Irish Book Awards

The Irish Book Awards are annual awards made to books in various categories, the only literary awards supported by all Irish bookstores. First awarded in 2006, they grew out of the Hughes & Hughes bookstore's Irish Novel of the Year Prize which was inaugurated in 2000. Since 2007 the Awards have been an independent not-for-profit company.

2009 Winners & Shortlist

The Hughes Hughes Irish Novel of the Year:

Winner: The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Faber Faber)-

The story of centenarian and mental hospital patient, Roseanne McNulty, is at once shocking and deeply beautiful. Refracted through the haze of memory and retelling, Roseanne’s story becomes an alternative, secret history of Ireland’s changing character and the story of a life blighted by terrible mistreatment and ignorance. Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2008.

The Truth Commissioner by David Park (Bloomsbury)

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill (Harper Perennial)

Disguise by Hugo Hamilton (Fourth Estate)

Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year:

Winner: This Charming Man by Marian Keyes (Michael Joseph)

The Gift by Cecelia Ahern (Harper Collins)

Mr S and the Secrets of Andorra's Box by Ross O’Carroll-Kelly (Penguin Ireland)

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy (Orion)

Lessons in Heartbreak by Cathy Kelly (Harper Collins)

Forgive and Forget by Patricia Scanlan (Transworld Ireland)

Best Irish-Published Book of the Year:

Winner: The Parish by Alice Taylor (Brandon)

A profound and benign book, The Parish deals with the growing realisation that local community is very precious and must be nurtured. Through a series of vignettes of life in her own village, Innishannon, Taylor explores the positive values of social community and the extraordinary things that the members of a close-knit community do for each other.

Crime Wars by Paul Williams (Merlin)

Patrick Hillery: The Authorised Biographyby John Walsh (New Island)

Traditional Boats of Ireland: History, Folklore and Construction by Criostóir MacCarthaigh (Collins Press)

The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children’s Book of the Year:

Junior section:

Winner: Before You Sleep by Benji Bennett (Adams Printing Press)

This is an affectionate and wonderfully illustrated children’s bedtime story book by first-time author, Benji Bennett. It offers parents a unique opportunity to enter the fascinating world of a child and express their love for their child through a series of magical adventures, powerful verse and imaginative illustrations.

Her Mother's Face by Roddy Doyle (Scholastic)

Highway Robbery by Kate Thompson (Bodley Head)

The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers (Harper Collins Children’s)

Senior section:9+

Winner: Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy (Harper Collins)

Baron Vengeous makes a bloody escape from prison and dead bodies and vampires start showing up all over Ireland. With Baron Vengeous after the deadly armour of Lord Vile, and pretty much everyone out to kill Valkyrie, the daring detective duo face their biggest challenge yet. Latest in the rip-roaring Skulduggery series.

The Magician, by Michael Scott (Doubleday Children’s)

Alice and Megan Foreverby Judi Curtin (O’Brien Press)

The Poison Throne (Moorehawke Trilogy) by Celine Kiernan (O’Brien Press)

RTÉ Radio 1’s The Tubridy Show Listeners’ Choice Award:

Winner: The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Faber Faber)-

The story of centenarian and mental hospital patient, Roseanne McNulty, is at once shocking and deeply beautiful. Refracted through the haze of memory and retelling, Roseanne’s story becomes an alternative, secret history of Ireland’s changing character and the story of a life blighted by terrible mistreatment and ignorance. Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2008.

Netherlandby Joseph O’Neill (Harper Perennial)

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury)

Testimonyby Anita Shreve (Little Brown)

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Millar (Canongate)

The White Tigerby Aravind Adiga (Atlantic Books)

The Ireland AM Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year:

Winner: Blood Runs Coldby Alex Barclay (Harper Collins)

Kidnap and murder collide in Alex Barclay's heart-stopping new thriller featuring FBI Agent Ren Bryce. When an FBI agent is found dead on the white slopes of Quandary Peak in Colorado, a brilliant but volatile agent is drafted in from Denver to lead the investigation. Alex Barclay is the rising star of the hard-boiled genre.

The Likenessby Tana French (Hachette Ireland)

Undertowby Arlene Hunt (Hachette Ireland)

Gallows Lane (Inspector Devlin Mystery 2) by Brian McGilloway (Pan MacMillan)

The Argosy Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year:

Winner: Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney by Seamus Heaney and Dennis O’Driscoll (Faber Faber)

Widely regarded as the finest poet of his generation, Seamus Heaney has been the subject of no book-length portrait until now. In response to Dennis O’Driscoll’s subtle questioning, the poet sheds a personal light on his work and on the artistic and ethical challenges he faced, providing an original, diverting and absorbing store of reflections, opinions and recollections.

Ivor Browne: Music and Madness by Ivor Browne (Cork University Press)

The Builders by Frank McDonald and Kathy Sheridan (Penguin)

Bake by Rachel Allen (Collins)

Energise Sport Irish Sports Book of the Year:

Winner: Ronan O'Gara: My Autobiographyby Ronan O’Gara (Transworld Ireland)

Ronan O'Gara is quite simply one of the greatest sportsmen Ireland has ever produced. In this illuminating autobiography, O'Gara tells the story of his many on-field successes but does not shy away from addressing the darker days, most notably at the 2007 World Cup. Here is the story of a passionate representative of the people of Cork and Ireland.

Better Than Sex: My Autobiography by Mick Fitzgerald and Donn McClean (Highdown)

Crashed and Byrned: The Greatest Racing Driver You Never Saw by Tommy Byrne and Mark Hughes (Icon Books)

The Chairman of the Boards: No. 1 by Eamon Coughlan and George Kimball (Red Rock Press)

International Education Services Irish Newcomer of the Year:

Winner: Confessions of a Fallen Angel by Ronan O’Brien (Hachette Ireland)

Following a near-death experience as a child, the narrator becomes cursed with the ability to foresee the deaths of the people closest to him. Set in the fictional Dublin suburb of Rathgorman, this is a story where dreams come true but can turn into nightmares; a place where true love will prevail and where death is only the beginning.

The Poison Throne (Moorehawke Trilogy) by Celine Kiernan (O’Brien Press)

Bad Day in Blackrock by Kevin Power (Lilliput)

Off the Beaten Track: My Favourite Faraway Places by Kathryn Thomas (Poolbeg)

Lifetime Achievement in Irish Literature 2009:

2008 winners

- Irish Novel: The Gathering by Anne Enright
- Irish Non-Fiction Book: Judging Dev: A Reassessment of the Life and Legacy of Eamon De Valera by Diarmaid Ferriter
- Irish Children's Book - junior: The Story of Ireland by Brendan O'Brien
- Irish Children's Book - senior: Wilderness by Roddy Doyle
- Best Irish Newcomer: With My Lazy Eye by Julia Kelly
- Irish-Published Book: Judging Dev: A Reassessment of the Life and Legacy of Eamon De Valera by Diarmaid Ferriter
- Irish Sports Book: Trevor Brennan: Heart and Soul by Trevor Brennan with Gerry Thornley
- Listener's Choice: by Diarmaid Ferriter
- Irish Popular Fiction Book: Take a Look at Me Now by Anita Notaro
- Lifetime Achievement: William Trevor

2007 winners

- Irish Novel: Winterwood by Patrick McCabe
- Irish Non-Fiction Book: Connemara by Tim Robinson
- Irish Children's Book - junior: The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
- Irish Children's Book - senior: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
- Best Irish Newcomer: The Goddess Guide by Gisele Scanlon
- Irish-Published Book: Lifelines: New and Collected ed. by Niall McMonagle
- Irish Sports Book: Back from the Brink by Paul McGrath
- Listener's Choice: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
- Irish Popular Fiction Book: Should Have Got Off at Sydney Parade by Ross O'Carroll-Kelly

2006 winners

- Irish Novel: The Sea by John Banville
- Irish Non-Fiction Book: In the Dark Room by Brian Dillon
- Irish Children's Book: The New Policeman by Kate Thompson

Hughes and Hughes Irish Novel of the Year

- 2005: Havoc in its Third Year by Ronan Bennett
- 2004: Dancer by Colum McCann
- 2003: That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern

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