What if you had escaped your devout family in Ireland to live your best queer life - then your brother became a candidate for sainthood?
An unmissable, award-winning, moving and funny exploration of family, grief and queer identity.
*SELECTED AS A RADIO 2 BOOKCLUB PICK*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE*
*WINNER OF THE INAUGURAL PFD QUEER FICTION PRIZE*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE DISCOVERIES AWARD*
*SHORTLISTED FOR TWO BOOKS ARE MY BAG AWARDS*
*LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY PRIZE*
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?
*A BOOKSELLER PICK OF THE MONTH*
'Beautifully written and brilliant on grief, love and family expectations. Wonderful'
Daily Mail
'A sparkling debut. Absolutely brilliant'
Sara Cox
'Stunning. A fresh funny, honest portrayal of familial love. I adored it'
Louise Nealon, international bestselling author of Snowflake
'Funny and deeply moving. I adored it'
Chloe Michelle Howarth, author of Sunburn
'Mesmerising and original'
Victoria MacKenzie, award-winning author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin was the winner of the inaugural PFD Queer Fiction Prize and was also shortlisted for the Women's Prize Trust Discoveries Prize in 2022. Her début literary novel Ordinary Saints was shortlisted for the 2025 Waterstones Debut Prize. The unmissable, award-winning debut novel. A moving and funny exploration of family, grief and queer identity. A hugely exciting, highly acclaimed debut publication, Ordinary Saints was shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, a Radio 2 Bookclub pick, shortlisted in two categories of the Books Are My Bag awards, the winner of the inaugural PFD Queer Fiction Prize 2022 and shortlisted for the Women's Prize Trust/Curtis Brown Discoveries Prize 2022. A powerful novel from a fresh new voice with a conversation-starting hook Inspired by the author's own upbringing in a devout family and the real-life case of Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint. Beautifully written and brilliant on grief, love and family expectations. Wonderful. This debut is pretty perfect. It's informative, original, heartfelt, very real, and stunningly written. Stunning. A beautiful story about the awkward, often painful silences around dinner tables. A fresh, funny, honest portrayal of familial love. I adored it. An exciting new voice on the Irish literary scene. A truly extraordinary exploration of relationships, grief, queerness, and its relationship with the Catholic church in Ireland . . . fuelled by such complex emotions which are unpicked so delicately and fully . . . so deeply worth reading and impossible to not feel some emotional connection towards. Mesmerising and original, Ordinary Saints is quite a novel: an empathetic, heart-felt and nuanced exploration of the Catholic church in modern Ireland, queer identity, family and so much more. I absolutely loved it. [An] inventive exploration of identity, faith and family. A profoundly moving exploration of love, grief and faith written with such warmth and humour I both laughed and cried. Niamh is a remarkable talent. This is such an affecting, accomplished book that I still have trouble believ
