Paul Lynch and translators celebrate International Translation Day

Posted on: 03 October 2025

Award-winning Irish author Paul Lynch was joined by four of his translators at an event hosted by Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation this week to mark International Translation Day, which takes place on September 30 every year.

The event was a conversation between Lynch and his Bulgarian, French, Polish and Romanian translators. The event also marked European Day of Languages, which takes place on September 26.

Iglika Vassileva, Kaja Gucio, Paul Lynch, Iulia Gorzo and Marina Boraso.  

At the event, translators Iglika Vassileva, Marina Boraso, Kaja Gucio and Iulia Gorzo discussed the complicated art of translating Paul Lynch’s work for readers of other languages.

The event, is a collaboration between Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation, Trinity’s flagship centre for the promotion of translation-based activities, and EUNIC Ireland (the EU National Institutes for Culture). 

Each year, the two organisations come together to invite a prominent Irish author whose work has been widely translated, along with some of their translators, to explore what goes into making outstanding Irish literature work in translation. Previous authors who have featured in this ‘Great Irish Writers in Translation’ series include the late Edna O’Brien, Colm Tóibín, Sally Rooney, Sebastian Barry and Anne Enright.   

Back L-R: Dr James Hadley; Prof Michael Cronin; Marina Boraso; Dr. habil. Laurenţiu-Mihai Ştefan, Ambassador of Romania to Ireland; Iulia Gorzo; Davor Vidiš, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in Ireland; Artur Michalski, Minister Plenipotentiary, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Republic of Poland in Ireland. Front: Céline Place, French Ambassador to Ireland; Kaja Gucio; Paul Lynch;  Iglika Vassileva.

Commenting on the event Davor Vidiš, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in Ireland and co-president of EUNIC said: “With the exponential rise of AI, events like this one, where we celebrate human expertise in language translation, are of fundamental value. Language is alive and humane, lived by people every day. Therefore, translators are not only translating words, but also translating customs, culture, and ways of life.

“It is essential to continue raising awareness of the translator’s role through initiatives like this. This  is precisely the purpose of the EUNIC network, and it gives me great pleasure that this year we have four translators at the event, which will make the discussion even more diverse and interesting.”

Author Paul Lynch pictured in Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation before the event. 

Dr James Hadley, Director of Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation, added: 

“These events with great Irish authors, in which we showcase the role of the literary translators across Europe in bringing the work to new audiences, has become a regular part of our annual programme. It is amazing how many people attend our events and tell us that they had never thought about literary translation as a creative activity. Those are precisely the kinds of people we are hoping to reach and the kinds of conversation we love having.” 

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