Martin Doyle
@martindoyle.bsky.social
Books Editor of The Irish Times; author of Dirty Linen: The Troubles in My Home Place (Merrion Press)
Pinned
Martin Doyle
@martindoyle.bsky.social
· Dec 23
I have tried to record the toll the Troubles took on my neighbours, the long tail of trauma left beh...
The scale of the Northern conflict, more than 3,700 dead over 30 years in a population of just 1.5 million, is impossible to comprehend. I focused on my own parish
www.irishtimes.com
“Writing Dirty Linen brought me closer to my roots, helped me face almost forgotten fears. The low-level anxiety I lived with may have been all in my head but it wasn’t my imagination. I have sat with the people it actually happened to. They are my tribe.” www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
We asked the extraordinary and rightly celebrated author Marilynne Robinson to respond to events in Minneapolis. She immediately sent us a forceful and utterly direct cri de coeur. The Weekend Essay as.ft.com/r/afe4fee8-1...
Marilynne Robinson: The killings in Minneapolis
[FREE TO READ] As American cities have been left reeling by ICE federal agents, the acclaimed novelist explores the deeper conflict behind Donald Trump’s show of force
as.ft.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:51 AM
We asked the extraordinary and rightly celebrated author Marilynne Robinson to respond to events in Minneapolis. She immediately sent us a forceful and utterly direct cri de coeur. The Weekend Essay as.ft.com/r/afe4fee8-1...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
We are beyond delighted to announce that we are publishing the latest books from two amazing writers - Martin Doyle and Sue Rainsford! 🎉
A HOSTING: INTERVIEWS WITH IRISH WRITERS 1991-2025 by Martin Doyle is a collection of interviews with the best Irish writers, and a culmination of-
A HOSTING: INTERVIEWS WITH IRISH WRITERS 1991-2025 by Martin Doyle is a collection of interviews with the best Irish writers, and a culmination of-
January 30, 2026 at 4:43 PM
We are beyond delighted to announce that we are publishing the latest books from two amazing writers - Martin Doyle and Sue Rainsford! 🎉
A HOSTING: INTERVIEWS WITH IRISH WRITERS 1991-2025 by Martin Doyle is a collection of interviews with the best Irish writers, and a culmination of-
A HOSTING: INTERVIEWS WITH IRISH WRITERS 1991-2025 by Martin Doyle is a collection of interviews with the best Irish writers, and a culmination of-
Reposted by Martin Doyle
Jane Austen with a side of tinned meat - more Barbara Pym please and more @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social - thanks @irishtimes.com @martindoyle.bsky.social
Awesome writer Jan Carson @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social writes about awesome writer Barbara Pym.
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
Her dour, unflinching portraits of women doing their level best not to lose any part of themselves reek of real life
www.irishtimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:18 PM
Jane Austen with a side of tinned meat - more Barbara Pym please and more @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social - thanks @irishtimes.com @martindoyle.bsky.social
Zero tolerance for domestic violence vanishes when the accused is a garda
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...
Jennifer O'Connell: Zero tolerance for domestic violence vanishes when the accused is a garda
Margaret Loftus’s story is different because she and her tormentor were gardaí. He remains a member of the force
www.irishtimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Zero tolerance for domestic violence vanishes when the accused is a garda
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
This is very good
Literary criticism has not fared well in the economy of clicks and amid the rise of AI. Lydia Kiesling explains how the book review became book list slop.
List and Shout | Lydia Kiesling
The labor involved in making lists was as close to the opposite of a transcendent reading experience as a disillusioned culture worker could get.
thebaffler.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:22 PM
This is very good
Reposted by Martin Doyle
Awesome writer Jan Carson @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social writes about awesome writer Barbara Pym.
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
Her dour, unflinching portraits of women doing their level best not to lose any part of themselves reek of real life
www.irishtimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Awesome writer Jan Carson @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social writes about awesome writer Barbara Pym.
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
Lots of interesting lines in this:
“If you came from a working-class background you saw through the supposedly left progressivism that was determined to put manners on the working class because they hadn’t kept up with the latest codes and jargon."
“If you came from a working-class background you saw through the supposedly left progressivism that was determined to put manners on the working class because they hadn’t kept up with the latest codes and jargon."
Rob Doyle: ‘I’m 43, but I’m still going into my own guts and exposing the weird and the shameful stuff’. The author tells me about his multilayered new novel, Cameo, how he avoids making his working-class roots an ‘identity spectacle’ and why he quit alcohol
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Rob Doyle: ‘I’m 43, but I’m still going into my own guts and exposing the weird and the shameful stuff’
The Dublin author on his multilayered new novel, Cameo, how he avoids making his working-class roots an ‘identity spectacle’ and why he quit alcohol
www.irishtimes.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Lots of interesting lines in this:
“If you came from a working-class background you saw through the supposedly left progressivism that was determined to put manners on the working class because they hadn’t kept up with the latest codes and jargon."
“If you came from a working-class background you saw through the supposedly left progressivism that was determined to put manners on the working class because they hadn’t kept up with the latest codes and jargon."
Myles Dungan on former pupil Tom Dunne: ‘When I read his first essay I accused him of getting his big sister to write it’. The author on new book The Red Branch, his distaste for Tricolours in Kells, and why he, an atheist, converted to Church of Ireland
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Myles Dungan on former pupil Tom Dunne: ‘When I read his first essay I accused him of getting his big sister to write it’
The author (and one-time teacher) on new book The Red Branch, his distaste for Tricolours in Kells, and why he, an atheist, converted to Church of Ireland
www.irishtimes.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Myles Dungan on former pupil Tom Dunne: ‘When I read his first essay I accused him of getting his big sister to write it’. The author on new book The Red Branch, his distaste for Tricolours in Kells, and why he, an atheist, converted to Church of Ireland
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Rob Doyle: ‘I’m 43, but I’m still going into my own guts and exposing the weird and the shameful stuff’. The author tells me about his multilayered new novel, Cameo, how he avoids making his working-class roots an ‘identity spectacle’ and why he quit alcohol
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Rob Doyle: ‘I’m 43, but I’m still going into my own guts and exposing the weird and the shameful stuff’
The Dublin author on his multilayered new novel, Cameo, how he avoids making his working-class roots an ‘identity spectacle’ and why he quit alcohol
www.irishtimes.com
January 17, 2026 at 6:40 AM
Rob Doyle: ‘I’m 43, but I’m still going into my own guts and exposing the weird and the shameful stuff’. The author tells me about his multilayered new novel, Cameo, how he avoids making his working-class roots an ‘identity spectacle’ and why he quit alcohol
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Patrick Skene Catling, author and critic, dies aged 100. Best known for his debut, The Chocolate Touch (1952), the author lived in Ireland since 1972. He was still reviewing for The Irish Times into his 90s.
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Patrick Skene Catling, author and critic, dies aged 100
Best known for his debut, The Chocolate Touch (1952), the author lived in Ireland since 1972
www.irishtimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:20 PM
Patrick Skene Catling, author and critic, dies aged 100. Best known for his debut, The Chocolate Touch (1952), the author lived in Ireland since 1972. He was still reviewing for The Irish Times into his 90s.
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
If you’re free, in the vicinity and can’t think of a decent excuse, I look forward to seeing you at the launch of my new book at Hodges Figges in April. Photo: Eoin O’Mahony. Sullen expression: Model’s own. www.lilliputpress.ie/products/a-h...
January 16, 2026 at 4:11 PM
If you’re free, in the vicinity and can’t think of a decent excuse, I look forward to seeing you at the launch of my new book at Hodges Figges in April. Photo: Eoin O’Mahony. Sullen expression: Model’s own. www.lilliputpress.ie/products/a-h...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
"Jenrick" would be an excellent name for a Dickensian undertaker, all pallor and fawning, lurks a little too often around the coffins of the younger ladies
January 15, 2026 at 7:15 PM
"Jenrick" would be an excellent name for a Dickensian undertaker, all pallor and fawning, lurks a little too often around the coffins of the younger ladies
Reposted by Martin Doyle
Just to say the tickets for this are going so if you’d like to hear Iarla Ó Lionáird sing in the Heaney country, and me talk a little with @neilhegarty.bsky.social about the poet’s late work, we’d be glad to see you in Bellaghy of a Saturday night.
seamusheaneyhome.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
seamusheaneyhome.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
Ticketbooth
seamusheaneyhome.ticketsolve.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Just to say the tickets for this are going so if you’d like to hear Iarla Ó Lionáird sing in the Heaney country, and me talk a little with @neilhegarty.bsky.social about the poet’s late work, we’d be glad to see you in Bellaghy of a Saturday night.
seamusheaneyhome.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
seamusheaneyhome.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
Irish fiction debuts to look forward this year from Neil Tully, Ana Kinsella to Colin Morgan
Irish fiction debuts to look forward this year from Neil Tully, Ana Kinsella to Colin Morgan
‘I’m happy to say that rights have been optioned for TV’: A rich crop of fiction is set to emerge this year
www.irishtimes.com
January 14, 2026 at 3:47 AM
Irish fiction debuts to look forward this year from Neil Tully, Ana Kinsella to Colin Morgan
I hope some enterprising Irish and/or British publisher will seize the opportunity to publish this award-winning author’s latest novel on this side of the Atlantic.
Megawatty thank you for including my novel Library of Brothel in this gathering of fiction to look forward to in 2026. What a lovely surprise! My supplication is for curious minds. My gratitude and respect to people who have vision and imagination which others may lack. ❤️🌸
The best fiction of 2026 to look forward to: Books from Louise Kennedy, Donal Ryan, Sebastian Barry, Maggie O’Farrell, Keith Ridgway, Danielle McLaughlin, Louise Nealon, Sarah Gilmartin, Patrick Freyne, Liz Nugent, Jan Carson, Tana French, Kathleen MacMahon & more
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
January 12, 2026 at 7:40 AM
I hope some enterprising Irish and/or British publisher will seize the opportunity to publish this award-winning author’s latest novel on this side of the Atlantic.
Reposted by Martin Doyle
Grateful to see Late Heaney in the rich tapestry of non-fiction books coming out. It should be available the end of the month, with some launches to follow. Thanks as always @martindoyle.bsky.social, whose own book of interviews with writers is out this year too
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Nonfiction books coming in 2026: From a new memoir by Louise O’Neill to Roy Keane’s impact on modern Ireland
Among promising titles are a book about France’s dark side and Jon Ronson’s exploration of multimillionaires searching for meaning in New England
www.irishtimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:18 AM
Grateful to see Late Heaney in the rich tapestry of non-fiction books coming out. It should be available the end of the month, with some launches to follow. Thanks as always @martindoyle.bsky.social, whose own book of interviews with writers is out this year too
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
The best fiction of 2026 to look forward to: Books from Louise Kennedy, Donal Ryan, Sebastian Barry, Maggie O’Farrell, Keith Ridgway, Danielle McLaughlin, Louise Nealon, Sarah Gilmartin, Patrick Freyne, Liz Nugent, Jan Carson, Tana French, Kathleen MacMahon & more
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
The best fiction of 2026 to look forward to: Books from Louise Kennedy, Donal Ryan, Sebastian Barry and more
A comprehensive round-up of fiction from Irish and international authors due out this year
www.irishtimes.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:04 AM
The best fiction of 2026 to look forward to: Books from Louise Kennedy, Donal Ryan, Sebastian Barry, Maggie O’Farrell, Keith Ridgway, Danielle McLaughlin, Louise Nealon, Sarah Gilmartin, Patrick Freyne, Liz Nugent, Jan Carson, Tana French, Kathleen MacMahon & more
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
This photo of Pete Shelley by Denis O'Reagan has everything: Punk icon, Belfast and Charlie Witherspoon on the TV.
I love it so much.
I love it so much.
January 10, 2026 at 11:40 PM
This photo of Pete Shelley by Denis O'Reagan has everything: Punk icon, Belfast and Charlie Witherspoon on the TV.
I love it so much.
I love it so much.
Reposted by Martin Doyle
Genuinely honoured to be included in the @irishtimes.com round-up of books to look forward to in 2026. Deepest thanks to @martindoyle.bsky.social. The book, that Sagging Meniscus has made so beautiful, can be pre-ordered at www.thecoastofeverything.com
January 10, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Genuinely honoured to be included in the @irishtimes.com round-up of books to look forward to in 2026. Deepest thanks to @martindoyle.bsky.social. The book, that Sagging Meniscus has made so beautiful, can be pre-ordered at www.thecoastofeverything.com
Nonfiction books coming in 2026: Among promising titles are a book about France’s dark side and Jon Ronson’s exploration of multimillionaires searching for meaning in New England; plus new books by Katriona O’Sullivan, Rory Carroll and Sally Hayden
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Nonfiction books coming in 2026: From the Roy Keane effect to women sharing their unfiltered desires
Among promising titles are a book about France’s dark side and Jon Ronson’s exploration of multimillionaires searching for meaning in New England
www.irishtimes.com
January 10, 2026 at 10:31 AM
Nonfiction books coming in 2026: Among promising titles are a book about France’s dark side and Jon Ronson’s exploration of multimillionaires searching for meaning in New England; plus new books by Katriona O’Sullivan, Rory Carroll and Sally Hayden
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
Thanks @martindoyle.bsky.social for including a mention of Richard Heart Julianne in @irishtimes.com books round-up.
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Doolin Writers’ Weekend returns
Books newsletter: a wrap of the latest news and preview of tomorrow’s pages
www.irishtimes.com
January 10, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Thanks @martindoyle.bsky.social for including a mention of Richard Heart Julianne in @irishtimes.com books round-up.
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
'She was long in the body, but strong of limb and rib,
and her muscles moved under the skin
like currents in a bay of the river.
She was swift as the wind or as the summer swallow . . .'
from Sean Jennett's ‘I Was A Labourer’.
Photograph: Chris Killip
and her muscles moved under the skin
like currents in a bay of the river.
She was swift as the wind or as the summer swallow . . .'
from Sean Jennett's ‘I Was A Labourer’.
Photograph: Chris Killip
January 8, 2026 at 8:38 AM
'She was long in the body, but strong of limb and rib,
and her muscles moved under the skin
like currents in a bay of the river.
She was swift as the wind or as the summer swallow . . .'
from Sean Jennett's ‘I Was A Labourer’.
Photograph: Chris Killip
and her muscles moved under the skin
like currents in a bay of the river.
She was swift as the wind or as the summer swallow . . .'
from Sean Jennett's ‘I Was A Labourer’.
Photograph: Chris Killip
Reposted by Martin Doyle
I'll be on Arena on @rteradio1.bsky.social this evening talking to @rickoshea.bsky.social about fiction in translation – reading it, reviewing it and having my own work translated.
Do tune in – show starts at 7pm.
www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
Do tune in – show starts at 7pm.
www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
Arena - RTÉ Radio 1
A look at what's happening in the world of arts, culture and entertainment.
www.rte.ie
January 7, 2026 at 4:22 PM
I'll be on Arena on @rteradio1.bsky.social this evening talking to @rickoshea.bsky.social about fiction in translation – reading it, reviewing it and having my own work translated.
Do tune in – show starts at 7pm.
www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
Do tune in – show starts at 7pm.
www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
Reposted by Martin Doyle
“Are you serious about this writing business?” Kurt Vonnegut asked Salman Rushdie. “Then you should know that the day is going to come when you won’t have a book to write, and you’re still going to have to write a book.”
I wrote this about when writers stop writing:
I wrote this about when writers stop writing:
Is silence golden? When writers choose to stop
Novelist Julian Barnes’s retirement highlights how rare it is for a writer to choose to fall silent
www.irishtimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:37 PM
“Are you serious about this writing business?” Kurt Vonnegut asked Salman Rushdie. “Then you should know that the day is going to come when you won’t have a book to write, and you’re still going to have to write a book.”
I wrote this about when writers stop writing:
I wrote this about when writers stop writing: