Alan Murrin

Set in 1994, The Coast Road tells the story of two women—Izzy Keaveney, a housewife, and Colette Crowley, a poet. Colette has left her family for a married man in Dublin. When she returns to her home in County Donegal to try to pick up the pieces of her old life, her husband denies her access to her children.

The only way she can see them is with the help of neighbour Izzy, acting as a go-between. Izzy also feels caught in a troubled marriage. The friendship that develops between them will ultimately lead to tragedy for one, and freedom for the other.

With a depth and compassion that rivals the works of Claire Keegan, Elizabeth Strout, and Colm Tóibín, The Coast Road is a story about the limits placed on women’s lives in Ireland only a generation ago, and the consequences women have suffered trying to gain independence. Alan Murrin reminds us of the price we are forced to pay to find freedom.

Alan Murrin is an Irish writer who has lived in Berlin for several years. He graduated from the prestigious Masters in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. In 2021, he won the Bournemouth Writing Award for his short story The Wake; the story was also shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards’ Short Story of the Year. As a cultural critic, he has written for The Irish Times, TLS and The Spectator, among others. Coast Road is his debut novel.

With kind support of the Embassy of Ireland | Germany

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