Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, there’s no better time for a shoutout to  incredible novels where Ireland plays a starring role.

I recently finished Heather Aimee O’Neill’s The Irish Goodbye, the story of three Irish-American sisters who return home to Long Island to reconnect.

Naturally, that homecoming wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if there weren’t a few long-held secrets these sisters were harboring. You know the sort of tension-fueled revelations that make you thankful you’re not sitting at their family table.

Of course you can’t talk about Irish novels without mentioning James Joyce’s Ulysses. It may break your heart to read this, but I’ve never been able to get through it. And not for lack of trying.

But I have found so many other Irish novels that, unlike Ulysses, I couldn’t put down. The Coast Road by Alan Murrin is a phenomenal snapshot of a small town and its citizens’ various relationship woes. Let’s just say that everyone has an opinion—and some are quite devastating on the eve of a Irish referendum on divorce.

As, well, complicated, as the titular protagonist is, Alice McDermott’s Charming Billy is an entertaining and memorable account of an Irishman who didn’t get a lot right in life. Think The Lost Weekend and then some. But as friends and family remember Billy, what emerges is a snapshot that’s marked by regrets and unexpected humor, sorrowful yet unabashedly human.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane is a sweeping portrayal of two Irish-born immigrant families in New York and the challenges they navigate over the course of four decades. Beautifully written, it touches on so many issues we still face today.

I also absolutely adore Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, a rare case where the movie captures the novel’s incandescent spirit so well (Saoirse Ronan is fantastic as the lead). But if you would, do me a favor and read the book first. It’s a coming-of-age story, a love story, and an unforgettable snapshot of history all in one.

But whenever I think about stories set in the Emerald Isle, I can’t help returning to the story I first read in high school, Maeve Binchy’s Circle of Friends. Although thousands of miles from my hometown, I had no trouble picturing this cast of characters—especially Benny and Eve—and where they lived, a village called Knockglen.

I couldn’t help wondering if my future college experience would resemble Eve’s once I moved to a city. I daydreamed about whether I’d meet people like Nan and Jack and if my world would be disrupted in such a dramatic fashion. Circle of Friends was one of those novels that coincided with a similar crossroads juncture in my own life. Which is probably why it resonated so deeply.

☘️ How about you? What are your favorite novels set in Ireland? Or featuring Irish characters? ☘️