is renowned for its many remarkable feats. Top of the pile is the star-studded list of famous authors who have written excellent award-winning books. In this website, you will find all the information you need on the famous Irish authors, their books and what inspired the masterpieces.
Basic Information About Ireland
Ireland is Europe’s biggest island and the 10th largest on the globe. It measures about 70,273 km and has a population of 4.6 million people according to the latest census conducted in 2011. Ireland’s official languages are English and Irish. The country has a vibrant culture, a factor that has inspired its many authors over the years. The Irish people are proud of their heritage, and this is seen in their fervent support for their football teams, the pride of being the home of Guinness, the legendary stout beer and of course their ardent devotion to the books penned by its famous sons and daughters.
Prominent Irish Writers and Books
Ireland has produced many of the outstanding authors the world has ever seen. Their literary works have become a mainstay of bookshelves in most libraries globally. The themes are varied; from relationships, societal conflict, family issues and governance. The writers have picked these themes and written publications that have inspired generations of both Irish and non-Irish people. University literature departments have become accustomed to these books and rarely does a student step out of the institution without borrowing a book by an Irish author. To say that Irish authors have dominated the literary scene would not be an understatement. Read a review of some of the following authors.
James Joyce, the author of the masterpiece Ulysses, is recognised among the most celebrated writers of his generation. Born in 1882, Joyce penned Ulysses over a record seven years, but the wait and the effort were worth it. One of the book’s main characters, Leonard Bloom, is behind the Bloomsday festival celebrated on June 16, perhaps an indication of the immense contribution of Joyce to Ireland’s cultural landscape. Other works by Joyce include Dubliners and Finnegans Wake.
Jonathan Swift represents a calibre of outstanding Irish satirists. Jonathan’s books include A Tale of a Tub, A Journal to Stella and the Verses on the Death of Dr Swift. But Swift is well remembered for Gulliver’s Travels, a book tracing the encounters of a shipwrecked man with various species of people. Swift’s literary style has been described as bold, mildly ironical and often comical.
Oscar Wilde is among the Irish authors well regarded and known outside of Ireland. Wilde’s works cover a litany of short stories, poems and a children’s collection. His works have been present in the school curriculum for primary education, high-level literature students and book lovers. Wilde’s most outstanding works comprise of The Importance of Being Earnest, A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband. Wilde was imprisoned for the offence of indecency, but this did not stop him as he went on to pen The Ballad of Reading Gaol narrating his prison experience.
WB Yeats is arguably the most prominent poet from the shores of Ireland. Yeats may have been unlucky with his romantic life, but that did not stop his literary juices from flowing. His rejected marriage proposals became an inspiration to his works which include; Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven and The Lake Isle of Innisfree. Yeats became the first Irish national to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Maeve Binchy is among the foremost writers of modern Ireland. Binchy is by all accounts, a prolific author with 16 novels and other works to her name. Her writing is described as vividly descriptive with unexpected endings. Binchy’s publications include Tara Road, Deeply Regretted By and Circle of Friends.