Lá Fhéile Pádraig!

I was never particularly patriotic until I became an immigrant. Something about leaving home puts the rose coloured glasses on, and it’s very easy to get misty eyed about Ireland when you don’t live there. The things I love most about home completely eclipse the things I don’t like so much, but I’m particularly upset by the way consecutive governments have made it impossible to just live in Ireland, especially as a single person.

Anyway, the things I love about home are obvious. The people are genuinely warm, charming, beautiful and funny. The reason Irish writing is so good is that there’s an inherent intellectualism to Irish society. We love to talk about everything, learn more, and we deeply value our culture. The food quality and expertise is the best in the world. Nature in Ireland is truly healing. John O’Donohue speaks beautifully about Celtic wisdom and how the land can nurture us, and I really do believe in the spiritual salvation found in nature.

If you’re not familiar with Irish writing, some of my top picks are below. I’m spending today and the rest of the weekend in rural Cork, healing myself with fresh air and nature. The perfect way to celebrate Ireland, in my opinion,

1. Dubliners by James Joyce

2. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

3. Selected New Poems by Seamus Heaney

4. Short stories by Oscar Wilde

5. Tender by Belinda McKeon

6. Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes

7. Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

8. The Country Girls by Edna O’Brien

9. The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín

10. Goodnight Sisters by Nell McCafferty

And ten Irish books that I want to read, but haven’t yet.

1. At Swim Two Boys by Jamie O’Neill

2. Rememberings by Sinéad O’Connor

3. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

4. Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy

5. A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

6. Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams

7. The Spinning Heart by Dónal Ryan

8. Ruth and Pen by Emilie Pine

9. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

10. Nora by Nuala O’Connor