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In Kiltumper: A celebration of a serene haven under constant threat

Niall Williams and Christine Breen’s beguiling tale of the garden they constructed in their Co Clare cottage is clouded by personal setbacks and the looming spectre of a nearby wind farm

Unsettled: Finding joy in the lore and rituals of an oppressed community

Drawing upon her lived experience as a Traveller woman, Rosaleen McDonagh has written a moving and deeply personal autobiography

A City Imagined: Loose ends undermine a quirky and unconventional Belfast story

The third volume of Gerald Dawe’s memoirs is a summing-up exercise that feels too thin to be satisfying

Chaise Longue: Thoughtful memoir proves Dury is more than just a chip off the old blockhead

As the son of Ian Dury, one of the best-known songwriters of the early 1980s, Baxter Dury came through an unrestricted and often difficult childhood

The life of O’Reilly: an Irish memoir with a difference

Séamas O’Reilly’s memoir of growing up in rural Derry, Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, is the laugh-out-loud literary hit of the year, much to the surprise of its creator

My Mess Is a Bit of a Life: Laughter and heartbreak combine in screenwriter’s uplifting memoir

Georgia Pritchett found success as a writer on some of the funniest TV comedies of the past two decades, but she was conscious of being something of an outsider, especially in the male-dominated world of television writing

Andrew Lynch: A revealing account from behind the scenes of the Anglo-Irish Agreement

Margaret Thatcher’s senior diplomat David Goodall took meticulous notes of his encounters with Garrett FitzGerald and others during the fraught negotiations leading up to the 1985 accord between Britain and Ireland

Scenes from a marriage: Alzheimer’s memoir is a study in love and resilience

Dealing with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is heart-rending, not only for those directly affected, but also for their families. In an extract from Memory Serves Me Wrong: A Memoir of Theatre, Love and Loss to Early-onset Alzheimer's, by former actor and theatre producer Ronan Smith, his wife Miriam Brady writes of how the diagnosis changed her life

The Troubles with Us: A warm and funny memoir captures Belfast and its many eccentricities

Hilarious and chilling by turns, Alix O’Neill’s memoir of growing up in 1990s Belfast is an enlightening read

Consumed: A Sister’s Story: An unflinching portrayal of sibling rivalry and regret

Arifa Akbar looks back at her sister’s unhappy childhood, her early death and the dysfunctional family life that ruined their relationship in this honest and thoughtful memoir

Where Grieving Begins: Brighton Bomber’s memoir shows understanding and insight, but no regrets

Patrick Magee struck up a remarkable friendship with the daughter of one of his victims but, as his memoir demonstrates, they have to work hard to meet half way

Liberty Hall: Building a perfect postmodern beast in 1960s Dublin

Michael O’Loughlin’s latest collection of prose and verse explores the creation of the capital’s tallest building from an original and unusual angle

Real Estate: Levy’s story of the self is playful, defiant and courageous

The third instalment of writer Deborah Levy’s ‘living autobiography’ builds a persuasive argument for her right to exist not only in life, but in literature

The best books for summer

Whether it’s exciting new fiction, an absorbing murder mystery, current affairs or historical events that help you relax and get away from everyday life, we have the best reads for you

The Ministry of Bodies: Looking back in anger at medical misbehaviour

Seamus O’Mahony’s memoir of working life at Cork University Hospital is a fascinating mix of contrariness, despair and resignation

Book extract: What Matters Now

In this extract from his new memoir What Matters Now, broadcaster and author Gareth O’Callaghan looks back to 2019 and the happiness he shared with his partner Paula, even as they faced into a future made torturous and uncertain by the news that O’Callaghan was suffering from a rare neurological illness called multiple system atrophy

Boy 11963: How one child climbed out the other side of a brutal system

John Cameron’s memoir of his time in Artane Industrial School is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit

Stardust Baby: A young life scarred by tragedy

Honest and unvarnished memoir by a child orphaned after the infamous nightclub fire

Above Water: Surviving the onslaught of a serial sexual predator

Trish Kearney was repeatedly abused by swimming coach George Gibney as a child, an ordeal she chronicles in this moving memoir

Let Love Rule: Showbiz memoir follows a well-worn path

Lenny Kravitz’s recounting of his first 25 years is a frustrating read, never truly getting under his skin