Deirdre Ní Thuathail, Owner and Managing Director of Cló Iar-Chonnacht talks about her life in publishing
How I started
When I finished college I was pondering what to do next, I had spent a summer working in America and was considering going back; I yearned for the bright lights, big city experience as I was born and raised on the Aran Islands. However, I decided to do a management course in Galway while I was considering my options and the course entailed a stint doing work experience. As I was one of the few fluent Irish-language speakers doing the course, I was sent to Cló Iar-Chonnacht . . . and the rest is history.
I yearned for the bright lights, big city experience as I was born and raised on the Aran Islands
It was a very small company at the time, with two employees, which included the founder and then managing director Micheál Ó Conghaile. The office was located at the side of Micheál’s house and we spent several years there before moving to a bigger office space.
Where I work now
I am now the owner and managing director of Cló Iar-Chonnacht.
The best thing about my role
The role is very varied, as with any small company. There were no academic courses in publishing available when I started so there was a lot of on the job learning involved. I quickly became jack of all trades, which included typesetting, marketing, finance etc. The company expanded gradually to five employees and we are very fortunate to have excellent staff, both past and present, who have brought the company from strength to strength to be in a position where we are celebrating forty years in business this year.
A mistake I made
With several hundred titles in print, I’m sure that there are several mistakes! No matter how many times you proofread something, there is nothing worse than when a book arrives in from the printer and you spot a typo on the cover that has escaped several watchful eyes.
My proudest moment so far
When I purchased the company from Micheál Ó Conghaile in 2021 and became the Managing Director. Although I had managed the company for several years before that, and not much changed in terms of my general workload, there is still a sense of added responsibility that comes with being the owner.
What the future holds
Publishing in Ireland is a niche market, and Irish-language publishing is a niche within a niche that is very dependent on state funding to survive. We worry for the future as our funding has been cut over the last few years.
Publishing in Ireland is a niche market, and Irish-language publishing is a niche within a niche
We also worry about the dumbing down of the language in education. Students are leaving second level education with barely a grasp of the language and this has huge implications for our next generation. They are getting high grades in Irish by rote learning but can barely string a sentence together in conversation. Where will our readers come from if this trend continues?
There needs to be a complete overhaul of the Junior and Leaving Certificate courses to make the learning of Irish enjoyable and not the chore that most students dread. The lack of housing in the Gaeltacht regions also has huge implications for the survival of the language. Young people need to be able to settle down and rear a family in the Gaeltacht in order to preserve the language. The Government need to address the planning constraints as a matter of urgency or there will be no young people left in the Gaeltacht if the current policy prevails.
The lack of housing in the Gaeltacht regions also has huge implications for the survival of the language
A book recommendation
We have just published the book Gearr Gonta, Céad Dán le Céad File, selected by Micheál Ó Conghaile, to commemorate 40 years of Cló Iar-Chonnacht. Every poem in the book has twelve lines or less so it’s very easy to read and a lovely gift book.
Find Cló Iar-Chonnacht authors and more in the line up of Irish language events at this year’s Cúirt festival from 8-13 April.
