Have Irish-language books fallen off the shelf?

As a speaker of Irish I am conscious that the rich world of literature in Irish is closed to those who do not speak the language.

Whether it is ancient texts, the work of bardic poets or contemporary poetry and fiction, there is a whole world of creation in the language that reveals so much about who we are and where we’ve come from. I often feel that there is a section of my psyche that friends and family who don’t understand Irish will never get to know.

I am currently rereading the writings of my grandfather Peadar Ó hAnnracháin, which include several volumes of published memoirs on the early years of the last century and detail his role in the language-revival movement and his several incarcerations as a result of his activism.

Family members in the diaspora who grew up as English speakers will never appreciate these unless I get around to my much long-fingered plan of translating some of them.

Active publishers

Irish-language publishing is remarkably active, with most of the major publishers selling their books online, as well as through online Irish-language booksellers. This is just as well, as the visibility of Irish-language books in bookshops is often minimal.

Having failed to find Anamlón Bliana – the award-winning extracts from the diaries of Seán Ó Ríordáin, reviewed recently in these pages – in my local bookshop, I resorted as I often do to litríocht.com, and it's on the way.

For those whose Irish is limited, a growing number of books of fiction in Irish – both original fiction and translations – are designed specifically for learners.

The Imram festival of Irish literature, known for the innovation of its approach to the presentation of literature in Irish, has, along with the Irish Writers’ Centre, recently been running the Discovery Lectures. This is a series of talks in English designed to introduce readers to the depth and diversity of literature in the Irish language, past and present. I attended a fascinating one about contemporary poetry given by Doireann Ní Ghríofa.

They take place at the Irish Writers’ Centre, on Parnell Square in Dubin, with the final one due next Wednesday, at 7.30pm.

Prof Máirín Nic Eoin, one of Ireland's foremost literary critics, will talk about Life Writing in Irish, including diaries, memoirs, travel and autobiographical fiction.

Among the works she will reference are Tomás Ó Criomhthain's An tOileánach, about his life on the Blasket Islands, Micí Mac Gabhann's Rotha Mora an tSaoil, and the unjustly derided Peig Sayers's account of a woman's life on the Blaskets. Material is read in English translation and in the original Irish at these sessions, and they're free of charge.

Saved by reading

Beatha teanga í a labhairt – a language lives by being spoken – is the mantra of many an Irish speaker, and a good one, too, but the words of the well-known writer an tAthair Peadar Ó Laoghaire still ring true: “If all, or nearly all, of our speakers can be made readers of the language it is essentially saved.”