Culture 5 special - Irish books to buy this Christmas

Stuck for present ideas this Christmas? Fact - you can never go wrong with a good book. Below you'll find a quintet of choice Irish books released this year, across a variety of genres.

And be sure to support Irish independent bookstores while you're at it!

FICTION: THE HEART IN WINTER

From short story collections to novels like Beatlebone and Night Boat To Tangier, Kevin Barry has been a force to be reckoned with in 21st century Irish literature - his latest book might just be his finest hour to date, a frontier western love story set in the wilds of Montana, circa 1891 that reads like Deadwood meets Badlands, with a West Cork lilt - read our review here (Canongate)

NON-FICTION: DRAMA DRIVES INTEREST

Journalist Catherine Sanz chronicles the rise and fall (and rise again) of Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, providing the first book-length account of one of Ireland's most controversial 21st century business stories and offering an illuminating portrait of a man never far from the headlines (Harper Collins)

FOOD: IRISH FOOD HISTORY - A COMPANION

Edited by Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire and Dorothy Cashman, this mammoth tome takes you on an expert journey through Ireland's culinary past, comprehensively chronicling the island's deep connection to food and drink from the end of the ice age to the present moment, via essays, folklore, songs, recipes, and food-related poetry - Máirtín talks to The History Show below (Royal Irish Academy)

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POETRY: PAUL DURCAN - 80 AT 80

'The great enemy of art is the ego' says Paul Durcan. 'It keeps getting in the way. One needs the ego to disappear so that I become you; I become the people walking up and down the street.' The work of a singular Irish poet is celebrated in this welcome compendium of classic Durcan poems, drawn from an ouvere containing over 20 acclaimed collections - listen to him read Nessa below (Harvell Secker)

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CHILDREN: THE GREAT DISCOVERY

Mr Gray needs something spectacular to show for the grand reopening of his museum. So when he receives a call about a 'very old thing' that has been discovered in a garden, he is very keen to investigate... Writer and illustrator Peter Donnelly (The President's Glasses) returns with a welcome sequel to his picture book classic The Dead Zoo (Gill Books)