish poet, playwright, novelist and short story writer was born in Tuamgraney, Ireland in 1930. Over the course of her career, she has written more than twenty literary pieces and is the recipient of several awards including the Frank O’Connor Prize, the American National Arts and the Irish PEN Lifetime Achievement Award.

28 Neil Jordan

Neil Jordan is an Irish author of novels, screenplays, and short stories, and director of motion pictures. In addition to receiving numerous accolades for his literature, he also received an Oscar for The Crying Game’s best original screenplay. He has authored the screenplays for a number of the most popular Hollywood movies. His first book known as Night in Tunisia won the Guardian Fiction Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award in 1979. This shows that he has a lot of prowess in the field as he wins several awards for his work.

29 Molly Keane

She was an Irish novelist and playwright that wrote under the name M. J. Farrell. She grew up in a literary household as her mother was a poet that wrote under a pseudonym and thus likely to be the one that shaped her career path. Her first book The Knight of Cheerful Countenance which she wrote under a pseudonym was published by Mills & Boon. Her writing was greatly influenced by Jane Austen’s work as she was able to use wit and sense to clearly develop the characters. During her career, she published many novels and plays and was even shortlisted for a Booker Prize.

30 Flann O’Brien

Irish novelist, dramatist, and satirical columnist Flann O’Brien is also known by his real name, Brian O’Nolan. His best-known works are the novels At Swim-Two-Birds and The Third Policeman. The novelist also has a satirical column Cruiskeen Lawn, which was published in The Irish Times. He wrote in both Irish and English. His writing is renowned for its humour, absurdity, and critique of Irish politics and culture.

31 Colm Toibin

A picture of Colm Toibin by Larry. D Moore-Wikimedia

He is an Irish Essayist, novelist and short story writer. His debut novel The South published in 1990 was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Other prominent works of fiction include The Master, which won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, The Heather Blazing, The Story of the Night, The Blackwater Lightship, and The Story of the Night.

32 Marian Keyes

She is one of the best writers in contemporary times. Her published works have been greatly received by the public has sold 35 million copies of her 12 previous novels. Furthermore, her books have also been translated into 33 languages. Marian did not start writing until she was thirty years old and had also been just admitted to rehab as she was suffering from alcoholism. Since then, she has been well-liked in the Irish literary scene.

Her nook Rachel’s Holiday is one of her famous works and it is the one that stands out. Her writing style is a comedy but it also addresses dark themes that come from her own experiences like mental illnesses, drug abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence and drug abuse. Her ability to tackle hard subjects in a relatable way is what makes her an interesting writer. She is often likened to Sue Townsend in terms of her writing style.

33 John Banville

A picture of John Banville by Jindřich Nosek (NoJin)-Wikimedia

The Irish novelist started writing in the 1970s to the present. He states that Henry James and W. B. Yeats greatly influenced his work. Some of his notable works include Nightspawn which was his first novel which he released in 1971. He also released the revolution trilogy between 1962 and 1982. The books in the trilogy included Doctor Copernicus, Kepler and the Newton Letter. He has won several awards for his novels including the Guinness Peat Aviation award, the Booker Prize, the Kafka Prize, the Irish Book Award and many others

34 Marina Carr

Carr is one of the most celebrated playwrights in Ireland. She was born in Dublin but was raised in Pallas Lake. Her parents influenced her career path as her father Hugh Carr was a playwright and her mother Maura Eibhlín was a school principal and wrote poetry in Irish. Over the course of her career, she was a writer-in-residence at Abbey Theatre.

Additionally, she has won several awards, including the Dublin Theatre Festival’s Best Irish Play Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the American Ireland Fund Award, the E. M Forster Award and the Windham-Campell Literature Award.

35 Paul Lynch

Lynch is a well-known film critic who also happens to write novels, which for some reason are especially beloved by the French. In addition to being a nominee for the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, Lynch’s work has received the Prix Libr’à Nous for Best Foreign Novel. In addition to being nominated for the Prix du Premier Roman, the Prix des Lecteurs Privat, and the Prix du Roman Fnac in France, he also received the Prix des Lecteurs Privat. His first book, Red Sky in Morning, was chosen by B&N Discover as well.