Limerick author wins prestigious 2023 Booker Prize

LIMERICK author Paul Lynch has won the prestigious 2023 Booker Prize for his latest novel.

The Limerick native, whose parents still live in Rosbrien, has won the prize for his dystopian novel, Prophet Song.

The 46-year-old was awarded the 2023 Booker Prize at a ceremony held at Old Billingsgate, in London.

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Speaking at the event, he said: “Well, there goes my hard won anonymity. This was not an easy book to write.”

“The rational part of me believed I was dooming my career by writing this novel. Though I had to write the book anyway. We do not have a choice in such matters.”

The writer added: “All the children of this world who need our protection yet have lived, and continue to live through the terrors depicted in this book. Thank you for opening our eyes to innocence. So that we may know the world again as though for the first time.

“It is with immense pleasure that I bring the Booker home to Ireland,” he concluded.

Limerick City and County Council congratulated Paul Lynch. 

Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Gerald Mitchell said: "I want to extend heartfelt congratulations to Paul Lynch on clinching the 2023 Booker Prize for 'Prophet Song.' The win coming just over a year post-cancer diagnosis, adds a poignant layer to this achievement. Although raised in Donegal, Paul’s roots are firmly in Limerick. His family are from Limerick and his parents are now living here once again. I hope they enjoy celebrating this accomplishment and I wish Paul continued literary success.”

Prophet Song paints a fearless portrait of a society on the brink as a mother faces a terrible choice. 

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB on her step. Two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police are here to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.

As Ireland falls apart, Eilish can only watch helplessly as the world she knew disappears. When first her husband and then her eldest son vanish, Eilish finds herself caught within the nightmare logic of a collapsing society.

How far will she go to save her family? And what – or who – is she willing to leave behind?