Cló Iar-Chonnacht celebrates 40 years in business

Irish language publishers are at the heart of the effort to preserve, develop and promote the Irish language today. By making literary, educational and cultural works available through the medium of Irish, Irish language publishers are fostering a dynamic community of readers, alongside enhancing our cultural identity. Without them, the presence of the Irish language would be a lot weaker in the literary world.

This year, Cló Iar-Chonnacht are celebrating 40 years in business, alongside the resounding impact they have made on the Irish language publishing world throughout this time. They are one of the largest Irish language publishing companies in the country, with 5 full time employees and an online shop – cic.ie.

Micheál Ó Conghaile established the publishing house in 1985 while he was a college student in Galway, and he spent 35 years directing the company. He has since won numerous literary awards, including the Oireachtas Literary Awards, the Hennessy Prize amongst many others. Although he stepped down as director in 2019, he remains active in the company, whilst Deirdre Ní Thuathail has taken over direction.

Located in An Spidéal in Connemara, Cló Iar-Chonnacht’s main aim is to preserve and promote the Gaeltacht, as well as Irish language and culture. Over the past 40 years, Cló Iar-Chonnacht has published over 500 Irish language books ranging from poetry, novels, children’s books and non-fiction, as well as hundreds of albums of music.

Cló Iar-Chonnacht and other publishers in the field of Irish language publishing do an excellent job of making Irish language books available in Ireland and further afield, promoting the Irish language at all levels.

Huge congratulations to Cló Iar-Chonnacht on the valuable work they have done over the past four decades, and we wish them every success in the years ahead.