In a statement issued to Irish Publishing News, the company said the difficult trading environment in Ireland meant that it was reviewing the operation.

The company has entered into consultation talks with staff in the Irish office to determine their future. There are four permanent members of staff working in a Dublin office. Last year the imprint published 25 titles and had plans for 30 in 2010.

The statement went on to say that the company ‘remains committed to publishing for the Irish market, to its Irish authors and trading partners. Following the conclusion of this review process, The History Press will issue a more complete statement of its plans for the Irish business.’

The move comes after recent success with Strangest Genius – a hardback, full-colour, exploration of the life and times of stained-glass window artist Harry Clarke.

The History Press Ireland was founded in October 2005 as Nonsuch Ireland, an imprint of Alan Sutton’s Nonsuch Publishing.

It operated briefly as an independent imprint under publisher Ronan Colgan when Sutton’s company underwent major restructuring and management changes in late 2007 early 2008 before returning to The History Press stable.

Declaration of Interest: Eoin Purcell, Editor Of Irish Publishing News, was one of the original Editors at Nonsuch Ireland but left the company in March 2007.