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by Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin
An unmissable, award-winning exploration of family, grief, queer identity, and the legacy of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
Can you imagine it? I'd say to them. Can you imagine me there in the front row in Saint Peter's Square? The lesbian sister of a literal saint.
Brought up in a devout household in Ireland, Jay is now living in London with her girlfriend, determined to live day to day and not think too much about either the future or the past. But when she learns that her beloved older brother, who died in a terrible accident, may be made into a Catholic saint, she realises she must at last confront her family, her childhood and herself ...
Inspired by the author's own devout upbringing, Ordinary Saints is a brilliant debut novel from a fresh, exciting new voice which asks - who gets to decide how we are remembered - and who we will become?
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This information about Ordinary Saints was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin is an Irish writer living and working in Edinburgh. Her stories, essays and articles have appeared in Gutter, The New Statesman, The Millions, Sexualities and other publications. She was the winner of the inaugural PFD Queer Fiction Prize and was also shortlisted for the Women's Prize Trust Discoveries Prize in 2022 and the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025. Her début literary novel, 'Ordinary Saints', was selected as a Radio 2 Bookclub Pick for 2025.
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