535

Over the years, my family has collected a lot of books about Ireland. Whenever we come home from traveling, our suitcases are stuffed with books. It’s always exciting to see if our bags are going to make the weight limit!

The kids get age-appropriate books about Ireland for Saint Patrick’s Day each year. Because Irish and Scots-Irish history is a special interest of mine, I generally pick up something for myself, too!

There’s no shortage of books about Ireland to choose from. In this list, I give you recommendations all pulled straight from our home bookshelves (or e-readers, in a couple of cases). You’re sure to find something you’ll love–for yourself and for any lucky folks on your gift list.

DISCLOSURE: This page may contain affiliate links. This means if you click on a link to a product or service and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no cost to you. I choose affiliates with care and appreciate your supporting my work in this way. See Disclaimers and Affiliates for more information.

---

15 Favorite Books About Ireland

I’ve divided this list roughly by recommended reading/age level, but don’t let that confine you. I’m a big believer that books are for the person reading them. We get different things out of books at different times in our lives.

---

Board Books About Ireland

Who says babies and toddlers are too young for history?

Not I! My toddler received these for his first and second Saint Patrick’s Days. He LOVES them. Seriously, he reads them over and over and over…and over.

I love this entire series. The Good Night books do such a wonderful job of introducing people, places, and concepts. I didn’t know Dublin was founded by Vikings until I read about it in a Good Night book.

1. Good Night Ireland

2. Good Night Dublin

---

Picture Books About Ireland

3. Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland

There are many picture books about Saint Patrick, but this is my favorite. Tomie dePaola’s author’s note about how he first encountered Saint Patrick at mass with his Irish-American maternal grandfather is a special treat.

4. Rónán and the Mermaid: A Tale of Old Ireland

Author Marianne McShane is a seanchaí, or traditional storyteller. This story is based on a legend set in the town of Bangor on the County Down coast. It’s a lovely book, and it’s extra-special to me because it’s a tale from my late Irish great-aunt’s hometown. I wonder if she knew this story. I wish I could ask her about it.

|Related: Saint Patrick’s Day Traditions: What I Learned at the Saint Patrick Centre in County Down

---

Chapter Books About Ireland

The Magic Tree House is the #1 best-selling chapter book series ever. Siblings Jack and Annie travel back in time on a series of missions and learn history along the way.

5. Viking Ships at Sunrise (Magic Tree House #15)

The original series is aimed at readers who are just starting to read chapter books. In this one, Jack and Annie arrive at an island monastery of Ancient Ireland at the same time as some invading Vikings!

6. Leprechaun in Late Winter (Magic Tree House Merlin Missions #15)

The Merlin Missions series is for readers experienced with chapter books. In this one, Jack and Annie meet the famous folklorist Lady Gregory as a little girl and help inspire her mission of preserving Irish folklore and heritage.

7. Leprechauns and Irish Folklore (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Nonfiction Companion to Leprechaun in Late Winter)

I love the Fact Tracker companions! At just over 100 pages, these books provide a lot of information in a bite-sized package. They aren’t just for kids. My daughter received the three Magic Tree House books listed here for Saint Patrick’s Day last year. I think this one was her favorite. It was definitely mine.

---

Folklore Books About Ireland

8. North of Ireland Folk Tales for Children

My daughter and I read this book together. Then we turned right around and read it straight through a second time. Then we had to read our favorites over again. If I’ve read “King Brian Boru’s Talking Toes” once, I’ve read it a hundred times. Well, maybe not literally a hundred, but at least a dozen.

I picked up our copy in Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Doreen McBride is a seanchaí, or traditional storyteller, from Ulster, the northernmost province of Ireland. (Ulster crosses national boundaries and is composed of the six counties of Northern Ireland and three from the Republic.)

9. Ireland’s Animals: Myths, Legends and Folklore

I grabbed this book at Craggaunowen Castle and Crannog, an open-air archaeological museum and interpretive site in County Clare. I love animals, and I love stories about animals, so it was a natural choice.

It reads like an encyclopedia in that there are different entries for each animal. You can skip around if you like, rather than reading straight through. The animals are organized by the element they most identify with: air, fire, earth, or water.

10. Irish Folk and Fairytales

This is another of my finds from Ballycastle. It’s a lovely collection of the work of some of the best folklorists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

11. The O’Brien Book of Irish Fairy Tales and Legends

Shhh…This is my daughter’s Saint Patrick’s Day gift this year. It contains ten beautifully illustrated stories directed at the 8-12 year-old reader. I can’t wait to give it to her because I’m excited to read it!

|Related: Prince Caspian: Irish History in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia

---

Historical Fiction Books About Ireland

12. The Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga (#1)

Edward Rutherford has made a career of writing doorstop-size sweeping family sagas based in locations all over the world. I love how he follows several families through the centuries.

The Princes of Ireland carries readers through several hundred years of pre-Christian and medieval Irish history. It is also published as Dublin.

13. The Rebels of Ireland: The Dublin Saga (#2)

The Rebels of Ireland chronicles the lives and fortunes of several families from the religious wars of the 1500s to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. It is also published as Ireland Awakening.

14. What the Wind Knows

I have this book on my e-reader and I’m going to buy a hard copy, I love it so much. I read this historical fiction/time travel/romance when it first came out in 2019, and I think about it often. If you love Outlander, you need to check this one out. It centers around the bloodshed and intrigue of the movements for Irish independence in the 1910s-1920s.

---

Books About Ireland: Historical Survey

15. A Brief History of Ireland

This is my go-to historical survey. If you’re ready to push past the myths and legends and nostalgia and get down to some real historical understanding, start here.

---

Which books about Ireland will you read next?

Which books about Ireland interest you? Can I answer any questions about them? Do you have any favorite books about Ireland I should check out?

Let me know in the comments, and check out the full list below.

---

Pin it for later!