Survey ranks 50 top Irish books

The Irish Times has released a list of the 50 best books written in Irish since 2000. The survey aims to address a gap identified by Irish speakers after a previous study of Irish fiction included no titles in the Irish language.

Last year, The Irish Times published a list of the 100 best works of Irish fiction of the century. That survey focused on English-language works. While some selectors on that panel were native Irish speakers, most were not. This imbalance placed Irish-language titles at a disadvantage despite a growing publishing industry for younger readers.

To create this new list, the newspaper invited 35 experts to name their 25 favorite titles. The experts considered works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for both children and adults. A staff member named Cian Traynor compiled a reference list of more than 400 works to assist the selectors. Writers could not nominate their own books.

The final list includes 50 titles. The results show a strong presence of prose, a genre that has historically trailed poetry in Irish. The list features historical themes, reflecting a renewed interest in the language's past.

Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin won the top spot with Madame Lazare. The novel is set in the Aran Islands, London during World War II, Paris, and Brussels. Darach Ó Scolaí took second place with Bódléar. He has three books on the top 50 list. Liam Mac Cóil placed third with An Litir, the first book of a historical trilogy. All three books from that trilogy appear on the list, along with a fourth title by Mac Cóil.

Biddy Jenkinson has four titles in the top 50. Micheál Ó Conghaile and Diarmuid Johnson each have three. The list includes works from publishers such as Leabhar Breac, Cló Iar-Chonnacht, and Coiscéim. Rita agus an tEachtrán by Máire Zepf, the best-selling Irish-language title of the year with over 2,000 copies sold, is not on the list. The survey did not fully reflect the strength of Irish-language children's literature.

The Irish-language magazine Comhar recently published its own list of titles. The Irish Times thanked Tristan Rosenstock and Bridget Bhreathnach for their help in compiling this survey. The list serves as a reading guide for those looking to practice the language or explore its literary culture.

The top 10 positions were filled by a mix of novels and poetry. Caitríona Ní Chléirchín ranked 50th with Rince Aeir. Her first collection won first prize in the Oireachtas competition for new writers in 2010. The list concludes with EL by Thaddeus Ó Buachalla, which was named the 2022 Irish Language Book of the Year.