What was your favourite Irish book of the year?

2025 was a year of incredible books, but I've somehow whittled my list down to five favourites, and these are the Irish books you need to read. Trust me when I say you won't regret picking up one (or all) of these books.

Our Song by Anna Carey

Anna Carey's writing is good for your soul, and this is the perfect book to read to bring some light back into life during the miserable winter evenings. Our Song follows former musician Laura, whose life is not going according to plan. However, everything changes when her former bandmate, and now world-famous musician, Tadhg, comes back into her life, and leaves her wondering if he deserves a second chance.

Our Song is charming, nostalgic and beautifully honest. It's a love story full of reality, and one you'll undoubtedly adore reading.

Thirst Trap by Gráinne O'Hare

If you're a fan of Dolly Alderton or Caroline O'Donoghue, then run to your nearest bookshop to get a copy of Thirst Trap. This engrossing story by Gráinne O'Hare is an essential read for Irish women, particularly those in their late 20s and 30s. It follows a group of three friends as they try to navigate life after the tragic and untimely passing of their friend. It's incredibly touching, beautifully relatable, and one book I found weirdly soothing to read.

Let Me Go Mad In My Own Way by Elaine Feeney

Elaine Feeney is a force to be reckoned with. Let Me Go Mad In My Own Way was one of the most talked-about books of 2025, and it deserves every bit of praise and then some. The award-winning novel follows Claire O'Connor as she returns home to the West of Ireland from London to care for her dying father, only for ex-boyfriend Tom to resurface nearby.

The walls of Claire's family home hold haunting stories of her family's past, and secrets she needs to learn to move forward with her life. Let Me Go Mad In My Own Way is a masterpiece, and you're seriously missing out if you've not read it yet.

Some Of This Is True by Michelle McDonagh

We were spoiled for choice with thrillers this year, but Some Of This Is True stole the show for me. I am slightly biased as the novel is set in Blarney, where my family comes from, but this is a gripping and thrilling novel that you won't be able to put down.

On an icy morning in January, a body is discovered at the bottom of the Wishing Steps at Blarney Castle, seemingly the tragic death by falling of a young tourist, Jessie DeMarco.

Locals believe it was a tragic accident, but everything changes when Jessie's mother, Dani, arrives from America to identify her daughter's body, and brings the truth about Jessie's father with her.

Show Me Where It Hurts by Claire Gleeson

Show Me Where It Hurts was my standout Irish read of 2025. It is one of those books that'll stay with you long after reading it, almost like the story is haunting you, but in the best way.

The devastating novel follows Rachel as she tries to survive the unsurvivable after her husband runs the family car off the road, seeking to end his own life, and take his wife and children with him.

Rachel is left to pore over the wreckage to try and understand what happened - to find a way to go on living afterwards.

It is a distressing and heartwrenching book, but a story you need to read if you haven't already. You'll regret not reading Show Me Where It Hurts.