Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. A short story can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.

In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?

The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.

Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.

The Irish Short Story tradition is packed with literary leviathans who take the raw ingredients of the land, it’s people and their own talents to create quite dazzling narratives in these perfectly pitched short stories. Genius has many names.

01 - The Top 10 - The Irish - An Introduction

02 - The Dead by James Joyce

03 - The Knitted Collar by Mary Anne Hoare

04 - Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter by Sheridan Le Fanu

05 - The Last of Squire Ennismore by Charlotte Riddell

06 - An Irish Problem by Somerville and Ross

07 - All Souls Eve by Dora Sigerson Shorter

13 - The Burial of the Rats by Bram Stoker

09 - A Rich Woman by Katharine Tynan

10 - The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

11 - Dhoya by W B Yeats