Soda Bread & Shamrocks: A St. Patrick’s Day Booklist

Lauren

We can’t give you a parade or a pub crawl, but we can offer you a celebratory booklist! Butter your soda bread, drown the shamrock and discover the history and traditions of St. Patrick’s Day with the BPL catalog. 

Holiday history lessons

Celebrating 250 years of the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade by John T. Ridge 
NYC’s annual parade started in 1762! 

The Wearing of the Green by Mike Cronin & Daryl Adair
A thoroughly researched history of March 17.  

Dagger John by John Loughery
The story of Archbishop John Hughes, builder of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and founder of what is now Fordham University. 

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
BPL has the eBook, but here’s a fun fact: Liam Neeson narrated an audiobook adaptation. 

 

The man, the myth, the saint himself

The Wisdom of St. Patrick by Greg Tobin
Get inspired by the patron saint of Ireland. 

Saint Patrick Retold by Roy Flechner 
Learn all about the life and times of Saint Patrick. 

Discovering Saint Patrick by Thomas O’Loughlin 
Will the real Saint Patrick please stand up?

 

Corned beef & cabbage & whiskey, oh my!

The Little Book of Irish Family Cooking by Ruth Isabel Ross
A collection of illustrated recipes passed down through multiple generations.

Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen
Learn about the history of Irish food over the course of 300 recipes.

The Irish Spirit by Margaret M. Johnson
Sláinte! Every recipe in this cookbook features ale, stout, cider or whiskey.

 

Sci-fi, lit fic & murder mysteries galore

“Attention Saint Patrick” by Murray Leinster 
This sci-fi short story combines Irish legend with intergalactic travel.

Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran 
Persian cuisine meets the Emerald Isle when three Iranian sisters open a cafe. 

The Commitments by Roddy Doyle 
In Roddy Doyle’s debut novel, working class Dubliners bring soul music to Ireland.

Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan
A family saga about two sisters, Nora and Theresa, who immigrate from Ireland to Boston.   

Corned Beef and Casualties by Lynn Cahoon 
A coastal town’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities are interrupted by murder!

A Catered St. Patrick’s Day by Isis Crawford
This cozy mystery has recipes, too. 

Murder in an Irish Pub by Carlene O’Connor 
The fourth and booziest installment of O’Connor’s Irish Village mystery series. 

St. Patrick’s Day Murder by Leslie Meier
Can the local reporter crack the case in time for St. Patrick’s Day? 

For the full booklist, visit our catalog.

 

 

This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Brooklyn Public Library.

 

Post a Comment

While BPL encourages an open forum, posts and comments are moderated by library staff. BPL reserves the right, within its sole discretion, not to post and to remove submissions or comments that are unlawful or violate this policy. While comments will not be edited by BPL personnel, a comment may be deleted if it violates our comment policy.

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
 eNews Signup

Get the latest updates from BPL and be the first to know about new programs, author talks, exciting events and opportunities to support your local library.

Sign Up