Fógraíodh na buaiteoirí sna Irish Book Awards le déanaí agus bhí sé suntasach arís nach raibh aon leabhar Gaeilge san iomaíocht ná aon chatagoir ar leith le haghaidh leabhar as Gaeilge. Gan amhras is sna na duaiseanna liteartha san Oireachtas is mó a mbíonn spéis ag 'lucht leabhar' na Gaeilge, idir fhoilsitheoirí agus léitheoirí araon - Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin agus Gradam Réics Carló. Ar an gcéad amharc, ba dhóigh le duine nár leor na duaiseanna seo mar go mbíonn siad teoranta do shaol na Gaeilge agus b'fhéidir gurbh fhearr aird an phobail mhóir a tharraingt ar a bhfuil á fhoilsiú sa Ghaeilge.
Ar an taobh eile, is gnó ann féin é na Irish Book Awards, gnó atá á riaradh ag comhlacht a bunaíodh d'aon ghnó le hairgead a thuilleamh dó féin. Tá a rian sin ar na 'duaisanna'; ní bhronntar seic ar bith ar bhuaiteoir ar bith - ní fhaigeann siad ach an gradam. Ní leor é sin ach an oiread...
Some food for thought...
The winners of The Irish Book Awards were announced recently and it was notable again that no Irish-language titles were on any of the shortlists. Nor was there a special Irish-language category. Now, for the Irish language literati - both publishers and readers - the literary competitions at Oireachtas na Gaeilge have long been paramount - Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin (adult) and Gradam Réics Carló (children). One's first reaction might be that these aren't enough, that we should ideally be striving to use some other major competitions to tell more people than just Irish speakers about what's being published in Irish at the moment. On the other hand, The Irish Book Awards is a business in itself, established by a 'for-profit' company - and the awards have every sign of it; the winners of the awards receive no cheque at all, just the honour of winning. While the Irish language folk talking to ourselves might not be enough, the approach of the Irish Book Awards is hardly enough either...
