The Irish author John Banville is today celebrating his surprise selection as the winner of the 2005 Man Booker Prize for his novel 'The Sea'.
The Prize, announced last night at the London Guildhall, is one of the world's most prestigious literary awards.
Banville, who dedicated the award to his children, had been a 7-1 outsider to win, with Julian Barnes the favourite for his book 'Arthur & George'.
But in a close run contest, the judges agreed to award the 2005 Man Booker Prize to Banville's novel 'The Sea', which they described as "a masterly study of grief, memory and love recollected".
The narrator in the novel is a middle-aged man mourning the death of his wife as he returns to the seaside town where he spent a childhood summer.
Accepting the award, Banville said: "This is a great surprise and a great pleasure. I must thank the judges, who are suddenly my best friends in the world. And to my friends - it's a cliché, but it's true, any one of these books could have won."
He continued: "I do say to my colleagues: just hang in there, it will come. I hung around for many years."
'The Sea' is Banville's 14th novel. The 59-year-old writer had previously been on the Booker shortlist in 1989 for his novel 'The Book of Evidence'.
The last Irish writer to win the Prize was Roddy Doyle in 1993.
The Man Booker winner receives a cheque for £50,000 and is guaranteed a massive boost in sales.
