“A life-enhancing talent,” said Sebastian Barry while Anne Enright enthused that “his paragraphs are unnoticeably beautiful, his heart always on show.”

But literary excellence, while always to be championed, is not the sole reason why it should capture and hold the attention of readers. Like Prophet Song, the Booker Prize-winner from Ryan’s fellow Limerick man Paul Lynch, it has much to say about the spirits at large in modern Ireland.

In Ryan’s award-winning predecessor, The Spinning Heart, the tragedy of the collapse of the Celtic Tiger and its searing impact on a small town in Co Tipperary is told through a fragmented chorus of 21 different voices and their stories.

Back in that day, it was the fear of collapsing property values and runs on the banks that terrified the citizenry. The Spinning Heart has a crooked developer, Pokey Burke, who disappears abroad leaving behind a trail of debt and broken promises. There are ghost estates, crippling mortgages, and half-built homes. And incipient violence.

In his new work, Ryan addresses another prevailing threat to the fabric of a society which has recovered a measure of prosperity, and it is one which has become gut-wrenchingly familiar to anyone with eyes to see — the impact of drugs on everyday life.

One of his characters, Triona, understands what is happening: “They’re dealing right there on the street inside in Nenagh. They’re out here in the village, too.”

Just as Ryan’s work was receiving its justifiable accolade, a news story emerged which would not be out of place as a plotline in one of his works.

Gardaí briefed security and crime correspondents about their attempts to break encryption on digital devices seized as part of a long-running operation to “take down” the Republic’s biggest drug trafficking organisation.

The network, known as ‘The Family,’ dominates the heroin trade in the Republic and has been increasing its slice of the lucrative cocaine traffic. It is suspected of being behind an attempted assassination of a rival gang member intercepted by the force’s emergency response nit on Tuesday night.

After a forced stop of a vehicle in Clondalkin, west Dublin, more than 300 gardaí took part in searches of 18 locations throughout the capital and two cells in Portlaoise Prison. Officers said they had gained intelligence that there was “a significant threat to life”. A semi-automatic Glock pistol and rounds of ammunition were recovered from the car and two men were arrested.

In a separate, unrelated, incident, gardaí stopped a car on the M8 near Glanmire in Co Cork from which they seized 12kg of cocaine.

The tawdry activities of drug dealers frequently appear in works of fiction but they are there because they are a point of recognition in the lives of many.

The recent general election was noticeably light on detail about how to respond to one of the most significant challenges to contemporary life, one which will occupy an ever greater slice of time and public resources if we allow its rampant growth to remain unchecked. It is a clear and present danger which must be contained.

Tourism storm warnings 

The storm warnings have been visible for some time now and, in this case, we’re not talking about the gales which are on their way to parts of Ireland this weekend.

The Irish tourism industry was clear about the malaise afflicting our appeal to visitors, when it published its pre-election manifesto. And now the figures which prove this was not scaremongering are in.

Data released by Fáilte Ireland this week confirmed that businesses have struggled through a “challenging year”, with demand for holidays in the Republic of Ireland falling well below expectations.

Research showed only one in four visitor-related businesses had more customers than the previous year, with the south of the country, along the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East region, bearing the brunt of the decline.

This depressing reality coincides with substantial growth in accommodation. Registered bed numbers are up by some 3%; short-term lets have increased on the main platforms; and the level of accommodation under Government contract has fallen to 10%, with more expected to be freed up this summer.

It is no secret that cost can be a major impediment to booking a holiday or break. Fáilte Ireland’s ‘360-degree view’ warned that visitors from key markets were becoming “more value-conscious” as their national economies slowed down.

Decline in demand from Irish consumers, and from Britain, which has previously been the largest inbound market, has affected regionality and seasonality, and decreased travel by Germans, because of that country’s stuttering economy, has also affected bookings.

Now industry campaigners are calling for urgent legislative intervention, even as attempts to try to form a new government continue.

A joint statement by vintners’ associations, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, and the Irish Hotels Federation warns that the sector is at a “crossroads”, with many companies facing very tight margins and reduced profitability.

“A fundamental change in direction is now imperative if we are to stave off what can only be described as a growing commercial crisis facing many businesses,” say the stakeholders. “This is of critical importance, given the integral role our industry plays within the economy as the country’s largest indigenous employer and a major engine for growth and prosperity.”

The group is calling for the introduction of a reduced Vat rate for hospitality food services, as well as measures to tackle the cost of doing business, and a government department for tourism and hospitality.

It is also seeking the removal of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport. Last week a challenge to this issue was referred by the High Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Back in October, before the nation provided a verdict which fell short of giving a decisive mandate to any party, we said that shoehorning tourism, and its economic potential, into a portmanteau ministry which includes culture, the arts, Gaeltacht, sport, and media has always seemed an unhappy compromise.

It needs its own champion with financial targets to meet.

The latest figures do nothing to persuade us otherwise.