Kilkenny author's work shortlisted for prestigious award

Kilkenny man, John Gibbons has this week been Shortlisted for Book of the Year in the prestigious Irish Book Awards.

His book, ‘The Lie of the Land – a game plan for Ireland in the climate crisis’ was one of just six non-fiction titles shortlisted for the accolade, the overall winner of which will be revealed on November 27 at a televised awards ceremony in Dublin.

Gibbons is a well-known environmental journalist and commentator and an outspoken advocate for strong action on the climate emergency. The Lie of the Land, published by Penguin Sandycove, is his first book. Since its release in early September, it has met with critical acclaim and has spent several weeks in the national bestseller list.

TAP HERE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS

The book, according to the Irish Independent, is “a fascinating tale, succinctly told”, while the Irish Times described it as “an explosive book…Gibbons is naming names”. A review in the Business Post described The Lie of the Land as a “well argued and well-written book by a passionate, principled and pugnacious author”.

According to the Sunday Independent, “Gibbons wields integrity. His arguments are compelling and impassioned, backed up with a lengthy appendix of sources and citations” in a book that is a “fiercely detailed rebuke and analysis of Ireland’s sorry contribution to planetary heating”.

A detailed review in the Irish Examiner concluded as follows: “Gibbons has indeed done the State and generations as yet unborn some service” in his book, which The Currency described as “a devastating critique” of Ireland’s complacency and failure to prepare for the climate emergency.

The Lie of the Land is a bracing appraisal of the bad decisions that have put Ireland in such a vulnerable position, and a devastating dissection of the wishful thinking and outright dishonesty that have propped up the status quo in Irish agribusiness. It also offers an inspiring vision of how – through a revolution in farming, the development of renewable energy (including solar farming and tapping into our vast offshore wind resource), and a dramatic acceleration of moves to decarbonise transport and housing – we can prepare for the new realities of the climate crisis.

As Gibbons argues, Ireland has tended to think of itself as a ‘Goldilocks’ country: not too hot, not too cold, and well positioned to ride out the climate emergency. But this is a fantasy: the effects of climate change in Ireland, he points out, will be profound, and at the moment we’re not doing nearly enough about it. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Ireland has the wherewithal to dramatically cut its emissions while making itself far more resilient. The Lie of the Land  shows how it can be done.

Above all, we must reimagine the ways in which we use the land. The agrifood sector accounts for 38 per cent of Ireland’s greenhouse emissions – and just 7 per cent of gross national income. As John Gibbons shows, Ireland’s dramatic shift towards the most polluting food sectors – driven by a small number of agribusiness giants and facilitated by the state – benefits the few while imposing huge costs on the many. 

Gibbons, who grew up on a mixed farm near Bennettsbridge and whose late father, Michael, was a prominent activist for farmers’ rights, shows how we can embrace a low-emissions farming model while preserving farmers’ livelihoods, reducing pollution and reversing biodiversity collapse while making the countryside a better place to live, and delivering something Ireland conspicuously lacks: genuine food security.

To mark publication of the book, Gibbons was recently invited to Áras an Uachtaráin for a Courtesy Call by President Michael D. Higgins, a long-time advocate for climate action.

Other titles shortlisted for the non-fiction Book of the Year include ‘Dynasty’ by Matt Cooper, ‘Catastrophe’ by Fintan Drury, ‘Deadly Silence’ by Jacqueline Connolly with Kathryn Rogers and ‘The Bailout Babies’ by Adam Maguire.

The Irish public is invited to vote for their favourite title by visiting: www.irishbookawards.ie/vote/