DCU wins Ireland's premier prize for translation
17 September 2002

Patricia O'Flaherty and Pauline Kehoe

Patricia O'Flaherty, Lecturer in French in the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, and Pauline Kehoe, masters graduate in Translation Studies have jointly won the Prix de l'Ambassade, Ireland's premier prize for translators working from French to English or Irish. The prize will be awarded at a ceremony at the Irish Writer's Centre on 28 September.

Organized by the Irish Translators' and Interpreters' Association with the support of the French Embassy Cultural Services, the award is intended to provide financial assistance to those who are undertaking a translation of a French author. While previous laureates of the prize undertook translations of works of literature with a rather specialized readership, Pauline and Patricia have chosen a short story, written in a colloquial style, which they hope will reach a wide audience in Ireland. Their aim is to have their translation of Matin brun (Brown Morning) published and distributed in Ireland.

Matin brun has taken France by storm; it has been on the French best-seller list since May, with over 115,000 copies in print and is currently selling approximately 1000 copies per day. The author is Franck Pavloff, a specialist in children's rights, who spent over ten years in Africa and Asia developing children's projects. He has written 8 other novels for adults, 6 novels for children and 2 volumes of poetry.

Brown Morning comes highly recommended, firstly because it is a good read and secondly because it raises issues touching on all of our lives at present. The story engenders discussion about extremism, racism, intolerance and the responsibilities of citizenship and makes the reader think about the problems we encounter on a day-to-day basis living in a multi-cultural society. The book appeals to a wide range of readers, from young adolescents in secondary or third level education to people in the multi-cultural work place. It is being used in education programmes and has generated interest from film and theatre producers, with a CD-reading in production in France. Patricia and Pauline are enthusiastic about the translation and sure that the story will be as big a hit in Ireland as it is in France.