CELEBRATED author Sebastian Barry has done it again.

For the second time the Irish novelist has won the coveted £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

The 61-year-old's epic American novel Days Without End was announced as the winner during the weekend's Borders Book Festival.

Barry’s previous novel On Canaan’s Side was a winner in 2012.

He returned to Melrose on Saturday to receive his Prize from the Duke of Buccleuch.

Barry told the Border Telegraph: "It’s difficult to itemise my simple childish joy at receiving this prize; that the judges did all this work to make a 61-year-old man feel 12 again."

Days Without End won out over stiff competition from six other novels, including Francis Spufford’s Golden Hill, Graham Swift’s Mothering Sunday and Rose Tremain’s The Gustav Sonata.

Barry joined his fellow shortlistees at the Borders Book Festival on Saturday evening to hear the final result, and came up on stage to receive his £25,000 cheque and a specially-commissioned glass trophy depicting the rolling landscape of Sir Walter Scott’s Border country, from the Prize sponsor the Duke of Buccleuch.

The panel of judges included Elizabeth Buccleuch, journalists James Naughtie and Kate Figes, writers Katharine Grant and Elizabeth Laird, the Abbotsford Trust’s James Holloway, and historian and Borders Book Festival director Alistair Moffat serving as chair.

Mr Moffat said: "Our decision to award Sebastian Barry’s Days Without End was one of the hardest the Walter Scott Prize has ever had to make.

"With all seven books on the shortlist having strong supporters on the judging panel who championed their cause in a protracted and passionate debate about the nature and purpose of historical fiction, the very books themselves seemed to fight tooth and nail for the accolade.

"Eventually, Days Without End took the lead, for the glorious and unusual story; the seamlessly interwoven period research; and above all for the unfaltering power and authenticity of the narrative voice, a voice no reader is likely to forget.

"We commend all the authors of this year’s shortlist for their wonderful and important books. What a hard choice it was.

"But we are delighted to declare Days Without End the winner of the eighth Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction – and Sebastian Barry the first writer to win the Prize twice."

The Walter Scott Prize is Barry’s second book prize double this year - he also won the Costa Book Prize for Days Without End, which describes the relationship between two men during the bloody founding of modern America in the mid-19th century.

The Walter Scott Prize specifically focuses on historical fiction, with the judges looking for originality, innovation and evocation of time and place.

The Walter Scott Prize is awarded to the best UK, Irish or Commonwealth novel of the previous year, which is set more than 60 years ago.

It was founded to honour the achievements of Sir Walter Scott, considered to be the inventor of the historical novel.

Previous winners include Hilary Mantel, Andrea Levy, Tan Twan Eng, Robert Harris, John Spurling and Simon Mawer.