Eoghan MacGiolla Bhride.
ONE of the biggest selling books of all time has been translated into Donegal Irish by a local writer.
An Prionsa Beag is a new translation by Gaoth Dobhair writer, Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde, of the multi-million selling book, Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
It will be launched tomorrow (Friday) at Oireachtas na Gaeilge in Dublin.
First published in 1943, the novella is the most famous work of the French aristocrat, writer, poet and pioneering aviator.
Translated into more than 250 languages and dialects, it has become one of the best-selling books ever published, selling nearly two million copies annually with sales totalling more than 140 million copies worldwide.
The book tells of a pilot who is forced to land his plane in the Sahara desert. Alone in the barren desert, he has a chance encounter with the little prince. Their unlikely friendship gives rise to one of the most wonderful stories ever told.
An Prionsa portraid
It is a story full of childish wonder and innocence but also a story so poetic that it helps us ponder some of the greatest mysteries of what it is to be human.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry invites us to explore our understanding of love, loss and friendship, using simple, guileless language, and it is this simplicity that enchants readers worldwide.
Speaking to the Donegal News this week, Mr Mac Giolla Bhríde (42) stressed that his new Irish translation sustains that simplicity and loses none of the magic of the original text. It is a clear and easily read translation in which the little prince’s magical spirit is poignantly revealed.
“This translation is in Donegal Irish and, therefore, a perfect book for those interested in the dialect and who wish to read literature with the flow and naturalness of spoken Irish,” he explained.
Published by Éabhlóid, An Prionsa Beag is available in bookstores at €12 or direct from the publishers at www.eabhloid.com
For full report, see this Friday’s Donegal News or subscribe to our digital edition.