The story
Founded by Government of Ireland in 1925.1
An Gúm was founded in 1925 as part of the Department of Education by Ernest Blythe, then Minister for Finance in the Irish Free State.
Its purpose was to ensure a supply of textbooks and general books which would be required to implement the policy of reviving the Irish language.
The agency provided financial support for native Irish-language writers and published original writing in Irish by authors such as Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Seosamh Mac Grianna and Tomás Ó Criomhthain. An Gúm regularly publishes new editions of many books written and published in the 1920s and 1930s.
Translations
Many of the early publications were translations. At the time there was some criticism of Ernest Blythe regarding the choice of titles to be translated and from 1940 on, less and less translation of literary works was undertaken. There were some translations from European languages other than English, for example short stories by Chekhov. Translations of English-language books by American, British and Irish authors were more common, including well known titles such as Dracula and Wuthering Heights.
Drama
The first modern play performed in Irish on the stage was Casadh an tSugáin by Douglas Hyde in 1901. Drama was seen as important for the revival of the Irish language and the Cumann na nGaedheal government founded Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, the Irish-language theatre. Translations were used to increase the number of plays in Irish. The Spanish playwright María de la O Lejárraga, who often referenced Roman Catholic viewpoints, was seen as reflecting values shared by many Irish speakers.
Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe performed her work in the west of Ireland.
Music
Until well into the 1960s, An Gúm also published musical scores, some of them expressly for educational purposes at Irish schools. During the 1930s and 1940s, this was one of the few publishing opportunities for contemporary Irish composers, including Rhoda Coghill, Aloys Fleischmann, Redmond Friel, Carl Hardebeck, John F. Larchet and Éamon Ó Gallchobhair.
Art work
The Burns Library at Boston College has a collection of original dust jackets in good condition.
From Wikipedia’s article on An Gúm, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4