The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Eibhlin Byrne, congratulates Sebastian Barry on winning the Award for Costa Book of the Year, saying:
“I would like to join with those many people congratulating Sebastian Barry on his wonderful win.  Secret Scripture is a haunting book which evokes very sensitively distant memories for many families.
I would especially like to take this opportunity to thank Sebastian for his tireless support for all things literary in our city and in particular his commitment to our bid for designation as UNESCO City of Literature.  He is a wonderful ambassador for Irish literature and hugely deserving of this recognition.”

 
ENDS

For Further information please contact:
Eibhlin Byrne, Lord Mayor:  086 8132051