A BOOK of essays by the late Prof Augustine Martin is the first publication from a new academic publishing house, the University College Dublin Press.
Bearing Witness: Essays on Anglo Irish Literature represents the first major publication of the UCD Press, which will eventually publish 20 titles annually on academic subjects.
Bearing Witness, edited by Dr Anthony Roche, contains essays written over 30 years by Prof Martin, professor of Anglo Irish literature at UCD until his death last year. It includes analyses of Joyce, Yeats and Synge and contemporary writers such as Brendan Kennelly and Eavan Boland.
Mr David Andrews TD, who officially launched the book, described Prof Martin as "one of the great literary figures of his time".
Poet Eavan Boland said Prof Martin had bridged the gap between the academic and literary communities. "Just occasionally, a figure emerges who has the trust of both worlds, who had the grace, generosity and imagination to do justice to both worlds."
Prof Martin's widow, Ms Claire Martin, said she was delighted to see her late husband's essays published in one book. "I regret that he is not here to see them put together. I don't think he realised he was that important or contributed so much to Irish letters through his writing and his influence on Irish writers."