Reading Ireland Month 2019 – coming to a blog near you soon!
It’s that time again! March is coming, my favourite month in my blogging calendar, because it’s Reading Ireland Month – will you be joining us?
Ah, gwan, ya will!
By now you’ll know that we never stop banging on about Ireland and its hefty cultural punch. Four Nobel Prize winners; six Booker Prize winners, including Anna Burns wonderful win for Milkman; some world dominating musicians and a host of Oscar winners (with The Favourite, produced by Irish company Element Picture’s bagging all the nominations at this year’s awards)
We have the best pint in the world and the most stunning coastline – you could even say it’s in a galaxy far, far away.

Last year we hosted over 100 posts on all things relating to Irish culture. Books, food, travel, movies, theatre and favourite bookshops – your enthusiasm was boundless and so was your reading.
To celebrate the wealth and breadth and general awesomeness of Irish cultural life, I will be co-hosting a month long celebration of all things Irish, with my partner in crime Raging Fluff.
Reading Ireland Month (or The Begorrathon as it is affectionately known) will feature book and film reviews, poems, music, interviews, giveaways and much, much more.
We’d love for you to join us!
Grab our new badge and get planning your Ireland themed reading or viewing. Like our Facebook page here and then between 25 February and 31 March, post as much as you like about any aspect of Irish literature and culture – anything at all!
Read this year’s One City One Book choice The Country Girls by Edna O’Brien. Post your wheaten bread recipe. Make a list of your favourite Irish books or movies. Eat a packet of Tayto crisps. Listen to The Cranberries and marvel at the brilliance of the much-missed Dolores O’Riordan. Read a novel by Sebastian Barry – the new Irish Laureate for Literature, or even read a novel from another country translated by the marvellous Sligo born Frank Wynne.

Watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi and marvel at our countryside. Read some of last year’s award winning new fiction from Sally Rooney (Normal People) and Emilie Pine (Notes to Self). If you’re feeling brave, read Ulysses – some year, I swear I will. Treat yourself to a binge watch of the latest hit comedy Derry Girls or The Young Offenders.
The options are endless!
This year, I am theming my posts – you can join in with this schedule if you like, but if you don’t, don’t worry! My reading will be grouped as follows:
25th February – 3rd March – Contemporary Irish Novels
4th– 10th March – Classic Irish Novels
11th – 17th March – Irish Short Story Collections
18th – 24th March – Irish Non-Fiction
25th – 31st March – Miscellaneous (Drama, Poetry, Film etc)
I’ll be hosting a giveaway each week and we’ll be sharing posts on our Facebook page here.
If you need some inspiration, check out my list of 100 Irish Novels and 100 Novels by Irish Women Writers and don’t forget to link up your post to the Linky on our Master Post.
This year we’ll be tweeting using the hashtags #readingirelandmonth19 or #begorrathon19
Now. After all that, would you like a wee cup of tea?!
Ireland Month Irish Literature #begorrathon19 irish literature reading ireland month 19
Cathy746books View All →
I am a 40 something book buying addict trying to reduce the backlog one book at a time!
Been looking forward to this! Thanks, Cathy!
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Brilliant Peggy x
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I really hope to join in on this in some small way this year, even though I’ve committed to Dewithon19. But I’m inspired by this post!
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I hope you can!
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Sure an’ all I will. And maybe see you at the Belfast Crimefest in March? I’ll be travellin’ there from over the water!
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Oh brilliant! I’m booked for Friday night and Saturday morning for Noireland!
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I’m in! I’ve got a number of contemporary and classic novels in my TBR to get me started. I never consciously sought out Irish authors, but looking at your 100 Novels list I realize that I’ve read quite a few and have others in my “want to read” lists.
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I promise I will go through my TBR and if there is anything Irish on there I will join in. There will be an Iris Murdoch read and she considered herself Irish all her life, although I’m never sure she REALLY counts …
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I count her Liz – you know how easy I am with rules!
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I’ve already got Milkman and Normal People on my list, and I just read In the Woods. The Gathering is also languishing on my shelf. I’ll join you if I can!
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Please do! I loved In The Woods and The Gathering is great too.
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Love it! If I can get a pc / laptop in time i’m in ! Just can’t do it on a mobile! And thanks for the wee cup 😊
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Brilliant! I’ve tried posting from my phone before – it doesn’t work!
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I’m SO EXCITED for this! I have an entire shelf dedicated to Irish lit so narrowing down my options is going to be rough, and hopefully fun!
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Brilliant Rachel, can’t wait to see your choices x
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Woo hoo! I love the themed weeks! I’m hatching a little theme of my own, I think…
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Ooh! Exciting!
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No promises, but I shall try. I have books by Molly Keane, Kate O Brien and Mary Lavin tbr plus some Elizabeth Bowen short stories (does she count?) so have a few things to choose from.
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Elizabeth Bowen counts for sure! I’m hoping to read The Ante Room by Kate O’Brien – it will be my first time reading her work.
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That’s on my short-list too! I read her first novel last year. She’s not a favourite, but I find her interesting!
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I’m really hoping to be able to join in this time. Fingers crossed. x
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Yay!
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I’ve actually held to my blogging schedule this year (I should tone down the celebration, it’s only been a month!) so I’m more optimistic about being able to participate this year than last!
If I start reading now, I should be able to get some reviews together by March… 🙂
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Brilliant! I’ve started my reading already too!
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Hooray! I’ll be joining in. Like you, one year I’ll make it to Ulysses…. probably not this year though!
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I nearly planned a Ulysses readalong for this year maybe I’ll get organised and do it next year!!
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That’s probably the incentive I need – to know I’m not alone 😀
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I am looking forward to this, Cathy! Count me in 🙂 I loved the themed weeks, and I will be posting about my TBR later this month.
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That’s great Juliana – can’t wait to see your choices!
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I would like to try and read a couple by Irish Authors in March. I do have a couple by Tana French and I am sure I have some other contemporary ones.
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hey, Carla, i’m participating this year as well–last year sorta unofficially. late to the party as usual. this year i’m gearing up! will be watching for yours!
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I am reading The Quentins right now by Maeve Binchy. This is a poolside read, so it has been taking awhile, but I am savouring all the descriptions.
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Cathy, it will be a struggle this year (so many things happenign in this first few months of the 2019) but I’m planning to join once more. I’d hate to miss it!
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Count me in again! I’ve made a list, which is always useful, as I can then find every other book, not so-listed, more enticing! 🙂
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Brilliant, thank you!
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Looking forward to participating this year, Cathy! Putting together my list right now, and excited to follow your updates in March.
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Great stuff Michael – look forward to seeing your choices!
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Can’t wait! So much to celebrate. I’ll be doing my annual parade for St Patrick series featuring a song (or two) a poem and a painting and will send you the links.
Best regards
Thom.
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Brilliant Thom, thanks!
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I enjoyed The Wych Elm bt Tana French so much! But, then again, all of her books have thrilled me. And John Banville…what a lovely stack you’ve pictured for this challenge!
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I agree about Tana French – she’s fantastic! I haven’t got round to reading them all yet, but I have a few of them lined up for review next month.
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My favorite of all is The Secret Place; I thought her characterization and dialogue were beyond brilliant!
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I haven’t read that one yet! I must see if I can squeeze it in before the end of the month!
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Already started–I’m on it! Will be posting my first book on Sunday, However, I plan to ck your listing and will choose from that as well as the books I already have lined up along with an interview. Fun! Thanks for hosting!
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Thanks for taking part! Can’t wait to see your choices.
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