The Irish Book Lover

The Irish Book Lover ranks as the longest-lasting of all twentieth-century Irish literary journals, with a run of 227 issues published under the editorships of John S. Crone (1909-25), Séamus Ó Casaide (1928-1930) and Colm Ó Lochlainn (1930-57). As a bibliographical and reviewing journal rather than a forum for commentary, poetry or fiction, it is less often consulted than literary journals such as the Irish Review or The Bell but nevertheless illustrates with great clarity some of the key changes in modern Irish culture and society between 1909 and 1957. Though superseded by a variety of reviewing organs, it gives an inspiring example to Irish book lovers in our own time.The Princess Grace Irish Library has compiled a sampler of the journal here, together with an index of the entire series. The present volume also contains the introductory lecture given by Dr. Nicholas Allen at the “Irish Book Lover” Symposium held in Monaco to commemorate the journal. The symposium was also afforded a planned opportunity to survey existing resources for Irish literary history in the company of fifteen Irish publishers, librarians, teachers, critics and – last but not least – owners of Irish-studies websites.