John Irons (Harrogate, 1942) studied medieval and modern languages (German, Dutch and French) at Cambridge University, where he subsequently also did a doctorate in poetic imagery on the Dutch poet P.C. Boutens. He has translated professionally since the mid 1980s, mainly from Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Dutch. He also translated ‘100 Dutch-language poems from the medieval period to the present day’ in co-production with Paul Vincent (Holland Park Press, 2015). he is joint winner of the Oxford-Wedenfeld Prize 2016 and recived the 2024 Hans Christian Anderson Prize for translation.

John Irons's work featured in Stand Magazine comprises two translations.