The Luck of the Irish is the first instalment of The Lachine Canal Chronicles series. It follows the misadventures of Eamon Jovanovski, a wannabe artist of Irish descent, who befriends the infamous Tom Murphy, another Irish Montrealer, at the age of sixteen. From then on, Eamon's life will be turned upside down due to of his friendship with Tom who is infatuated by sex, drugs and punk rock. Tom's downward spiral will eventually have a dark influence on Eamon who keeps helping him get back on his feet. Eamon and Tom will exile themselves from Montreal, both looking for their place in society and both trying to give their life some meaning. But, a couple of years later, they will be drawn back to their hood: Montreal's South-West area, between the Lachine Canal and the Aqueduct. Throughout the novel, Eamon also keeps getting his heart broken by different women, due to series of events beyond his control but that all originate from his friendship with Tom.