Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue yesterday announced the appointment of the novelist Colm Tóibín to the Arts Council. The appointment is for a term of five years and he replaces the late John McGahern.
Born in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, in 1955, Mr Tóibín's work has been translated into 20 languages. He lived in Spain for several years before returning to Ireland to work as a journalist, editing In Dublin and Magill magazines.
His first novel, The South, won the Irish Times/Aer Lingus Literature Prize in 1991 and his 1999 novel The Blackwater Lightship was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His portrayal of American writer Henry James, The Master, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2004 and also won the prize for the best foreign novel published in France in 2005.
In June, Mr Tóibín became the first Irish author to win the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the world's largest literary prize (€100,000) for a single work of fiction, for The Master.