Audiobooks by Irish authors provide a compelling gateway into Ireland’s rich literary heritage.
From contemporary fiction to timeless classics, we’ve put together a selection of great audiobooks from Irish writers, including those that capture the essence of Irish culture, history, landscape, and identity.
Intermezzo
“Two brothers, Ivan and Peter, navigate their relationships with each other and the women in their lives in the wake of their fathers death. In their grief, the pair watch as the normal forms of their lives fall apart and they try their best to make sense of the wreckage Sally Rooney does what she does best: sets up a wealth of interestingly and painfully human characters like pieces on a chessboard and watches one by one as they fall and pick themselves back up. The kind of book that makes learning chess worth it.”
— Will • Quail Ridge Books
Check out more audiobooks by Sally Rooney, including Normal People, Conversations with Friends, and Beautiful World, Where Are You, here.
Small Things Like These
“As Christmas approaches, I’m drawn back to this exquisite, tender, quiet yet powerful story of a comfortable Irish coal dealer who becomes discomfited by what he discovers behind the walls of a Magdalen laundry in 1985. The 1980s are hardly the distant past, and this slender book is a timely reminder of how society has often treated its young women, and also how bravery and compassion may surface in the most unlikely places. I know many of you are already familiar with this treasure by the extraordinary Claire Keegan, but if you aren’t yet, now is the time.”
— Rachel • Celia Bookshop
Check out more audiobooks by Claire Keegan here.
Evenings and Weekends
“It’s like the T.V. show Friends except the friends are queer and massively disjointed. This contemporary novel follows the lives of a group of people over the course of one weekend. Mothers face terminal illnesses, couples face insurmountable differences, relationship boundaries are challenged, and generational divides are flagrantly highlighted. Perfect for the reader hoping to find out something new about themselves.”
— Lambie • Underground Books
Long Island
“So this was lovely – full of Toibin’s signature yearning and uncommunicated desire. There’s something to be said for writers who keep coming back to the same characters and settings – there’s a long list of them but Strout, Russo and Vonnegut immediately come to mind. It’s comforting and nostalgic and as a reader can make for an enriching experience. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Jessie Buckley who seamlessly shifted from an Irish accent to a Brooklyn accent and back again.”
— Jaclyn • Hill of Content Bookshop
Check out more audiobooks by Colm Toibin, including Long Island prequel Brooklyn and The Magician, here.
The Heart in Winter
“The moment Tom Rourke, an Irish immigrant living in Montana in the 1890s, peers through the camera lens at Polly Gillespie in her wedding dress, he unknowingly sets them both on a path of murder, mayhem, and (most dangerous of all) love. What follows is a story that’s both achingly real and like an otherworldly fever dream, perfectly encapsulating what it feels like to be suddenly swept up by new romance. It all bears down on the reader in Kevin Barry’s beautifully truncated language. At once raw, poetic, and droll, this brisk but deeply moving novel is one of the best I’ve read in years!”
— Todd • Quail Ridge Books
Glorious Exploits
“How Irish can a novel be, exactly, without even once invoking Ireland or the possibility of Ireland? For answer: see Glorious Exploits…Written entirely in a contemporary Irish dialect, Ferdia Lennon’s debut novel illustrates more than a few sympathies between pub ballad and ancient tragedy (one has to conclude that Plutarch was, at least spiritually, an Irishman). Glorious Exploits is a mythic tribute to the part played by questionable heroes and common rogues in the preservation—and making—of great art.”
— Reagan • Gibson’s Bookstore
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating
“All of Adiba Jaigirdar’s books feel like being wrapped up in a soft blanket…I fell deeply in love with these characters and the way they used their differences (and reluctantly admitted similarities) to support and care for each other.”
— Gina, BookPeople
Also check out The Dos and Donuts of Love and Four Eids and a Funeral by Jaigirdar.
The Coast Road
“The Coast Road is a brilliantly observant novel about a small isolated community, the limits the community’s expectations place on women’s lives and the consequences of daring to step out of these boundaries. An addictive read with a sadly compelling final chapter.”
— Tim • Devonport Bookshop
When We Were Silent
“An incredibly heavy story about abuse hiding in plain sight. I wanted to hit my head against the wall every time Lou outright TOLD an adult about the swim coach’s actions and got ignored. What’s so frustrating is that this is absolutely how it happens in real life. The story line mixed with the incredibly detailed writing made for a passionate and immersive experience, I can’t wait to read more from Fiona McPhillips! “
— Nadi • Lark & Owl
Someone in the Attic
“Andrea Mara killed it with this chilling novel that left me even more terrified of the attic than I already am! Someone in the Attic is a terrifying mystery-horror that literally had me sleeping with the bedroom door locked. Mara did an amazing job at casting probable doubt on many characters and stoking the flame of fear for someone who is already afraid of what could possibly be in the attic. The pacing was fantastic, with a great beginning hook that draws you in. There is a dual timeline, a past event slowly revealing itself over the course of the book. This is definitely a book I recommend!”
— Keeley • Ink Drinkers Anonymous
The Queen of Dirt Island
“A beautifully written story of four generations of Irish women in County Tipperary, Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island is an exquisite story of family, loyalty, love, and forgiveness. Each chapter is a perfect two-page vignette; when strung together they build into a family saga starting with the birth of Saoirse in 1983. Each woman has a distinct voice, sometimes profane, but never overly sentimental. If you live storytelling that binds generations together, this book is for you “
— Genevieve • A Great Good Place for Books
Wild Geese
Phoebe Forde has a new home and new name and is newly thirty. An Irish transplant and PhD candidate, she’s overeducated and underpaid, but she’s finally settling into her new life in Copenhagen. Almost three years into her gender transition, Phoebe has learned to move through the world carefully, savoring small moments of joy. After all, a woman without a past can be anyone she wants. But an unexpected visit from her ex-girlfriend Grace brings back memories of Dublin and the life she thought she’d left behind.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
“Dorian sells his soul so that his portrait will age instead of him. He embarks on a hedonistic self-indulgent lifestyle as his portrait becomes hideously unrecognizable. This was assigned reading for me in the 11th grade and now has a permanent home on my favorite bookshelf.”
— Suzanne • Underground Books
Gulliver’s Travels
Guilliver’s Travels is a sharp political satire first published in 1726 that remains relevant today. It follows Lemuel Gulliver’s adventures in fantastical lands. From tiny Lilliputians to giant Brobdingnagians, each journey offers sharp commentary on human nature and society. Ram Ranjini’s narration brings the humor and intrigue of Gulliver’s voyages to life, making this audiobook a captivating experience for listeners of all ages.
Disobedient Bodies
In a society that encourages us to align with its ideals of beauty, this book encourages unruliness, exploring the ways in which we can rebel against and subvert the current system. Offering alternative ways of seeing beauty, drawing on other cultures, worldviews, times, and places, as well as looking beyond the capitalist model—to reconnect with our birth right and find the inherent joy in our disobedient bodies.
Dabiri is also the author of Twisted and What White People Can Do Next.
Angela’s Ashes
This Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir vividly recounts Frank McCourt’s impoverished Irish Catholic childhood in 1930s Limerick. Despite an alcoholic father, near-starvation, and cruel neighbors, McCourt survives through storytelling and resilience. With humor and compassion, he narrates his experiences of wearing rags, begging for food, and enduring hardships.
In the Woods
In the Woods is a psychological thriller set in Dublin, blending crime and personal trauma.In 1984, three children vanish in the woods near Dublin, with only one found. Twenty years later, Rob Ryan, the surviving child, investigates a similar case in the same location. As he delves into the new murder, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.
Learned by Heart
“Immersive, heart wrenching, and meticulously researched, Learned by Heart is everything fans of historical fiction are looking for. Arserio’s narration brought the text to life in an almost dreamlike way. I couldn’t have loved it more.”
— Sarah • Parnassus Books
Find more audiobooks, including Room, by Emma Donoghue.
Browse Libro.fm’s audiobooks by Irish authors
What’s your top pick for an audiobook by an Irish author?
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