ILE Celebrates the 1,500th Irish Title Supported in Translation
In November 2010, ILE celebrated its 1,500th title in translation – the German edition of Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn, published by Carl Hanser Verlag and translated by Giovanni and Ditte Bandini.
To mark this occasion, the Department of Foreign Affairs hosted a reception in Iveagh House, opened by Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche and attended by writers such as Anne Enright, Anthony Cronin, Claire Kilroy and Paul Murray, to name but a few, as well as by diplomats and public servants, translators, academics, arts administrators and ILE's funders.
Author of the 1,500th title in translation, Colm Tóibín, gave an impassioned speech about the value of culture and the arts, and praised the work of Ireland Literature Exchange in making Irish culture available and respected around the world – noting Ireland's reputation in this regard and asking those present to imagine "the delight, the knowledge, the beauty in those books" and the "secret power" contained in those works of literature that have, thanks to ILE's initiatives and support, become available to readers from China to Chile, and Berlin to Bogota.
Ireland Literature Exchange is extremely grateful to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Minister Roche for agreeing to mark this special occasion in the organisation's history, to Colm Tóibín for highlighting the importance of art, culture and exchange and the work of ILE, to all those who helped us celebrate our 1,500th title, and most especially to the writers of Ireland and their readers around the world.
A full copy of Colm Tóibín's speech is available to download here.