Irish Times literary correspondent Eileen Battersby has been honoured by the Irish Translators and Interpreters Association (ITIA) for her work.

Battersby was conferred with honorary membership of the association at a ceremony in the Irish Writers’ Centre on Parnell Square in Dublin on Friday.

She was recognised “for her work over many years in raising awareness of translated novels, and of translation in general, which plays an essential role in ensuring access to the work of novelists in other languages”.

Throughout her career Battersby has championed fiction in translation as well as writing about all aspects of the arts, particularly classical music and literature.

She is a four-times winner of the Arts Journalist of the Year award, and has most recently won the Critic of the Year. She has published three books, Second Readings, Ordinary Dogs and a recently a novel, Teethmarks On My Tongue.

The association was originally established in 1986 as The Irish Translators Association by Ann Bernard, Cormac Ó Cuilleanáin and JF Deane before changing to the ITIA in 2002.

It describes itself as the only professional association in Ireland representing the interests of practising translators and interpreters.