An Gúm (, "The Scheme") was an Irish state company tasked with the publication of

Irish literature Irish literature is literature written in the Irish, Latin, English and Scots ( Ulster Scots) languages on the island of Ireland. The earliest recorded Irish writing dates from back in the 7th century and was produced by monks writing in ...

, especially educational materials. The agency is now part of

Foras na Gaeilge (, " Irish Institute"; ) is a public body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language throughout the island of Ireland, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was set up on 2 December 1999, assuming the rol ...

.Official description in English
, on Foras na Gaeilge site. Its mission statement is "To produce publications and resources in support of Irish-medium education and of the use of Irish in general." It is the largest publisher of books in Irish in the country. As of 2010, Seosamh Ó Murchú was the senior editor.

History

An Gúm was founded in 1925
, ''Cuireadh "An Gúm" nó an Scéim Foillsiúcháin atá ar siubhal faoi Roinn an Oideachais, cuireadh sin ar bun go hoifigeamhail fá ughdarás na Roinne Airgid ar an 6adh lá de Mhárta, 1925.'', An Gúm, or the "Publication Scheme", was in progress under the Department of Education, founded officially under the authority of the Department of Finance on the 6th day of March 1925. as part of the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Official description in Irish
, on Foras na Gaeilge site. by

Ernest Blythe Ernest William Blythe (; 13 April 1889 – 23 February 1975) was an Irish journalist, politician and managing director of the Abbey Theatre. He served as Minister for Local Government from 1922 to 1923, Minister for Finance from 1923 to 1932 ...

, then Minister for Finance in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. Its purpose was to ensure a supply of textbooks and general books which would be required to implement the policy of reviving the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

. Many of the early publications were translations of famous and contemporary English-language books,An Gúm book covers: translations of British Authors
Virtual Exhibit Summer 2004 – Burns Library such as ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

''.Dracula as Gaeilge
, on udar.ie site. There were some translations of other European authors,
Virtual Exhibit Summer 2004 – Burns Library and, of course, Irish authors who wrote in English.
Virtual Exhibit Summer 2004 – Burns Library The agency provided financial support for native Irish-language writers and published original writing in Irish by authors such as

Máirtín Ó Cadhain Máirtín Ó Cadhain (; 20 January 1906 – 18 October 1970) was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his 1949 novel , ÓCadhain played a key role in reintroducing modernist literatur ...

Seosamh Mac Grianna Seosamh Mac Grianna (1900 or 190111 June 1990) was an Irish writer. He was born into a family of poets and storytellers, which included his brothers Séamus Ó Grianna and Seán Bán Mac Grianna, in Rann na Feirste (Ranafast), a village in The ...

and Tomás Ó Criomhthain. An Gúm regularly publishes new editions of many books written and published in the 1920s and 1930s. An Gúm remained part of the Department of Education until 1999 when, with the

Belfast Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...

, its functions were moved under the cross-border body,

, which has a statutory obligation in respect of the publication of Irish language materials for education. Until well into the 1960s, An Gúm also published musical scores, some of them expressly for educational purposes at Irish schools. During the 1930s and 1940s, this was one of the few publishing opportunities for contemporary Irish composers including Rhoda Coghill, Aloys Fleischmann, Redmond Friel, Carl Hardebeck, John F. Larchet and Éamon Ó Gallchobhair.

Offices

An Gúm was based on

O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Henry ...

, Dublin, for much of the 20th century, before moving to premises in a building on North Frederick Street, shared with the National Educational Psychological Service, among others. Irish is the working language of the office, which is laid out over two floors. The office incorporates a library of past publications.

Lexicographical publications

The most famous book published by An Gúm is the ("pocket dictionary"). Other dictionaries have also been published by ''An Gúm'', including those by

Niall Ó Dónaill Niall Ó Dónaill (27 August 1908 – 10 February 1995) was an Irish language lexicographer from Ailt an Eidhinn, Loughanure, County Donegal, Ireland. He was the oldest of the six children of Tarlach ÓDónaill and Éilis NicRuairí from Gria ...

(Irish-English Dictionary) and Tomás de Bhaldraithe.

Projects

As well as publication and re-publication of fiction and textbooks in Irish, including the editorial work involved, An Gúm has also been involved in several larger projects. These include:

''Foclóir Nua Béarla-Gaeilge''

An Gúm is working on a project to develop a New English-Irish Dictionary.New English-Irish Dictionary
project page. Step 1, involving planning and design, was completed in autumn 2004. Step 2 of the initiative, involving writing the dictionary, was in progress as of 2010.

''Séideán Sí''

As part of its remit to develop educational materials and textbooks in Irish, as of 2010 An Gúm was developing an "integrated, enjoyable and child-centred course for the teaching of Irish which aims to develop the language, cognitive, emotional and creative skills of the child".Brochure for Séideán Sí, 1999
, (Irish and English) The syllabus is specifically, but not exclusively, designed for use in

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

schools and gaelscoileanna, where teaching takes place through the medium of the Irish language. ''Séideán Sí'' is a joint initiative of Foras na Gaeilge and the Department of Education. A range of materials are available, including books, posters, workbooks and cards.

Name

The word "gúm" means "plan", "scheme" or "project". The agency was also known, in its early days, as ''An Scéim Foillsiúcháin'' (the publication scheme).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gum, An Book publishing companies of Ireland All-Ireland organisations 1925 establishments in Ireland