How Ireland Became a World Literary Powerhouse

“The Irish just chat about everything. We love telling tales and yarning. There’s no other country where you could talk for an hour about the weather,” says Aisling Cunningham, 57, the owner of Ulysses Rare Books in Dublin.

After nearly an hour of chatting about everything from the rains of Donegal to why more people leave her bookshop with a copy of Dubliners than Ulysses, I’m convinced. Cunningham believes James Joyce’s Dubliners is more accessible, while the first edition of Ulysses costs just under €30,000 (£25,500).

I’m here in Dublin to uncover why Ireland, a small nation, excels in literature. With four Nobel literature laureates and six Booker prize winners, Dublin became the fourth Unesco City of Literature in 2010. Ireland boasts a thriving network of magazines, publishers, bookshops, festivals, and well-funded libraries. But this literary success is no shock to locals.

“Irish people love to entertain,” says writer Nicole Flattery over coffee in Stoneybatter, a trendy Dublin neighborhood. “Whenever I meet friends, everyone’s ready with a story to tell.”

Flattery, 34, who authored Show Them a Good Time and last year’s novel Nothing Special, points out that Ireland’s literary success is often oversimplified. She emphasizes the years of hard work and rejection behind the success, something not always visible in the final product.

Key factors include a supportive arts council and a culture of intergenerational mentorship. Ireland has also undergone significant social changes, legalizing divorce, gay marriage, and abortion. “It’s fascinating how young writers now speak freely in a way we couldn’t,” says Yvette Harte, 54, of Dublin’s oldest independent bookshop, Books Upstairs.

Sarah Bannan, head of literature at Arts Council Ireland, notes the boom in the number of Irish writers. Literary magazines and journals like Stinging Fly, Dublin Review, Banshee, and others contribute significantly. Bannan, also a novelist, focuses on supporting individual writers. The arts council has a budget of nearly €2m for grants, allowing writers to dedicate time to their projects.

The bursaries are “no strings attached,” and there’s also a tax exemption on income up to €50,000 for artists. Recently, Ireland launched a basic-income pilot scheme granting 2,000 artists €325 weekly. Literature funding even extends to Aosdána, an association offering stipends to top artists.

Despite these resources, many argue that funding alone isn’t the sole reason behind Ireland’s literary prowess. The country’s literary landscape is bolstered by festivals, magazines, and a supportive infrastructure.

Wendy Erskine, a Belfast writer, emphasizes the importance of community. She only started writing seriously in her late 40s, thanks to a workshop organized by Stinging Fly. “If it wasn’t for Stinging Fly, I wouldn’t have been published,” she says. Many prominent contemporary writers began their careers with the magazine.

Declan Meade, founder and publisher of Stinging Fly, attributes Ireland’s literary success to a broader cultural appreciation for storytelling. “Good writing is valued by the wider community here,” he says.

The public’s love for literature is evident at the Seamus Heaney exhibition in Dublin, drawing emotional responses from visitors. The National Library of Ireland hosts this exhibition, celebrating Heaney’s life and work.

Libraries in Ireland are thriving, with a 31% increase in book loans in 2022. A new program offers a free book bag to every child starting school, promoting early literacy. Stuart Hamilton of the Local Government Management Agency highlights the strong connection between Irish writers and libraries.

Bookshops are bustling too. At The Lilliput Press in Stoneybatter, founder Antony Farrell describes the fervor with which his team reads manuscripts. Lilliput discovered Donal Ryan, whose first novels they published before he signed with Penguin.

Farrell believes that the coherence of Irish culture contributes to its literary success. “There’s a strong yet varied Irish identity. The scale of the country is perfect; you can get to know it in your lifetime,” he says.

Indeed, Dublin’s literary landscape is abuzz, driven by a community that cherishes storytelling.

Source: The Guardian