'The city of Dublin being awarded the prestigious UNESCO City of Literature
is a great recognition of the vast literary wealth for which we are
renowned and will be a welcome boost for cultural tourism in the capital
city in the coming years', said Mary Hanafin T.D., Minister for Tourism,
Culture and Sport today (Monday).

Dublin becomes the world’s fourth UNESCO City of Literature, part of the
UNESCO Creative Cities Network which was launched in 2004.  This award is a
permanent designation and has been led by the city library service of
Dublin City Council.

Minister Hanafin was speaking at the announcement by Dublin’s Lord Mayor
Gerry Breen at the Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin. 'Dublin has been awarded
this accolade because of the rich historical literary past of the city, the
vibrant contemporary literature, the variety of festivals and attractions
available and because it is the birthplace and home of literary greats.

Names such as Swift, O’Casey, Wilde, Shaw, Behan, Beckett and Joyce are
synonymous with Dublin and there are reminders of their great literary
works throughout the city – which captures both scholars and tourist
imaginations when they visit the city.

Dublin’s literary tradition continues to flourish with current writers
achieving great acclaim internationally – including Colm Tobín, Sebastian
Barry, Anne Enright, Roddy Doyle, John Banville to name just a few.
Novelists including Meave Binchy, Patricia Scanlan, Marian Keyes, John
Boyne, Joseph O’Connor and playwright Dermot Bolger are all native
Dubliners.

Each year Dublin welcomes Irish people and visitors alike to experience all
that is good about our famous city – the history, culture, friendliness of
the people and the welcome that we offer. For literary enthusiasts Dublin
has so much to offer including the National Library of Ireland, which holds
the world’s largest collection of Irish documentary material including
books, manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, drawings, photographs and
maps.

Dublin City Public Libraries and Irish Collections hold an extensive range
of books relating to Dublin and Ireland which are regularly added to.  The
Chester Beatty library is both an art museum and library, hosting an
amazing collection of Islamic manuscripts, oriental art and some of the
earliest texts of the Bible and other early Christian manuscripts. The
Dublin Writers Museum has displays relating to Irish literature in all its
forms from around the 10th century to the present day are on permanent
show. Exhibits include paintings, manuscripts, letters, rare editions and
mementos of many of Ireland’s famous authors.”

Minister Hanafin said that each year libraries around the globe participate
in choosing the winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award,
the largest of its kind, which is open to books written in any language.
“More recently Dublin has participated in the One City: One Book project
which encourages everyone in the city to read the same book in the month of
April each year.  The annual Dublin Writers Festival presents the best of
both Irish and international writing through readings, discussion and
insights from the best writers from Ireland and the world, while the Dublin
Book Festival celebrates the best of contemporary Irish publishing.

As demonstrated last autumn at Farmleigh, the extraordinary profile and
continued excellence of our artistic output is undeniably beneficial to our
country in terms of cultural tourism, international reputation, esteem and
goodwill.  It is also important from the point of view of the economy
generally and the revenue it raises through direct and indirect employment
that it creates.”

Minister Hanafin concluded by saying “Dublin is now part of the UNESCO
Creative Cities Network and there will be numerous opportunities to
showcase all that is happening on the cultural and literary fronts in the
months and years ahead.  Being one of only four cities in the world to
achieve the status of UNESCO City of Literature, will enable Dublin to
increase its market share of tourists and attract more people to both the
city and the island of Ireland.”

A steering group has been formed to help develop this designation which
includes representation from the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport,
Dublin City Council, Culture Ireland, Dublin Tourism, Fáilte Ireland, The
Arts Council, The Abbey Theatre, The National Library, the media, the
universities, literature organisations and writers.