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Ireland is not a country of leprechauns and druids
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A Short History of Irish LiteratureA Short History of Irish Literature by Seamus Deane
Buy used from: $17.17
If you want to know anything about Irish literature, start here.
Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses [Revised and Expanded Edition]Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses [Revised and Expanded Edition] by James Joyce
Buy used from: $7.28
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin Classics)A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin Classics) by James Joyce
Buy new: $7.70 / Used from: $1.19
Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two ActsWaiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts by Samuel Beckett
Buy new: $9.10 / Used from: $0.01
Amongst WomenAmongst Women by John McGahern
Buy used from: $2.54
Great novel about the psyche of the post-Independence generation and about gender relations.
The Blackwater Lightship: A NovelThe Blackwater Lightship: A Novel by Colm Toibin
Buy new: $10.80 / Used from: $1.74
Reading in the Dark: A NovelReading in the Dark: A Novel by Seamus Deane
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $0.01
The Speckled People: A Memoir of a Half-Irish ChildhoodThe Speckled People: A Memoir of a Half-Irish Childhood by Hugo Hamilton
Buy new: $13.25 / Used from: $1.44
The Barrytown TrilogyThe Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle
Buy new: $13.50 / Used from: $1.39
In terms of contemporary Irish literature, Doyle must be read. Also recommend A Star Called Henry, Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha, The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, and Paula Spencer.
The Butcher BoyThe Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe
Buy new: $11.25 / Used from: $0.01
Also by McCabe, Breatfast on Pluto is worth a read.
Eureka Street: A Novel of Ireland Like No OtherEureka Street: A Novel of Ireland Like No Other by Robert McLiam Wilson
Buy used from: $0.25
Plays: "Philadelphia, Here I Come!", "The Freedom of the City", "Living Quarters", "Aristocrats", "Faith Healer", "Translations" v. 1 (Faber Contemporary Classics)Plays: "Philadelphia, Here I Come!", "The Freedom of the City", "Living Quarters", "Aristocrats", "Faith Healer", "Translations" v. 1 (Faber Contemporary Classics) by Brian Friel
Buy used from: $14.50
Brian Friel is perhaps the major Irish playwright since the founding of the Republic.
Plays: "Mary and Lizzie", "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me", "Dolly West's Kitchen", "The Bird Sanctuary" v. 2 (Contemporary classics)Plays: "Mary and Lizzie", "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me", "Dolly West's Kitchen", "The Bird Sanctuary" v. 2 (Contemporary classics) by Frank McGuinness
Buy used from: $39.80
The Last SeptemberThe Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
Buy new: $10.04 / Used from: $3.46
Disco Pigs and Sucking Dublin (Nick Hern Books)Disco Pigs and Sucking Dublin (Nick Hern Books) by Enda Walsh
Buy new: $16.20 / Used from: $10.21
Opened Ground: Selected Poems, 1966-1996Opened Ground: Selected Poems, 1966-1996 by Seamus Heaney
Buy new: $12.24 / Used from: $3.72
Poems 1968-1998Poems 1968-1998 by Paul Muldoon
Buy new: $15.60 / Used from: $3.95
An Origin Like Water: Collected Poems 1967-1987An Origin Like Water: Collected Poems 1967-1987 by Eavan Boland
Buy new: $15.95 / Used from: $3.51
Ireland: A Social and Cultural History 1922-2001Ireland: A Social and Cultural History 1922-2001 by Terence Brown
Buy new: $13.26 / Used from: $5.14
Theorizing Ireland (Readers in Cultural Criticism)Theorizing Ireland (Readers in Cultural Criticism)
Buy new: $42.00 / Used from: $22.95
The Irish Novel at the End of the Twentieth Century: Gender, Bodies, and PowerThe Irish Novel at the End of the Twentieth Century: Gender, Bodies, and Power by Jennifer M. Jeffers
Buy new: $29.00 / Used from: $7.40
Armed Struggle: The History of the IRAArmed Struggle: The History of the IRA by Richard English
Buy new: $26.95 / Used from: $15.36
Ten Men Dead: The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger StrikeTen Men Dead: The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike by David Beresford
Buy new: $11.48 / Used from: $3.07
Noisy Island: A Short History of Irish Popular MusicNoisy Island: A Short History of Irish Popular Music by Gerry Smyth
Buy new: $25.00 / Used from: $8.41
Beautiful Day: 40 years of Irish RockBeautiful Day: 40 years of Irish Rock by Sean Campbell
Buy new: $42.95 / Used from: $2.89
The Quiet Man (Collector's Edition)The Quiet Man (Collector's Edition)
Buy new: $9.49 / Used from: $4.99
Odd Man OutOdd Man Out
Buy used from: $59.99
The Crying GameThe Crying Game
Buy used from: $4.25
My Left Foot (Special Edition)My Left Foot (Special Edition)
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $8.98
The Commitments (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)The Commitments (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Buy new: $20.49 / Used from: $11.10
The Best of RiverdanceThe Best of Riverdance
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The Magdalene SistersThe Magdalene Sisters
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Michael CollinsMichael Collins
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IntermissionIntermission
Buy new: $13.49 / Used from: $0.88
Breakfast on PlutoBreakfast on Pluto
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The Wind That Shakes the BarleyThe Wind That Shakes the Barley
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Father Ted - The Holy TrilogyFather Ted - The Holy Trilogy
Buy used from: $67.98
Less academically valid, but very telling about the Ireland's relationship with the church. Also, hilarious.