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THERE WAS a time when Irish writers of the criminal persuasion were rarer than root canal work on a hen. Over the past decade, however, Irish crime fiction has emerged as a self-assured genre whose practitioners are not just selling well at home, but are also gaining recognition on the murderously competitive international crime scene.

Take the Edgar awards. Named after the man who is usually credited with the invention of the murder mystery, Edgar Allen Poe, the annual prizes from the Mystery Writers of America are among the most prestigious in the business. Past winners include Elmore Leonard, James Lee Burke, John Le Carré and Ian Rankin: but Irish names are beginning to crop up on a regular basis. Declan Hughes’s third Ed Loy novel, The Price of Blood,has been nominated for this year’s Best Novel award, while Benjamin Black and Ken Bruen were nominated last year for Christine Fallsand Priestrespectively.