Irish Country Books In Order

Publication Order of Irish Country Books

The Irish Country series is a series of historical fiction novels written by the well known Irish-Canadian author named Patrick Taylor. The first novel of the series titled ‘An Irish Country Doctor’ was initially published by the Insomniac Press publishing by the name ‘The Apprenticeship of Doctor’. It went on to become a New York Times bestseller novel in the year 2007 and set the tone for the other novels of the series. Some of the sequels in the series that were published over the years have also become international bestsellers, mostly in Canada, which is also the place where author Patrick Taylor has lived since 1970.

All the novels of the series are set in a fictional village named Ballybucklebo, located in the rural areas of the Northern Ireland. They follow the events in the life of a novice doctor named Barry Laverty, who goes on to begin his assistant job under the guidance of Dr. Fingal Flahertie O-Reilly. The 6th and the 8th novel of the series explore the life of Dr. Fingal O’Reilly before he came in contact with Dr. Barry Laverty in the first novel of the series. When Dr. Barry Laverty moves into the Ballybucklebo village for his job as an assistant, he gets to learn new and important lessons about life. He also experiences the country life that he had never imagined. The series is still going on and author Patrick Taylor is working about to release the next few novels of the series.

One of the initial novels of the Irish Country series written by author Patrick Taylor was titled ‘An Irish Country Christmas’. It was released by the Forge Books publishing house in the year 2008. The plot of the novel continues to revolve around the life of the main character named Dr. Barry Laverty, who has now become an M.B. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, Dr. Barry Laverty is described as looking forward to spend his first Christmas in the Ballybucklebo village. But when he learns that his sweetheart named Patricia will not be able to come home for the Christmas holidays, he becomes upset. The unhappy prospect of her not coming to meet her during the holidays dampens his spirits to some extent. However, he hardly seems to have any time for dwelling on the disappointments of his romantic life.

On the other hand, as the celebrations of Christmas begin to grow, the peace on earth seems to disappear day by day, especially for a hard working and young doctor carrying out his trade in the glens and the emerald hills of the rural Ireland. Along with his mentor and senior partner Dr. Fingal O’Reilly, Dr. Barry Laverty continues to have his hands full by dealing with patients suffering from the seasonal cough and cold. He is also required to attend any medical emergencies in between. To add to the worries of the two doctors, a competition arrives in the village in the form of a patient-poaching physician. This new physician seems to use the faulty methods of treating the patients, which is endangering the well-being and health of the people of the Ballybucklebo village. Now, Dr. Barry Laverty begins to wonder whether the three doctors can practice peacefully in one small region.

However, the wintry times in the village also provide a few instances of joy and comfort to the hard working doctors. They get the chance of attending Rugby Club parties, Christmas Pageant with the kids, etc., in between their hectic schedules of medical practice. Dr. Barry and Dr. O’Reilly also find some time to play Santa Claus a single mother, who appears to be struggling with her sick child and does not have enough money for the treatment. As the miracles are believed to be rare just like the snows in Ulster, that does not mean that they can never happen. Eventually, the plot of the novel ends on a happy note, which was appreciated by a number of readers all over the world. This allowed it to become very much successful.

One of the other initial novel of the Irish Country series written by author Patrick Taylor was titled ‘An Irish Country Girl’. This novel was released by the Forge Books publishing house in the year 2009. The plot of this novel continues to deal with the events in the lives of the two doctors, Barry and O’Reilly, along with their unflappable maid named Mrs. Kinky Kincaid. She frequently looks after the frazzled doctors in Ballybucklebo, a colorful Irish village. Mrs. Kincaid has been working for the doctors for a number of years and has now become a trustworthy figure in the lives of the two doctors. Due to this, it often appears that she has always been a part of their lives right from the beginning. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, it is shown that Mrs. Kinky Kincaid lived her life as Maureen O’Hanlon when she was just a young girl some 40 years back. She used to live far away in the south at that time and was the daughter of a farmer in the emerald hills of the County Cork.

During that time, she was a precocious girl and had a lot of dreams in her mind. Maureen’s heart was also open to romance. She wanted an unusual gift for seeing the mystic realm of spirits and fairies beyond the ordinary, as well as the dreaded Banshee, whom she learned about for the first time on a snowy night of the year 1922. As Maureen grew older, she began getting torn between her fondest aspirations and love. She believed that the future remains a mystery even for the ones who were destined with a particular sight. Maureen O’Hanlon encounters both the joys and sorrows in her life and in the end, finds herself heading towards the village of Ballybucklebo. This time, she felt that she was destined to become a compassionate and strong woman. This novel too proved to be a captivating read for the readers and became highly successful, just like the previous novels of the series.

3 Responses to “Irish Country”

1. Kathy Hayes: 1 year ago

   I am on what I believe is the last book Patrick Taylor wrote in this series, An Irish Country Yuletide, and am sad to think there are no more. I have enjoyed them so much and couldn’t imagine picking anything else up to read while reading them. I love his commitment to keeping the characters real and not embellishing them beyond believability. I’m glad he included some of the negative things that can happen in life, but also doesn’t dwell on them. We all need to believe that there can be a place like Ballybucklebo where people of different beliefs can work together and love each other. Well done Mr. Taylor! Thank you for all the work you put into these books!

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2. Marcy Mastin: 2 years ago

   I have read every one of these, I was hoping that there might be a new one, but it seems 2021 was the end?? I am so sorry to lose the characters, they had become a family to me. Thank you Patrick Taylor for years of enjoyment.

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3. clayusmcret: 4 years ago

   This is an outstanding series! We’re up to An Irish Country Love Story. We were reading the paperbacks as they came out and got behind in a move. Time to catch up!!

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