The Queen of Dirt Island is a 2022 novel by Irish writer Donal Ryan.
Ryan based Eileen Aylward, the "Queen" of the book's title, "loosely but quite faithfully" on his mother.
[1] Upon reading an early draft of the novel, Ryan's mother did not recognize the character as inspired by her.
[1] Ryan attributed the book's focus on women in part due to the fact that aspects of a central character, Saoirse, came to him "easily".
[3] He began work on The Queen of Dirt Island after sharing a draft of a "much longer and much darker novel" with his publisher, which his publisher declined to edit without substantial changes.