A DISPUTE over a new edition of Crew na Cille by Mairtin O Cadhain will be raised with Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge, according to relatives of the deceased author.
It centres on claims that the new edition contains numerous typographical and grammatical errors and is a "shameful" treatment of one of the most important works of literature in Irish this century.
Mr Caoimhin O Marcaigh, of the publishers, Sairseal O Marcaigh, declined to comment on the claims at the book's launch in Connemara at the weekend. Speaking in Irish, Mr O Marcaigh acknowledged, however, that the edition was "not perfect". He said if there was anything in it "not intended by the writer", it would be corrected in the next edition.
The novel deals with the petty jealousies and rivalries in a closed rural community in Connemara. First published in Gaelic script in 1949, it has been out of print since the early 1980s and a reprint has been eagerly anticipated in Irish language circles. The new edition is set in a Roman typeface.
According to Mr Mairtin O Cadhain, a nephew of the writer, a trust set up to represent the family's interests examined the new edition and discovered more than 60 errors in the first 100 pages.
They included at least nine errors in the first five pages, he said. He described this as a "shameful".
The trust, Iontaobhas Ui Chadhain, asked the publishers to withdraw the book but they declined, he said.
Books published in Irish receive a State grant from Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge. The trust intended to raise the matter with the board, Mr O Cadhain added.
Meanwhile, an academic has confirmed to The Irish Times that she threatened legal action against the publishers if she was credited in the book as having "taken care" of the proofs. Her name is blacked out in some copies of the book which are on sale and does not appear in others.
Dr Caoilfhionn Nic Phaidin said she was unhappy with the original description of her in the book as someone "a rinne curam de na profai", as she had not seen the proofs for nine years.
"I read a proof in 1987 while the editorial work was in progress. I had no further involvement with the edition", she said.