Irish-born writer Colum McCann's latest novel Let the Great World Spinhas scooped the top prize for fiction at the US National Book Awards.
The Dubliner’s novel about life in New York City in the 1970s was desrcibed by judges as an "indelibly hallucinatory portrait of a decaying city".
McCann's novel defeated four other books shortlisted in the fiction category for a prize of $10,000. To be eligible, the books had to be published in the United States between December, 2008 and November, 2009 and written by a US citizen.
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen congratulated the author, saying the award recognised McCann's immense talent and "his brilliantly crafted story
Mr Cullen said: "The Irish imagination is one of our greatest assets and the individual creative success of modern Irish writers like Colum McCann continues to make an enormous contribution to cultural life both at home and abroad."
"The global cultural profile of Irish artists past and present, indelibly associates Ireland with world-class achievement in creativity and the arts," he said.
McCann is the author of the novels Zoli, Dancer, This Side of Brightness, and Songdogs, as well as two story collections. He has also been a finalist for the International Impac Dublin Literary Award and was the inaugural winner of the Ireland Fund of Monaco Literary Award in memory of Princess Grace.
He is a contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic Monthlyand the Paris Review. He lives in New York with his wife and three children.
The Arts Council also extended its congratulations to McCann, saying the his novel is “bold, brave and beautifully written”.
Chairman of the Arts Council Pat Moylan said: “McCann’s gifts as a writer are on full display in this ambitious, moving and multi-layered novel, a work which cements his reputation as one of the most powerful, lyrical and perceptive writers working today.
An affecting and tender metaphor for post 9/11 America, the novel tells the stories of a handful of seemingly disconnected individuals in 1970s New York. McCann captures their voices with precision and compassion, wholly absorbing the reader in this complex and stirring narrative,” she said.
Fine Gael's arts spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said the award was "a tremendous success for Colum and I have no doubt that Hollywood will soon be knocking on his door".
She said McCann was the latest in the long line of Irish artists achieving international success.
"He is also helping to counteract the more negative images of Ireland that may be going out from other sectors. He has already appeared at the arts, sports and tourism committee in the Dáil to plead the case for emerging artists and his award today is further proof of the viability of the arts sector."