The 30 best Cork books of 2025: Fiction, history, memoirs, and more....
Mary MacSwiney by Leeann Lane, Disaster Dad by Donncha O'Callahan, and Camarade by Theo Dorgan, are among the top 30 list.
Equally at home with prose as he is with poetry, the distinguished Cork writer’s latest novel, from the city publishing house Mercier, was recently named on the longlist for the prestigious Dublin Literary Award. Set between Paris and Cork, the ‘philosophical thriller’ follows an Irish exile in the French capital city who is forced to confront a violent act in his past when he begins writing his memoir.
The English author returned to her ancestral home of west Cork to write this ambitious and accomplished novel, featuring the alternating narratives of two Donegal sisters Máire and Róisín and the generations that come after. It opens in New York on 9/11, as teenager Cora, in the middle of an acid trip, realises that her Irish father will not be returning home from his job at the World Trade Center.
There will be plenty of resonances for Cork readers in this powerful debut novel set in the seaside village of Crosshaven, which is also where the author grew up. Oisín returns from Brazil with his wife and daughter, looking to rebuild a life in Ireland and reconnect with his mother, Brigid, who has early onset Alzheimer’s. As her condition progresses, she begins to speak Irish, the language of her youth, and reflect on her childhood.
The prolific Cork writer returns with the compelling story of an acclaimed writer who must face up to a story he has kept secret his whole life. Jim Winter sets up an online writers group during the pandemic, and finds himself drawn into a tangled web of fear and deceit.
In the follow-up to her successful debut novel, Last Chance in Paris, the Bishopstown writer explores identity, family and belonging, in a novel inspired by her own move from Dublin to Cork as a young child. Maeve Gaffney relocates to a small West Cork town to in pursuit of her lost love and secret father of her daughter. The fact that he’s married is only the start of it.
The Glanmire writer scored a big critical success with this ambitious novel paying homage to the golden age of detective fiction, and just as in those mysteries, all is not as it first appears on the surface, as the all too real spectres of grief and delusion rear their head.
As a student in Carrigaline Community School, Cullen developed a strong interest in social justice, corresponding with an inmate on Death Row and going on to work as a guidance counsellor in Scotland. Her debut novel is about a teenage boy who is arrested after his school catches fire, and aims to highlight the challenges faced by children who have been in care.
The Cork author is one of the best in the business and she strikes again in this fiendishly plotted thriller. Emily Joyce is struggling to deliver her second book and is persuaded to write the memoirs of a suspected killer. She doesn’t know who she can trust as the suspense builds to a fiery conclusion in Florida.
The Waterford native and solicitor has become an expert at excavating the seamier side of her adopted home of Cork in her addictive crime series featuring legal eagle Finn Fitzpatrick. This standalone book featuring new protagonist Detective Garda Alice McCann takes the concept literally, with a cold case inspired by the real-life discovery of skeletal remains in the city’s historic core at Barrack St.
Another detective at work in Cork, this time retired garda Julia Harte who is uprooted from her reclusive existence in a coastal village when a copycat killer strikes and she is called back to active duty.
It was a great year for the Mallow-born writer, with a big-budget screen adaptation of her hit book All Her Fault and a win at the An Post Irish Book Awards for It Should Have Been You. Mara comes up with another ingenious yet everyday premise — Susan triggers a series of unfortunate events when she accidentally posts a message for her sister on a neighbourhood WhatsApp group. Could happen to any of us… Some of This is True, Michelle McDonagh The Blarney-based writer keeps it local in her third novel. A young American women in search of her father in Ireland is found dead near the famous Blarney Castle. When her mother travels over to investigate, the accusations and recriminations begin.
In writing about the life of this remarkable but overlooked Corkwoman, historian Leeann Lane has performed a great service. A meticulously researched and engrossing portrait of the Republican activist, suffragette and educational pioneer.
It may be receding in the public memory but the civil war still casts a long shadow on our history. Using contemporary sources and first-hand accounts, many only recently made available, this book by engineer and local historian Anthony Barrett looks at the conflict’s impact in West Cork, when former comrades and family members were pitted against each other in the fight to establish the Irish Republic.
The long-time Schull resident and former press photographer shines a light on a region he says has often been obscured by myth and romanticisation. He uncovers overlooked aspects of the region’s history, from prehistoric structures and medieval trade to famine-era injustices. The book also includes many images of the area’s beautiful and unique landscape.
A fascinating look at the story behind the Irish retail chain, which began when Ben Dunne Snr opened his first shop on Patrick’s St in Cork. Drama, intrigue, business deals and drug busts, delivered with aplomb by the Cork broadcaster, this book has it all.
It has been a busy year for Cork University Press, which has been celebrating 100 years in existence this year. This publication features interviews conducted by social researcher O’Carroll with a selection of Irish women 30 years apart, capturing the societal changes they have witnessed from labour force participation to abortion legislation The Irish Pub, edited by Mooning Hong and Perry Share Another one from the slate of Cork University Press, this looks at how the Irish pub become a global symbol of Irishness, occupying a central position in our culture. Cork’s contribution comes from Tom Spalding and Gwen Scarbrough who showcase local institutions such as Callanan’s, The Castle Inn, Cissie Young’s, The Long Valley and the late lamented Sextant.
After making a TG4 documentary about the pioneering photographer brothers from Youghal, Clancy couldn’t let go of their story, and decided to compile this selection of their ground-breaking pictures. A precious glimpse into an Ireland that was disappearing even as they captured it on film.
An impressive exploration of Cork’s built history, an under-researched area and one that becomes increasingly important as we realise what can be lost or destroyed in the name of progress.
This beautifully illustrated publication showcases the work of the Hill architects who across three generations were responsible for much of Cork’s notable architecture, from the Crawford Art Gallery to faculty buildings in UCC and the Munster and Leinster (now AIB) on South Mall.
Jump on board for a rollicking ride through the ups and downs of rock 'n’ roll with the former member of Cork band Rubyhorse. The boys from Spioraid Naoimh went from doing soundchecks in Sir Henry’s in their school uniforms to signing with the same label as Dr Dre and Eminem and having George Harrison play on one of their tracks but the big time proved to be just out of reach.
The former Irish Examiner columnist, based in West Cork, is a wonderful writer with a gift for capturing the profound in the everyday. Both come together beautifully in this powerful and affecting story of a family coping with life-altering illness and adversity.
Celebrating 150 years of St Finbarr’s, known to all as the Barrs, the most successful dual club in GAA history, there will be many memories evoked in the pages of this book, for members and GAA fans across all clubs.
Following on from his previous bestselling book GAAconomics, which looked at money in the GAA, the Cork author and Irish Examiner columnist explores where the organisation is heading in the ever encroaching era of professionalism and a rapidly changing society.
With a foreword by Munster legend Paul O’Connell, this book relives the highlights of the province’s battles on the rugby pitch in the last 15 years.
A man who displayed his talents many times for Munster, O’Callaghan continues to entertain and delight his younger fans off the pitch with his hapless dad’s adventures. Chaos ensues as Dad desperately tries to outdo his rival at fun day.
Another instalment in the hugely popular series from the children’s author and teacher from Bandon. Milly dials up the scares at her school’s Halloween fundraiser, except as usual, things don’t quite go to plan
The Cork writer and poet is making a name for herself in the realm of middle-grade fiction and follows up her previous books Welcome to Dead Town, Raven McKay and Black Gables with the story of Clarabelle Graves who dreams of owning a special doll’s house. But what will happen if her dream comes true?
The Cork-based poet has been heralded as a resonant new voice, something which has been borne out in this debut collection, acclaimed for its maturity and style.
The young poet, originally from Lismore, Co Waterford and now living in Cork, already has a raft of accolades to her name. In her second collection, she continues to write honestly and fearlessly on topics from the housing crisis to the destruction of her family home in a fire.
A labour of love, 11 years in the making, the Douglas resident’s second collection intertwines the past and present through voices from history including Oliver Cromwell and Terence MacSwiney.
