How I started

Publishing is somewhat of a ‘second act’ for me. I spent over a decade working in the financial services industry. and then took some time out to raise our four children at home. As they got a little bit older I wanted to return to work. This coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic, and like many of us during that period I spent a lot of time taking stock and wondering what to do with the rest of my life. The Irish language had always been a part of my life—my father spoke (and still speaks) only Gaeilge to us. I attended Gaelscoileanna and my undergraduate degree was all through Irish. Gaeilge had been a constant in my life, and with my own kids now attending Gaelscoileanna, I really wanted to pursue a career where I could use the language.

The Irish language had always been a part of my life—my father spoke (and still speaks) only Gaeilge to us

I had been thinking about going back to education for a long time but finally took the plunge and undertook the Dioplóma Iarchéime san Aistriúchán (Postgraduate Diploma in Translation) with Coláiste na hÉireann/Gaelchultúr. Within minutes of starting the first lesson I knew I had made the right decision. I had always been a bit of a grammar nerd but this was next level stuff! After finishing the course I had a much better understanding of grammar, but my love for the language, its richness and its beauty had also deepened. I knew I wanted to keep working with Gaeilge.

After graduating, I spent about a year working on a number of interesting projects, including radio reporting on Irish language events for children, working as a language consultant on television programmes, translation, and teaching Irish to adults. I really enjoyed all of those experiences and it was wonderful to be able to use the language in so many different areas. Towards the end of 2024, a job with LeabhairCOMHAR came up. As well as Gaeilge, books have always been a big part of my life and when I saw an opportunity to combine the two I jumped at the chance.

Where I work now

I started work with LeabhairCOMHAR in late 2024, an Irish language publisher with a venerable publishing history. Comhar magazine has been continuously in print since 1942. Our publishing imprint was re-introduced in 2009, and I feel very proud to be part of COMHAR’s tradition of producing high quality publications as Gaeilge for a wide range of readers.

The best thing about my role

There is a lot of variety. LeabhairCOMHAR publishes books for all ages and levels of Irish, so one day I could be proofreading the text of a collection of short stories for adults, and the next I might be looking at images for a children’s picture book.

A mistake I made

Luckily I have not been in this role long enough for this to have happened, but watch this space!

My most fulfilling moment so far

We launched a number of new books towards the end of last year: Oíche Shamhna, a picture book for young children by Marie Whelton, Scéalta Nollag, a short story collection from Alan Titley, Inis Mara 2, the second in a series by Tristan Rosenstock, and Dialann Emily Porter: Caillte agus Aimsithe by Richie Conroy – the third book in that series. I started work just in time to see the books arriving from the printers which was very exciting, and it was a real joy to see all of the authors’ hard work finally come to fruition.

What the future holds

We have some really lovely books due for publication this year. I am looking forward to working with their wonderful authors, and adding to LeabhairCOMHAR’s catalogue of high quality reading material.

Book recommendation  

I recommend LeabhairCOMHAR’s full catalogue, particularly the aforementioned new releases!