The History of Irish Book Publishing

by Tony Farmar, Conor Kostick

In this seminal work, publisher and author Tony Farmar places the development of Irish publishing in its social and economic context, exploring how the mechanics of the industry, alongside the changing structure of Irish bookselling, have underpinned developments in the trade.

537 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 26, 2018

Reviews

[Peter Thew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of background. I spent almost 40 years working in Irish book publishing so this is a natural for me. It traces the history of the Irish published book from its beginnings in the 16th century, through the rising levels of literacy in the 19th century, the era of censorship in the mid 20th century and the rising tide of new publishing houses over the past 50 years. It is full of stories, many long forgotten. I'd certainly forgotten Mrs. Anne Spicer who, in 1988, submitted the Bible to the Censorship Board as containing graphic obscenity and endorsing polygamy, slavery, sexual abuse, mutilation, ritual murder and violence! The Board declined to act. As Fergal Tobin says in his Preface "This wonderful book will be neither challenged nor superseded for a long time, if ever." He's right.