President praises 'feast' of writing

The winners of The Irish Times Literature Prizes 2001 provided readers with both "peace and provocation" the President, Mrs McAleese, said. Speaking at the award ceremony in the RDS last night, Mrs McAleese said every book on the shortlist gave her many hours of pleasure, "all for less than the price of a modest round of drinks for two".

She said the five winners were "individually magnificent" writers who provided a feast of the finest examples of the craft . The prize fund was £27,500.

Belfast-born Michael Longley won the poetry prize for his collection The Weather in Japan. William Trevor took the fiction prize for The Hill Bachelors.

The non-fiction prize was presented to Angela Bourke, senior lecturer in Irish at UCD, for The Burning of Bridget Cleary. The judges in the poetry, fiction and non-fiction categories were Prof Dermot Keogh, chairman, Ms Anne Haverty and Mr Mike Murphy.

The prize for a work in the Irish language went to poet Cathal ╙ Searcaigh for his volume, Ag Tn·th leis an tSolas. The judges in the Irish language section were Mr Alan Titley, chairman, Mr Diarmaid ╙ Muirithe and Ms ┴ine N∅ Ghlainn.

The international fiction prize was won by Michael Ondaatje, the Sri Lankan poet, novelist and editor, for Anil's Ghost. He is best known for his 1992 novel, The English Patient. The judges in the international fiction category were Dr Anthony Clare, chairman, Mr Geoff Dyer and Ms Julia O'Faolain.

Mrs McAleese congratulated The Irish Times for its promotion of literature and the arts. Borrowing a quotation from Patrick Kavanagh's Ascetic, she said: "With the help of The Irish Times I hope never to encounter any of our authors in the 'rags of hunger'. "

The editor of The Irish Times, Mr Conor Brady, said this year's award entrants represented a "vintage crop". The Irish Times would remain committed to literature and books.