Cork University Press

Cork University Press

Parent company	University College Cork
Founded	1925
Founder	Alfred O'Rahilly
Country of origin	Ireland
Headquarters location	Cork
Distribution	Gill(Ireland) Marston Book Services (UK) Longleaf Services (United States) Scholarly Book Services (Canada)
Publication types	Books,Academic journals
Imprints	Cork University Press, Attic, Atrium
Official website	www.corkuniversitypress

Cork University Press(CUP) is a publisher located inCork,Ireland.It was founded in 1925 and is associated withUniversity College Cork.The Press publishes under its ownimprintand two others: Attic (which specializes inwomen's studies) and Atrium.

Foundation

In 1908, Cork University was restructured and Queens College Cork become University College Cork. In 1925, Cork University Press was founded byAlfred O'Rahilly,the registrar (1920–1943) and president (1943–1954) of University College Cork (UCC). In the early years, a triumvirate of three directors managed CUP. These were the University College Cork president, the registrar and the secretary or bursar. In 1934,Daniel Corkeryjoined them.

Alfred O'Rahilly (1925–1953)

O'Rahilly said of CUP, "I took the initiative in order to convince the College of the feasibility and desirability of the project".O'Rahilly guided CUP policy and conducted CUP business, including communicating with readers, agents and publishers. O'Rahilly also had an association withBlackwell,the scientific publishing company ofOxford.O'Rahilly was a friend ofBasil Blackwell(1889–1984), the son of the founder.

In 1943, when O'Rahilly became president of University College Cork,Kathleen O'Flahertyof the French Department managed much of the editorial and management work of CUP in an unpaid capacity, which she continued for ten years. O'Flaherty published three books through Cork University Press and remained a member of the CUP committee.

O'Rahilly had realistic views about the limited impact of advertising. He said, "… the market for our books is limited by their nature. No amount of advertising will convince the average creamery manager that he should readThe Psychology of Sartreor the psychologist that he should buyCommercial Methods of Testing Milk.In 1952, he aimed to publish four books per year, one of which could be afforded as a loss.

In the period 1942–1945 and in 1954, outside marketing managers were engaged to improve sales at CUP. The first was L. J. Wrenne, a publisher and printer in Cork. The latter John M. Feehan of theMercier Press.O'Rahilly considered the endeavours unsuccessful.

On his retirement in 1953, O'Rahilly acknowledged that some might see CUP as a personal conceit. He said, "no loss has been incurred by any of my publications. I should have had no difficulty in finding other publishers for my books" and, "In 1928 I handed the CUP to the College: since that date the College owns and controls the Press. I have never made nor do I now make, any claims, financial or proprietary, on the CUP." Between 1948 and 1953, O'Rahilly donated £700 and part of his salary to a total of £1,250 to CUP. He took no monetary remuneration from the press.

The titles published in O'Rahilly's time included James Handley'sThe Irish in Scotland(1945); O'Rahilly's own book,Money(1941);Daniel Corkery'sSynge and Anglo-Irish Literature(1931);James Hogan'sElection and Representation(1945); andBridget G. MacCarthy'sWomen Writers(1944). Those in the Irish language includedT. F. O'Rahilly'sDánta Grádha(1926);Measgra Dánta(1927); and thefestschriftFeilscribhinn Torna(ed. S. Pender, 1947). Others includedEdward MacLysaght'sIrish Life in the Seventeenth Century(2nd edn. 1950); andSeán P. Ó Riordáin'sAntiquities of the Irish Countryside(2nd edn. 1944).

From 1944 to 1980, CUP published theCork University Record(from 1956, theUCC Record), which appeared initially three times a year and later annually. It chronicled the year's events, carried statements of college policy, detailed staff appointments and obituaries, and included articles on college history and personal reminiscences. In O'Rahilly's time theRecordserved as a medium for the expression of his own cultural and educational philosophy.

Denis Gwynn (1953–1963)

After O'Rahilly's departure, the affairs of CUP were conducted by a committee of senior staff members. This was a small inner circle to begin with, but became larger and more representative of the academic disciplines in subsequent decades.

From the mid-1950s,Denis Gwynnwas a dominant presence in the CUP committee. A member of a distinguished scholarly and literary family, Gwynn was research professor of modern Irish history at UCC (1947–1963). He had strong links with the spheres of journalism and publishing in Britain and Ireland.

Gwynn was a (part-time salaried) general editor from 1955 until 1963, when he retired from UCC. He implemented the publishing of important lectures by visiting dignitaries.

A discussion on general policy at a CUP committee meeting in 1956 ended in agreement that "it was the function of Cork University Press to undertake as far as possible the publication of scholarly books and pamphlets for members of the staff. This of course may frequently involve loss…", to cover which the CUP was in receipt of a grant from the college. The same meeting expressed the opinion that the CUP "should exclusively undertake occasionally the publication of a first-class book of general interest and even one of some magnitude".

1963–1990

In 1963, the general editor position was replaced by an editorial committee. The committee was assisted by an executive secretary, a post filled from the college staff. The CUP continued in its core business of academic publishing, particularly Irish and Anglo-Irish works. The committee considered publishingpotboilersin order to fund more serious works.

Although Denis Gwynn had disapproved of CUP publishing texts prepared by professors for their students, that was not the majority view of the CUP committee. In the late 1960s, there were brisk sales of laboratory notes on inorganic semi-micro analysis;Commercial Methods of Testing Milkand student texts such asIntroduction to Practical ChemistryandA Notebook for Practical Botany.

Although the CUP was not a fully commercial entity, the assessment of manuscripts was rigorous, readers were chosen carefully and were paid anhonorarium.The amount was five guineas in 1960, ten guineas in 1967 and forty pounds in 1983. The CUP rejected works of students, amateur authors and memoirists. Some works were rejected due to inadequate resources.Raymond Crotty'sIrish Agricultural Production(1966) was a notable, quality, landmark publication. The CUP carefully protected its prestige with wariness of co-publications. At times, the CUP committee, experienced difficulties with publishing industry agents, advisers, and printers which could be costly. In the 1980s, CUP established a fruitful relationship with Seán Daly of Tower Books.

CUP income included sales revenue, author contributions and an annual UCC grant. In 1928 the grant was £250, £500 in 1949, and £10,000 in 1987. A subvention from theNational University of Irelandwas granted where a work had an Irish context. The CUP budget was also dependent on the decisions of the UCC secretariat and bursar's office.

In 1988, CUP's deficit was nearly £77,000. Difficulties for CUP included poor catalogue design, outdated office equipment, inadequate packaging and distribution, high publishing costs and small turnover.

1990–2000

In December 1989, a new committee was convened. Alec McAulay, a publisher withLeicester University Press,was engaged to make an analysis of CUP and suggestions for improvement. The UCC president questioned whether it was in the UCC's best interest for the CUP to be continued. If so, it would need to be a fully fledged publishing house.

In 1992, the CUP was relaunched. The publishing list was expanded. New endeavours included commercially oriented academic publications and some non-academic publications. For example, in 1993,The Cork Anthologywas published and in 1997,Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscapewas published. The CUP took commissions more seriously. A series entitledUndercurrentscontributed to public debate. In 1997, CUP purchased Attic Press, afeministpublishing house.

By 2000, UCC funding of CUP was decreased to twenty percent of CUP's budget.

Recent publications includeJames Kelly'sDuelling in Ireland(1995);Joep Leerssen'sMere Irish and Fior-Gael(1996); Kevin Whelan'sThe Tree of Liberty, 1760–1830(1996); Fintan Vallely'sCompanion to Irish Traditional Music(1999);Terry Eagleton'sCrazy John and the Bishop(1998);Michael Cronin'sAcross the Lines: Travel, Language and Translation(2000); and theAtlas of the Irish Rural Landscape(1997).

See also

• McGreevy R.Heavy reading: UCC launches 5kg 'Atlas of Irish Revolution'Irish Times,14 September 2017.

External links

• Cork University Press