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Once Upon a Time in . . . Donnybrook
Once Upon a Time in . . . Donnybrook
Dec 2, 2025 8:22 PM

Author:Ross O'Carroll-Kelly

Once Upon a Time in . . . Donnybrook

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

Ireland, Ireland - no longer standing Dáil ...

Leinster House had been burned to the ground. All that was left was a smouldering ruin and the blackened remains of an Irish flag.

The old man was trying to pin the blame on Brussels, but I knew the actual truth? Unfortunately, Sorcha was too angry with me for having sex with our daughter's Irish teacher to listen.

But I had, like, other irons in the - pordon the pun - fire. I'd just become Head Coach of the Ireland rugby team - albeit, women.

The country might well have been focked. But very soon, we had everyone believing in fairy tales again.

And it all happened once upon a time in . . . Donnybrook

_______

'Ross is a national institution' Irish Times

'In a league of his own' Business Post

Reviews

Ross is a national institution

—— Irish Times

One of the funniest writers in the land

—— Irish Examiner

Ireland's finest comic creation since Father Ted

—— Hot Press

In a league of his own

—— Business Post

We've never read anything quite like this before... the poetry sings so beautifully... you'll be completely submerged

—— Cosmopolitan

Brilliant and beautifully written. It'll have you raging and rejoicing till the very last page.

—— Manjeet Mann, winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2021

I devoured it both as a breath-taking, page-turning novel on betrayal and a series of startling poems, chiselled from bone. The Poet is going to e x p l o d e into 2022 and leave us all spilt and shuddering! Astounding book.

—— Helen Paris

A novel in verse about poetry, female desire and achievement, gender politics and revenge, it weeps, rages and triumphs in words as exquisite as emotion. Loved it.

—— Julie Cohen

A thunderstorm of female power with nods to the greatest poets of all time. Drop everything and read.

—— Ericka Waller

Superb . . . Raw, angry and utterly compelling . . . The writing is stunning - I hope it'll put verse novels on the map.

—— Hush - Five Unmissable Books for 2022

Rage fuelled and propulsive The Poet is a ferocious force of a novel written in searingly potent verse. I adored it and can't stop thinking about it. Recommending to everyone .

—— Molly Aitken, author of The Island Child

It’s not that people haven’t been talking about… The Three of Us, it’s just that I think everyone should be screaming about it… It’s funny and barbed, and the twists at the end had me shocked

—— Monica Heisey, author of REALLY GOOD, ACTUALLY

Devouring this bold, brilliant satire was refreshing and confronting and completely entertaining. So much is achieved in Agbaje-Williams' writing: the nuances that make even our closest relationships uncomfortable, the tension of a shifting perspective, the anarchy provoked by a single cunning comment. Beguiling and cutting and admirable - I loved it

—— Ashley Audrain, author of THE PUSH

The Three of Us toes the tightrope between concession and deception as Agbaje-Williams executes surprise twists in a narrative that’s drenched in wine

—— TIME

Explosive... What rocked me was the naked examination of that coveted construct we call innocence... The Three of Us read, wrote and erased me. Then, it gave me back to myself, giggling and nodding my head. What a keen mind this story comes from. What a calm power this story holds

—— Robert Jones, Jr., author of THE PROPHETS

A cunning (and often very funny) book, a wily and promising debut

—— Rumaan Alam, author of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND

A sharp, humorous, superbly entertaining novel exploring Black love and relationships and the conflicts and tensions that arise from jealousy, desire, control and cultural expectations... Insightful and impressive

—— Jacqueline Crooks, author of FIRE RUSH

A witty comedy of manners

—— i-D, *Books to be Excited for in 2023*

I'm obsessed. This is a masterful, at times familiar and relatable, yet ultimately disturbing portrayal of a friendship. Constantly surprising, often dark and at times sinister, it is without fail always entertaining and funny

—— Claire Kohda, author of WOMAN, EATING

Both wickedly entertaining and thought-provoking. I couldn't stop turning the page!

—— Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of YINKA, WHERE IS YOUR HUZBAND?

A unique novel... with a clever premise and definitely one that will provoke a lot of discussion.

—— Red, *Books to Look Out For 2023*

Funny, fresh and full of drama, not a word goes to waste in this extraordinary debut

—— Sophie Irwin, author of A LADY'S GUIDE TO FORTUNE-HUNTING

A striking, often wickedly funny debut... Agbaje-Williams brilliantly captures the inner monologue as well as the conversational style of each of the three through which their whole cultural milieu takes shape around them... An original and potent comedy of manners with an ingenious final twist

—— Kirkus, *Starred Review*

Lapvona is an interrogation of faith, greed, and abuse - yet Moshfegh's dark humour cackles right through it.

—— Independent, *Summer Reads of 2022*

This unsettling read is unlike anything else.

—— Grazia, *Summer Reads of 2022*

[Lapvona] is unlike anything she's [Moshfegh] written before... a rollercoaster ride exploring the themes of poverty, religion and greed.

—— Hello!, *Summer Reads of 2022*

Moshfegh's novel is bitterly comic, compelling reading, ever-pulsing with perversity.

—— Big Issue

[A] wry, bewitching and slightly dark novel.

—— Monocle, *Christmas Gift Guide 2022*

Moshfegh is one of the most original and astute young novelists working today.

—— Daily Telegraph

The superabundantly talented...Moshfegh's sentences are piercing and vixenish... she is always a deep pleasure to read.

—— New York Times (on MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION)

Funny... Unforgettable... Batuman is particularly good on sex and sexual politics... The star feature is the narration... garrulous, rambunctious... full of baroque riffs and digressions.

—— Claire Lowdown , Spectator

A fresh voice is a rare thing, and Elif Batuman is one such.

—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*

Either/Or is extremely funny and delightfully ludic, as it probes the very act of reading from the point of view of confused university student Selin.

—— Anakana Schofield, Irish Times, Books of the Year 2022

I was desperately looking forward to Elif Batuman's Either/Or, and it more than lived up to it.

—— Samir Chadha , White Review, *Books of the Year*

Re-encountering Selin...felt like being reunited with an old friend.

—— Helen Charman , White Review, *Books of the Year*

Hilarious.

—— Alice Hattrick , White Review, *Books of the Year*

I greatly enjoyed the comic zing of Elif Batuman's delightful Either/Or

—— Megan Hunter , White Review, *Books of the Year*

Witty, intelligent and funny... [Selin's] inner monologue is addictive enough to read a thousand more pages of, and I can only cross my fingers that this isn't the last instalment of the series.

—— Crack

Just as funny and self-aware and clever as The Idiot.

—— Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , White Review, *Books of the Year*

Funny, wry and insightful

—— The Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*

Laugh out loud…hilarious and thoughtful

—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*
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