English novel L. Kennedy (born 1965) whose 2007 novel "Day" was named Book of the Year in the Costa Book Awards. In 2007 she won the Austrian State Prize for European Literature; Alasdair Gray (born 1934) whose "" (1981) is a dystopian fantasy set in his home town Glasgow. Another contemporary Scot is Irvine Welsh, whose novel "Trainspotting" (1993), gives a brutal depiction of the lives of working class Edinburgh drug users. Angela Carter (1940–1992) was a novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works. Writing from the 1960s until the 1980s, her novels include, "The Infernal Desire
Irvine Harbour The Roman port of 'Vindogara Sinus' has been associated with Irvine, however no authenticated Roman remains have been found to confirm or support this and the few Roman coins found are not sufficient to decide the issue either way. A Roman Camp site near Irvine was tentatively identified in 1760 and a site at Marressfoot has been suggested for the Roman port. The name 'Irvine' may be of Celtic language origin, meaning 'green river' in as in the Welsh river named Irfon. The name has many recorded variants, such as Ervin (1259); Irwyn (1322); Irewin (1429–30); Irrvin (1528); and Irwin