Booker Prize judges deny this year’s winner was influenced by last week’s riots in Dublin after Paul Lynch’s novel Prophet Song which describes police and protesterts clashing in Ireland is handed the award

Judges of the Booker Prize have denied that last week’s riots in Dublin had a strong influence on their choice of this year’s winner – a new story about the clash between police and protesters in Ireland.

Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song, 46, was declared the winner on Saturday after a full day of discussions, with the judges insisting that current events were not a ‘central factor’ in their decision.

But judge chairman Esi Edugyan admitted yesterday that while the recent chaos in Dublin was not ‘particularly at the forefront’, it did come up in their discussions.

“It wasn’t the central factor, but I admit it did come up,” she said.

“You can’t let world events dictate what you choose as the best novel published that year.

Booker Prize judges have denied that last week’s riots in Dublin had a strong influence on their choice of this year’s winner – a new story about the clash between police and protesters in Ireland

Chairman of the Judges Esi Edugyan admitted yesterday that while the recent chaos in Dublin was not ‘particularly at the forefront’, it did come up in their discussions

‘But we wanted to choose a title that reflected the things we are all struggling with right now. I think we felt like all the novels did this in their own way, they really reflected the issues we all face.”

Mr Lynch, the fifth Irish author to win the Booker Prize, beat Sarah Bernstein’s Study for Obedience, Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting, Paul Harding’s This Other Eden, Chetna Maroo’s Western Lane and Jonathan Escoffery’s If I Survive You.

Ms. Edugyan said Mr. Lynch was not a unanimous choice among Justices Adjoa Andoh, Mary Jean Chan, James Shapiro and Robert Webb.

She added: “In these difficult times, we looked for a novel with a guiding vision – a book that reminds us that we are more than ourselves, that reminds us of everything worth saving.”

Gaby Wood from the Booker Foundation said they did not expect any protests at last night’s ceremony in London’s Old Billingsgate as the winner was a close secret.

“We have strong security at the site, but if there are protests, we will allow people to speak,” she said.

Mr. Lynch’s novel is set in a dystopian Ireland that has descended into totalitarianism under the National Alliance party. Teacher and union leader Larry Stack is ‘disappeared’ by the secret police, leaving his wife to try to protect their family in the face of a civil war.

A Prophet Song beat books such as The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, Western Lane by Chetna Maroo, This Other Eden by Paul Harding, If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery and Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein to claim the top prize.

The winner was one of four Irish writers – Sebastian Barry, Elaine Feeney, Paul Lynch and Paul Murray – who made up the 13-strong longlist for this year’s prestigious literary prize.

Accepting the award at the Old Billingsgate Hall in London, Mr Lynch said: ‘It is with enormous pleasure that I bring the Booker to Ireland.’

Lynch was born in Limerick in 1977 and now lives in Dublin. His other novels are Beyond the Sea, Grace, The Black Snow and Red Sky in Morning.

He is the fifth Irish author to win the prize, following in the footsteps of Iris Murdoch, John Banville, Roddy Doyle and Anne Enright.

Last night’s keynote speaker, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, revealed that she had read Margaret Atwood’s banned book The Handmaid’s Tale in prison in Iran after it arrived in the mail to one of her fellow inmates.

The Booker Prize is one of the most important literary prizes in the English-speaking world. Previous winners include Margaret Atwood, Hilary Mantel, Bernardine Evaristo and Salman Rushdie

The winner of the prize will receive £50,000. The sum of £2,500 will also be awarded to each of the six shortlisted authors.

The Booker Prize is one of the most important literary prizes in the English-speaking world

Prophet Song beat out books like The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, Western Lane by Chetna Maroo, This Other Eden by Paul Harding, If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery and Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein to claim the top prize

Mr Lynch’s novel is set in a dystopian Ireland that has descended into totalitarianism under the National Alliance party

Robert Webb was one of the judges alongside Adjoa Andoh, Mary Jean Chan and James Shapiro

Ireland was left in uproar after as many as 500 thugs responded to a horrific knife attack on Dublin schoolchildren on Thursday by launching an anti-migrant rampage

Shocking scenes saw police officers attacked, leaving around 50 injured – one of whom had a toe amputated – while buses and a tram were set on fire

The Booker Prize also faced criticism in September over disagreements over the number of female authors on the shortlist.

Ireland was in turmoil this weekend after as many as 500 thugs responded to a horrific knife attack on schoolchildren in Dublin on Thursday by launching an anti-migrant rampage.

Fueled by internet misinformation and unsubstantiated rumors that the person behind the attack – which injured three children and a woman – was a foreigner, the gangs gathered close to some of the city’s most iconic locations, some waving flags and waving signs reading ‘Irish Lives Matter’.

In shocking scenes, police officers were attacked, injuring around 50 people – one of whom had a toe amputated – while buses and a tram were set on fire, with one driver beaten and dragged from his taxi.

The Irish Times has since reported that the attacker had lived in Ireland for around 20 years.

The ‘night of shame’ in Dublin was condemned by Ireland’s Prime Minister this morning as a clean-up operation got under way following clashes between rioters and police.

Photos from the Irish capital this morning showed council workers removing the wreckage of burnt-out buses and cars, which were set on fire by the thugs as they rampaged through the streets and looted shops.