Burning Books Ireland
Episodes
51: Elaine Feeney
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Elaine Feeney tells Ruth McKee which books she’d save if her house was on fire. Elaine Feeney is an acclaimed novelist and poet from the West of ...
50: Audrey Whitty
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Audrey Whitty talks about the importance of place, an early passion for history, and the mystery of time as she tells Ruth McKee which books she would...
49: Gill Perdue
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gill Perdue talks about fairytales, the Sue Barton series, her experience of boarding school and much more as she tells Ruth McKee which books she’d...
48: Éilís Ní Dhuibhne
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Éilís Ní Dhuibhne tells Ruth McKee about the books which have been important in her life, through childhood, love, and loss—and talks about how h...
47: Brendan Mac Evilly
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Brendan Mac Evilly talks about Jean Paul Sartre, Dermot Healy, the art world and the artist as he tells Ruth McKee which books he’d save if his ho...
46: Theo Dorgan
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Theo Dorgan talks about Doris Lessing, Robert Graves, observation and imagination as he talks to Ruth McKee for the latest episode of Burning Books. ...
45: Gráinne O’Brien
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gráinne O’Brien talks about moving to California, the influence of music in her life and work, and how she became a bookseller and writer as she te...
44: Rosemary Jenkinson
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rosemary Jenkinson talks about not being able to find the university library, living up to her Wikipedia page, and her experience in Ukraine, as she t...
43: Claire Hennessy
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Claire Hennessy talks about Malory Towers, Wonder Boys, Rachel’s Holiday and all kinds of everything from depression to editing as she tells Ruth Mc...
42: Patrick Holloway
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Patrick Holloway talks about acting, language, and art as a deeper way of communication as he tells Ruth McKee which books he would save if his house ...
41: Ashwin Chacko
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ashwin Chacko talks about Curdie and the Goblin, Lord of the Rings, The Shack by Paul Young, the Bible and more as he tells Ruth McKee which books he’...
40: Julianne Mooney Siron
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Julianne Mooney Siron talks about growing up in Greystones, her travels after college, and returning to Ireland and the Dublin Book Festival as she te...
39: Jessica Traynor
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Poet Jessica Traynor talks about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Linda Gregg’s All of it Singing, and Mary Ruefle as she explores growing as an art...
38: Eoghan Smith
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Eoghan Smith talks about the influence of philosophy, learning the piano, and staying curious in his reading and work as he tells Ruth McKee which boo...
37: Cauvery Madhavan
16 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cauvery Madhavan talks about Mulk Raj Anand, Amitav Ghosh, Khalil Gibran and more as she talks to Ruth McKee about starting school early, a tragedy in...
36: Michael Magee
09 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Magee talks about his early life, finding the path to becoming a writer, and the influence of Hemmingway and Chekhov—and much more—for thi...
35: Sarah Webb
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Webb talks about her early days in Waterstones, how she doesn’t write for the market, and learning to give time to what’s important, as she ...
34: Catherine Dunne
21 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine Dunne talks about her childhood in Clontarf, an inspiring teacher, and what led her to write her new novel as she tells Ruth McKee which boo...
33: Rónán Hession
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rónán Hession talks about the natural buoyancy of observations which make it to the page, using a fragment from the day in his writing, and the juic...
32: Jane Casey
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Casey talks about The Hounds of the Morrigan, The Secret History, The Wild Places and more as she explores how it feels to live between London an...
31: Jackie Lynam
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jackie Lynam talks about her early reading, Marianne Power, Bob Geldof, the inspiration of Constellations by Sinéad Gleeson, and how a book started t...
30: Noel O’Regan
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Noel O’Regan talks about a reading switch turning on as a teenager, Carver, McGahern, learning from Claire Keegan, and his desire to become a writer...
29: Órfhlaith Foyle
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Órfhlaith Foyle talks about a kind of faith in creativity, a different way of being in the world as a writer, and a sense of the other-worldly as she...
28: Anne Tannam
03 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Anne Tannam talks about Angus Fletcher, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and the crone energy which runs through her forthcoming collection as she tells Ruth M...
27: Tom Morris
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Morris talks about The Outsider by Albert Camus, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, and discovering an inner life as he tells Ruth McKee which books ...
26: Kevin Curran
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Curran talks about Claire Keegan, William Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy and many more, revealing how teaching, reading and writing are the touchston...
25: Una Mannion
16 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Author Una Mannion talks about Pippi Longstocking, Anne Carson, and the distillation and immediacy of the short story as she tells Ruth McKee which bo...
24: Claire Kilroy
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Claire Kilroy talks about the genesis of her new novel Soldier, Sailor which took over a decade to emerge, how early motherhood affected her creativit...
23: John Banville
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Banville talks about the mystery in great art, the escape into life rather than out of it, the observation at work in the heart of good writing, ...
22: Shane Hegarty
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shane Hegarty talks about Douglas Adams, Clive James and Marvel comics, exploring the balance of funny and profound as he chooses the books he would s...
21: Sophie White
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sophie White talks about Stephen King, Nuala O'Faolain, and Marian Keyes, exploring why she is drawn to horror stories, the choppy waters of motherhoo...
20: Andrew Meehan
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Meehan talks about Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Amy Bloom, Joan Didion, Ivan Turgenev and much more as he discusses love, endings and sadness with R...
19: Martina Devlin
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Martina Devlin talks about Benedict Kiely, Mary Shelley and a woman who turns into a fox as she tells Ruth McKee which books she would save if her hou...
18: Roma Wells
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Roma Wells talks about the search for meaning, the joy in small things and the solace she finds in nature as she tells Ruth McKee which books she’d ...
17: Bernie McGill
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bernie McGill talks about Aesop’s Fables, the Irish short story, Lincoln in the Bardo and the pact between the author and the reader as she tells Ru...
Trailer - Bernie McGill
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The next episode of Burning Books features novelist and short story writer Bernie McGill, who talks about Aesop’s Fables, Lincoln in the Bardo and m...
16: Olivia Fitzsimons
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Olivia Fitzsimons talks about Hans Christian Andersen, Raymond Carver, Donna Tartt, and echoes through time as she tells Ruth McKee which books she wo...
Trailer - Olivia Fitzsimons
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join Ruth McKee from Friday 13th May when she’ll be talking with author Olivia Fitzsimons to discover which books she would save if her house was on...
14: Laura McVeigh
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laura McVeigh talks about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, reading in translation, and Ways of Seeing by John Berger as she tells Ruth McKee which books sh...
Trailer - Laura McVeigh
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join Ruth McKee from Friday 1st April when she will be talking with author Laura McVeigh to find out which books she would save if her house was on fi...
12: Audrey Magee
04 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Audrey Magee talks about the transformative work of Marguerite Duras, her love of theatre, language and the stillness she needs to write, as she tell...
Trailer - Audrey Magee
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join Ruth McKee from Friday 4th February, when she will be talking with author Audrey Magee to find out which books she would save if her house was on...
11: Wendy Erskine
17 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Wendy Erskine talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about Molly Keane’s Good Behaviour, Ian Hunter’s Diary of a Rock and Roll Star and h...
Trailer - Wendy Erskine
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Wendy Erskine talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about Molly Keane’s Good Behaviour, Ian Hunter’s Diary of a Rock and Roll Star and h...
9: Donal Ryan
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Donal Ryan talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about empathy, the mystery at the heart of writing, Doris Lessing, and having a crush on Sy...
Trailer - Donal Ryan
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Donal Ryan talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about empathy, the mystery at the heart of writing, Doris Lessing, and having a crush on Sy...
8: Nuala O’Connor
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nuala O’Connor talks about miniature dolls, the beauty of short things, quitting alcohol and clearing the decks at fifty as she tells Ruth McKee wh...
Trailer - Nuala O’Connor
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Nuala O’Connor talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about miniature dolls, the beauty of short things, quitting alcohol and clearing the ...
7: Kit de Waal
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Novelist and short-story writer Kit de Waal talks to Ruth McKee about The Bible, Donal Ryan, Penguin classics, the sea and much more as she reveals wh...
Trailer - Kit de Waal
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Novelist and short-story writer Kit de Waal talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about Donal Ryan, Penguin classics, revenge, the sea and much mor...
5: Ethel Rohan
20 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ethel Rohan talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about Emily Brontë, John Irving, and Elizabeth Strout as she reveals which books she would pull ...
4: Rick O'Shea
16 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rick O’Shea talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about a precious edition, his love of art, and Yoko Ono as he reveals what books he would save...
3: Patrick Freyne
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What books would you save if your house was on fire? Patrick Freyne talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about comics, clutter, music and much ...
2: Jan Carson
21 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What books would you save if your house was on fire? Books Ireland Editor Ruth McKee asks Jan Carson about growing up in Co. Antrim, religious hard...
Trailer
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If your house was on fire, what books would you save from the flames? The Books Ireland podcast features authors and well-known cultural figures ...