The Irish Goodbye

Heather Aimee O’Neill’s debut novel, The Irish Goodbye (2025), is a work of domestic fiction that explores the long-term impact of grief on a family. Twenty-five years after a tragic boating accident and the subsequent suicide of their brother, Topher, the three estranged Ryan sisters reunite for a tense Thanksgiving weekend at their ancestral home on Long Island, New York. Each sister arrives harboring secrets that threaten to unravel the family’s fragile peace and force a reckoning with their shared history. The novel examines themes of The Corrosive Power of Family Secrets, The Inescapable Haunting of the Past, and The Painful Path to Forgiveness and Accountability.

O’Neill is a poet and teacher who serves as the assistant director of the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop. The novel’s focus on mental health and generational trauma is informed by its connection to a real-world advocacy group. In her acknowledgments, O’Neill states that the book was inspired in part by the work of the Jed Foundation, a national organization dedicated to young-adult mental health and suicide prevention.

This guide refers to the 2025 Henry Holt and Company First Edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, child death, death by suicide, pregnancy loss and termination, animal death, antigay bias, addiction, substance use, and cursing.

Plot Summary

In August 1990, a boat crash at the Port Haven Beach Club on Long Island shatters a summer afternoon. Nine-year-old Maggie Ryan watches her older brother, Topher Ryan, dive into the water near the lighthouse. He emerges with an injured person, later identified as Daniel Larkin, the younger brother of Topher’s best friend, Luke Larkin. As paramedics rush Daniel to an ambulance, the police question Topher and the Ryan parents, Nora and Robert. Maggie’s oldest sister Cait Ryan, who was on the boat with Topher and Luke, explains that Daniel was driving when the steering wheel jammed, causing the boat to hit a rock and flip him overboard. Later that day, Cait tells Maggie that Daniel has died.

Twenty-five years later, in November 2015, the three Ryan sisters converge at their family home, the Folly, for Thanksgiving. Maggie, now a 34-year-old teacher, drives from Vermont with her girlfriend, Isabel. Maggie is anxious that her mother may disapprove of Isabel, as well as about a pending meeting with her headmaster, which she fears is related to a recent encounter with her married ex-girlfriend, Sarah Thompson. Sarah is the mother of one of Maggie’s students. Meanwhile, Cait flies in from London, England, with her five-year-old twins, Poppy and Augustus. Recently divorced and having just quit her job at a high-powered law firm, Cait is eager to reconnect with Luke, who is also in Port Haven for Thanksgiving. Luke, the first boy with whom Cait fell in love, has been texting her recently, despite the complicated dynamic between their families. The middle sister, Alice Ryan, who lives in Port Haven with her children and husband, Kyle Williams, is overwhelmed with her new interior-design business and family duties. She is further stressed when she discovers a pornographic magazine belonging to her older son, Finn, and later vomits publicly at his basketball game.

Upon arriving at the Folly, Maggie is angered when Nora insists that Isabel sleep in the cold, separate guest cottage. Later, the view of the lighthouse from her childhood bedroom prompts her to recall Topher’s suicide 13 years prior; she was the one who found his body. Her distress is compounded by a text from Sarah asking to talk. Maggie hides the texts from Isabel. Meanwhile, Alice discovers that the reason for her nausea is a new pregnancy. The discovery devastates her, as she fears a recurrence of the dangerous preeclampsia she suffered in her last pregnancy and the derailment of her career aspirations. Alice hides her pregnancy test in an outdoor garbage bin.

Cait and the twins arrive to find Robert trying to hunt a raccoon with a shotgun. Eager to contact Luke, Cait uses a pizza run as a pretense to stop by his house. A flashback reveals that on the night before Daniel’s accident, Cait had sex with Luke, who warned her that Topher was dealing drugs to pay for his boat. In the present, finding Luke grieving his mother’s recent death, Cait impulsively invites him to Thanksgiving dinner, shocking the Ryan family. The Larkins sued the Ryans for Daniel’s death, and the chain of events soured the relationship between the two families.

On Thanksgiving morning, the raccoon gets into the garbage, and Augustus finds Alice’s discarded pregnancy test, which Cait retrieves. While helping her mother clean the house, Alice discovers a box of condolence cards from Topher’s death, including an unopened one from Mrs. Larkin. Maggie and Isabel argue over Maggie’s distracted behavior, but they later reconcile after Maggie shares the painful story of how Nora discovered that she was gay in high school. Nora immediately took Maggie to the family priest, who asked Maggie never to act on her feelings. Nora’s actions have alienated Maggie. The reconciliation between Maggie and Isabel proves short-lived when Isabel finds Sarah’s text on Maggie’s phone. Isabel decides to leave. Maggie drives Isabel to the train station, but just as the train departs, she impulsively jumps aboard. She confesses everything about her past with Sarah and apologizes for her dishonesty. When the train is stopped due to the snowstorm, Isabel agrees to return to the Folly with Maggie.

As guests arrive, Cait is dismayed to see that Luke has brought a colleague, Nicole, whom Cait perceives as a date. Alice tells Kyle that she’s pregnant, and they argue when she reveals that she wants an abortion due to the health risks. At the dinner table, Cait’s resentment boils over. When Nicole praises Luke as a “self-starter,” Cait publicly implies that his success was funded by the settlement money from the lawsuit over Daniel’s death. Nora reveals that the exact amount was over $1 million. The usually mild-mannered Robert slams his hand on the table to stop the conversation, and Luke asks Cait to speak with him privately. Alone, Luke confesses that he had offered to return the settlement money to Robert, but Robert refused, saying that “Topher made a mistake” (203). Luke and Cait kiss but are interrupted by the sound of a gunshot as Robert shoots the raccoon.

In a state of confusion, Robert calls his grandson James “Topher.” The shotgun accidentally discharges a second time and hits a tree. As the family reels from the incident, a police officer arrives to inform them that Finn has been in an accident after sneaking out.

At the hospital, Finn is treated for a broken collarbone and a concussion. While there, Alice takes Nora to the church, where they have a heartfelt talk about the family. Alice warns Nora that she will lose Maggie if she refuses to accept her wholeheartedly. Nora replies that she loves Maggie very much. Nora also reveals that she knows about Alice’s pregnancy. When Alice tells Nora that she may terminate the pregnancy, Nora does not protest as Alice expected. Instead, she tells Alice that she lost a pregnancy before she was married and offers her support for Alice’s decision. Luke and Cait meet at a bar, where they have a final, honest conversation about their shared guilt in Daniel’s death. Cait decides to be friends with Luke, rather than pursuing a romantic relationship.

Maggie and Isabel fully reconcile, exchanging “I love yous.” Maggie discovers that her meeting with the headmaster is about being offered the department chair position. She and Nora also have a breakthrough, with Nora admitting her fear that Maggie would live a lonely life. Alice and Kyle talk honestly, too, and he agrees to support her decision and go with her to the doctor. The next morning, Cait announces that she’s moving back to the Folly with the twins. The three sisters gather and read the unopened cards from Topher’s death, including the one from Mrs. Larkin, which expresses her sorrow. They decide to burn the more generic sympathy cards in the fireplace, finding a sense of release. The novel ends with the sisters watching a flock of geese take flight, ready to let go of the past and move forward.