From a great statesman to a friendly Martian - a host of characters, real and imagined, stands ready to walk off the pages of 34 outstanding books and into our lives.
The books shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards feature a whole variety of characters, locations, time-frames and situations. However, they all have one thing in common. An awful lot of work went into them - a lot of researching, remembering, creating, recreating, imagining and dreaming, a huge amount of writing, re-writing and editing - and a forensic attention to detail, to capturing, precisely, real and imagined pasts.
I am delighted, ladies and gentlemen, to have been asked to launch the Irish Book Awards. This evening's event provides a very welcome opportunity to pay tribute to the shortlisted writers for their great talent and achievement; to celebrate Irish writing; and to honour the award winners.
It is also, I am sure, a very welcome opportunity for our literary community to free themselves from the tyranny of writing, at least for a short while. And it is a chance to acknowledge the contribution of the publishers, booksellers, critics and academics, who are the backbone of the industry.
The historian and author, Barbara Tuchman, once said: “Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill”. Her words capture so well the vast contribution made by writers to the world.
We in Ireland can take particular pride in the fact that, despite our relatively small size as a nation, so many Irish writers have enjoyed world-wide acclaim. Over the centuries, our literary tradition, in both English and Irish, has embraced a variety of styles and many forms - novels, drama, poetry, short stories and non-fiction. And while many writers of the past were inspired by Ireland’s mythology, a much greater diversity of themes emerged as our country moved along the path of history. But whether past or contemporary, our writers are linked by their Irishness. And their writings are threaded through with an Irish identity that sets them apart.
The Irish Book Awards have come a long way in the very short time since they were established. The number of awards has grown from three to nine; new sponsors have come on board; a new Irish Literary Academy has been formed; two awards have been opened up to public vote; librarians have joined booksellers in the shortlisting process; and all Irish bookshops have come on board.
It is no surprise then that the Irish Book Awards already occupy such a prominent place in the Irish literary calendar.
I would like to thank the organisers, on behalf of everyone present here this evening, for all the long hours they must have put into what is a major logistical undertaking. I would also like to commend the Awards' many generous sponsors, including Hughes & Hughes; Argosy; Dublin Airport Authority; Energise Sport; Galaxy Chocolate; The Tubridy Show; The Sunday Independent; Easons; National Book Tokens; International Education Services; Lightning Source UK; and Ireland AM. A long list of names, I know, but we would not be here this evening without them. A special word of thanks is due to Ryan Tubridy and to Galaxy for enabling the public to determine the final choices in two of the nine categories. And another word of thanks is due to Ryan - again - and to the Sunday Independent, as well as all the booksellers and librarians, for all the effort they have put into promoting the Awards. Last but not least, the Irish Literary Academy and the Irish reading public deserve our thanks for their diligence in deciding the winners.
I warmly congratulate all of the writers who have been shortlisted. Being nominated is an immense compliment in its own right, not least because the shortlist includes three Irish Booker Prize Winners, as well as a Pulitzer Prize Winner.
I am glad to see that there is a special award for the most promising first - time author published in Ireland in any given year. As the proud father of a successful writer, I know that writing takes a huge amount of commitment and I know how difficult it can be for a writer to become established. This is a very competitive market.
By dedicating one of the awards to new Irish writers, the Irish Book Awards are helping them to raise their profile among the reading public and for this alone, the Awards are to be commended.
This is a very appropriate juncture to mark the passing, last month, of Maureen Kenny. Maureen, once described by Seamus Heaney as "The Madonna of the Manuscripts", devoted much of her lifetime to promoting new Irish writers and artists. She is a great loss to the Irish literary world and the people of Galway and, of course, to her family.
As well as newcomers and other categories of writers, these awards provide an opportunity to honour those who have given us the gift of a lifetime of literary endeavour and achievement. This evening, we shine a light on short story writer, novelist, dramatist and one time sculptor, William Trevor. William Trevor is one of our country’s most prolific writers and above all, a master storyteller. His "Angels at the Ritz" was compared by Graham Greene to James Joyce's Dubliners - no small compliment. He is an excellent choice for this award.
William is, of course, already the winner of a host of literary prizes and distinctions, including the Whitbread Book of the Year; the Whitbread Novel Award - three times; the O. Henry Prize - also three times; the Giles Cooper Award - twice; and a Jacob's Award. And many other awards besides. Quite an achievement for someone who once said that he just told stories and hoped for the best! In a way, tonight's Lifetime Achievement Award is a bundling together and re - presentation of all of these literary prizes for a writer, whose power of imagination and skill in crafting a story, has given so much reading pleasure to so many.
I am really delighted to have this opportunity to congratulate William Trevor on a lifetime of achievement and to wish him and indeed all those nominated in the various categories every happiness for the future.
All in all, it has been a great month for Irish books, with this Awards ceremony following hot on the heels of the Wexford Book Festival, the Dublin Book Festival and the Franco-Irish Literary Festival - and with the Cuirt International Festival of Literature currently going on in Galway.
Before closing, there is one other book I would like to briefly mention to you today. A recent publication running to hundreds of pages, it is unlikely to win any awards for literary excellence but it is nonetheless crucially important for this country. I am talking about the EU Reform Treaty. I do not necessarily expect everyone to read it cover to cover. But I do hope that you at least familiarise yourselves with the jacket notes in the form of the information leaflet that is being sent to every household in the country and do the right thing.
ENDS