Mags McLoughlin appointed new head of Irish Writers Centre

In The Irish Times this Saturday, David Peace tells John Self about his new novel, Munichs, which tackles the aftermath for the Busby Babes of the Munich air disaster. There is an extract from Well, Holy God: My Life as an Irish, Catholic, Agnostic Correspondent by Patsy McGarry. And there is a Q&A with Marianne Power about her new book, Love Me!
Reviews are Mihir Bose on The New India: The Unmaking of the World’s Largest Democracy by Rahul Bhatia; Vona Groarke on the best new poetry; Sarah Gilmartin on My Good Bright Wolf by Sarah Moss; Ray Burke on Who Killed Una Lynskey? by Mick Clifford; Niamh O’Reilly on Don’t Look Back in Ongar by Ross O’Carroll-Kelly; Anthony Roche on Modernism in Irish Women’s Contemporary Writing: The Stubborn Mode by Paige Reynolds; John Boyne on The Watermark by Sam Mills; Helen Cullen on The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable; Mei Chin on Amuse Bouche by Carolyn Boyd; Jonnie McAloon on Never Understood: The Jesus and Mary Chain by William and Jim Reid with Ben Thompson; and Chiamaka Enyi Amadi on Finding Mangan by Bridget Hourican.
This week’s Irish Times Eason offer is Born to Be a Footballer by Liam Brady, €6.99 with your newspaper, a €6 saving.
The Irish Writers Centre has announced the appointment of Mags McLoughlin as chief executive. Previous roles include interim chief executive at Charities Institute Ireland and project management roles for Darkness into Light for Pieta House, Unicef, Young Social Innovators and social enterprise LIFT Ireland. She has an MA in creative writing from Queen’s University Belfast and was one of the winners of this year’s Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair. She lives in Dublin with her teenage son.
McLoughlin said: “It’s an honour to continue to deliver on the original vision laid down over 30 years ago of uplifting and supporting the life of the writer. I will dedicate my time to growing support for all writers on the island of Ireland as they continue to create and share their stories.”
Breda Brown, chair of the board of directors, said: “After a very thorough process, the board is delighted to appoint Mags as the new CEO. With strong leadership skills, as well as huge energy and ambition, she will work to ensure the Irish Writers Centre continues achieving our strategic objectives, while remaining true to the mission of the organisation.”
McLoughlin joins the organisation just two weeks before its open day on Saturday August 31st, where visitors can meet her and the team and take part in a programme of free workshops, information sessions, writer-led panel discussion and more.
The shortlists for the Irish-Language Book of the Year Publishing Awards were announced live on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, today by An tOireachtas, in conjunction with Foras na Gaeilge. The awards consist of three categories – Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin (Book of the Year for Adults), Gradam Réics Carló (Book of the Year for Children) and Gradam de Bhaldraithe (Book of the Year for publications translated into Irish).
Twenty books have been shortlisted this year – eight in the category, ‘Irish-Language Book of the Year for Adults’; six in the Children’s Book category and six in the category for translated works.
The 11 publishing houses shortlisted include An tSnáthaid Mhór; Barzaz; Cló Iar-Chonnacht; Coiscéim; Dalen Éireann; Dingle Publishing; Éabhlóid; Futa Fata; Gliadar; Leabhar Breac and LeabhairCOMHAR. Full details of works are available below.
“I congratulate all the Publishing Houses that appear on the shortlist announced today”, said Máirín Nic Dhonnchadha, CEO of An tOireachtas. “Such achievements by publishers of Irish-medium books can only be viewed as a triumph in the face of adversity and are wholly unsustainable without substantial investment in the sector as recommended by the Oireachtas Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community in it’s Report on Irish Language Writing, Publishing and Readership, launched at the Oireachtas na Samhna Festival in November 2023. Essential supports must be made available to empower writers and publishers to deal with the challenges of the very competitive global publishing industry whilst also dealing with the additional vicissitudes of working within a minority language arena. It is not a sustainable long-term strategy to just commend those in the industry who continue to barely survive – the sector must encouraged to thrive.”
The winners of the awards will be announced at an awards ceremony in late September. A collective prize fund of €17,000 will be awarded. Details of all publications are available at antoireachtas.ie.
Children’s Books Ireland will launch its annual reading guide for young people at a special Culture Night event at Dubray Books on Grafton Street, at 5pm on Friday September 20th. The free event will feature readings and signings by authors, an interactive window drawing display led by illustrators, and a book clinic where children are prescribed with their next read.
Spotlighting authors, illustrators and publishers from or based in Ireland, the Recommended Irish Reads guide will feature more than 200 book recommendations for readers of all ages.
Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde, who will launch the guide, said: “This will be a vibrant, family-friendly event celebrating the exciting world of Irish children’s books and the joy of reading together. We’ll have a whole gang of beloved authors and illustrators taking over Dubray, ready to spark a love of stories and reading in our future generations.”
Jumping Off the Page is a new Irish comic book festival featuring a wealth of Irish and UK talent. It will take place on October 4th and 5th in Greystones, Co Wicklow and speakers include the creators of the bestselling Milly McCarthy series, Leona Forde and Karen Harte, plus UK award-winner Neill Cameron, creator of the Mega Robo Bros series.
The festival is run by award-winning children’s bookshop Halfway Up the Stairs (holder of the An Post Bookshop of the Year award), and funded by the Arts Council.
The events will take place both in the bookshop and in the Whale Theatre in Greystones, and there will be a special afternoon for young makers of comic books and zines where they can sell their own work, plus schools’ events and events for families. Full information, including booking details, available here or contact Halfway up the Stairs on 086-6086110 or email: [email protected]
Kate Thompson, an award-winning Irish author living in south Galway, has produced a book, Palestine A-Z, in response to the often-heard assertion that the Israel/Palestine issue is “complicated”. It offers an explainer: a collection of concise entries, in alphabetical order, covering the key parties, organisations and issues which are lost behind the headlines. What is Hamas? Where does the Balfour Declaration fit in? What is the Palestinian Authority and what were the Oslo Accords? From administrative detention to Zionism, this short guide seeks to help make sense of what is going on in Gaza.
Thompson has published more than 20 books, for adults and younger readers, and has won many awards, including the Whitbread (Costa) Children’s Book of the Year Award and the CBI Book of the Year (three times).
Palestine A-Z is being launched in Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, Galway on Friday September 13th at 6pm. It is also available from the usual online retailers.
BND Magazine, dedicated to the vibrant spoken word scene in Ireland, launches its latest edition, Vol 2 Issue 2, at 7pm on Saturday September 28th at Mind The Step in Dublin. Editors Melissa Ridge and Ellen Murray will start the evening with welcoming words, followed by performances by Adam Kelly, Caoimhe Weakliam and Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan. Tickets are €15 (plus service fees); each ticket includes a copy of the magazine, providing a comprehensive look at the voices and stories shaping Ireland’s spoken word scene.