Ireland cover art

Ireland

A Novel

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Ireland

By: Frank Delaney
Narrated by: Frank Delaney
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £9.99

Buy Now for £9.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

One evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller arrives unannounced and mysterious at a house in the Irish countryside. By the November fireside he begins to tell the story of this extraordinary land. One of his listeners, a nine-year-old boy, grows so entranced by the storytelling that, when the old man leaves, he devotes his life to finding him again. It is a search that uncovers both passions and mysteries, in his own life as well as the old man's, and their solving becomes the thrilling climax to this tale. But the life of this boy is more than just his story: it is also the telling of a people, the narrative of a nation, the history of Ireland in all its drama, intrigue and heroism.

Ireland travels through the centuries by way of story after story, from the savage grip of the Ice Age to the green and troubled land of tourist brochures and news headlines. Along the way, we meet foolish kings and innocent monks, god-heroes and great works of art, shrewd Norman raiders and envoys from Rome, leaders, poets, and lovers. Each illuminates the magic of Ireland, the power of England, and the eternal connection to the land.

©2004 Frank Delaney (P)2004 Time Warner AudioBooks
Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction

Listeners also enjoyed...

Tipperary cover art
Wounds cover art
1916 cover art
Irish History cover art
The Book of Kells cover art
Black Potatoes cover art
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena cover art
The American Civil War cover art
The Power of One cover art
The Storyteller cover art
What the Wind Knows cover art
Undaunted Courage cover art
This Tender Land cover art
The Alice Network cover art
The Forgotten Garden cover art
Virgins cover art

Critic reviews

"If you're a lover of Irish myths and history, there are rich pickings here." ( Guardian)
"The writing is smooth, seductive, and intentionally didactic in its combination of history, myth, and blarney." ( Sunday Telegraph)
All stars
Most relevant
I was rivetted from the first line, Frank Delaney is a natural storyteller and I would highly recommend this audio book. Beautifully read, beautifully told.

Wonderful story, beautifully told.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I was not certain about this book but within a few minutes of switching on became drawn in and found it hard to switch off.

Enjoyable Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Delayed has written a wonderful story within a story... within a story. Great characters, wit and authentic voice of Ireland.

Delightful!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

History of Ireland beautifully delivered by a true seanchaí. I even liked the ambiguous disclaimer.

Irish things you didn't know you didn't know

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

It was better than expected, as I've recently listened to some books that didn't work well in the audio version, for example, Life of Pi, which I found too rambling to follow.

This story is about a storyteller and is beautifully told and narrated by the author. Contrary to the
impression the book cover gives, it's a simple and very human tale that gently guides you through thousands of years of Irish history.

Lends itself very well to an oral rendition

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews