Irish Writers of the Fantastic

On St. Patrick’s Day I decided to spend my time not drinking Guinness, but instead promoting Irish Writers of the Fantastic on both Twitter and Facebook. While I’m not convinced there is a “tradition” of Irish fantastic literature—that is to say a relatively unbroken chain of influence from one writer to the next—Ireland has consistently produced authors whose works have proved to be singular contributions of international importance. Unfortunately, some of these authors are given short shrift in Ireland—even those authors otherwise widely recognised abroad.

Here is the list that I compiled. It is by no means complete or definitive (and at one point in particular even quite self-indulgent). There is a comments section down there too, so no reason you can’t add to the list if you feel I’ve overlooked someone important.

And as a reminder, anyone who would like to learn more about Irish writers of the fantastic, I encourage you to check out The Green Book, a journal started specifically to explore these authors and their works.

    

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)—Gulliver’s Travels (1726) #IrishFantasy

   

Thomas Leland (1722-1785)—Longsword (1762) #IrishGothic

    

Charles Maturin (1782-1824)—Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) #IrishGothic

    

Henry Ferris (1802-1848)—“A Night in a Haunted House” (1848) #IrishHorror

    

J.S. Le Fanu (1814-1873)—In a Glass Darkly (1872) #IrishGothic

    

William Allingham (1824-1889)—“The Faeries” (1850) #IrishFantasy

    

Fitz-James O’Brien (1828-1862)—“What Was It?” (1859) #IrishSF

    

Charlotte Riddell (1832-1906)—The Uninhabited House (1875) #IrishHorror

    

Rosa Mulholland (1841-1921)—“Not to be Taken at Bed-time” (1865) #IrishHorror

    

Bram Stoker (1847-1912)—Dracula (1897) #IrishHorror

    

Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904)—Kwaidan (1903) #IrishHorror

    

Lady Gregory (1852-1932)—Gods and Fighting Men (1904) #IrishMythology

    

George Russell (AE) (1853-1935)—The Candle of Vision (1918) #IrishMysticism

    

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)—The Picture of Dorian Grey (1890) #Irish Horror

    

Cheiro (1866-1936)—A Study of Destiny (1898) #IrishOccult

  

Forrest Reid (1875-1947)—Uncle Stephen (1931) #IrishFantasy

    

Lord Dunsany (1878-1957)—The Gods of Pegana (1905) #IrishFantasy

    

James Stephens (1882-1950)—The Crock of Gold (1912) #IrishFantasy

    

Dorothy Macardle (1889-1958)—The Uninvited (1941) #IrishSupernatural

Oliver Sherry (1894-1971)—Mandrake (1929) #IrishHorror

    

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)—The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1949) #Irish Fantasy

    

Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973)—The Demon Lover (1945) #IrishSupernatural

    

Mervyn Wall (1908-1997)—The Unfortunate Fursey (1946) #IrishFantasy

    

Flann O’Brian (1911-1966)—The Third Policeman (1939) #IrishSF

    

Peter Tremayne (1943-)—Aisling (1992) #IrishSupernatural

    

Celine Kiernan (1967-)—The Poison Throne (2008) #IrishFantasy

  

John Connolly (1968-)—Nocturnes (2004) #IrishSupernatural

    

Conor McPherson (1971-)—The Weir (1992) #IrishSupernatural

  

C.E. Murphy (1973)—Urban Shaman (2005) #IrishFantasy

    

Maura McHugh—Róisín Dubh (2011) #IrishFantasy

    

Lynda E. Rucker—The Moon Will Look Strange (2013) #IrishSupernatural

   

Brian J. Showers (1977-)—The Bleeding Horse (2008) #IrishSupernatural

  

Martin Hayes (1978-)—Wandering the Waste (2013) #IrishOccult