A Cultured Christmas: 10 books to dive into over the holidays

Generational connections, the power of difference, noise-rock amid the Troubles, and the words of Leeside writers: Mike McGrath-Bryan takes a look at a cross-section of Irish literary endeavour in 2020.

Doireann Ni Ghriofa: deftness and vision. Pic: Brid O'Donovan

Doireann Ni Ghriofa - A Ghost in the Throat (Tramp Press) 

With the same deftness and vision with which she has brought a distinguished body of poetry to life, Corkonian Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s prose debut comes through the filter of autofiction, her own literary discovery, and the deep connection that art fosters between generations. A troubled young mother finds a poem written by a 1700s noblewoman after her husband’s death, which compels her to uncover the layers of history that surround it.