Ireland Reads Day is an annual celebration of books and the joy of reading. On Saturday, 22 February 2025, Clare Libraries are encouraging everyone to visit their local library and ‘Get lost in a good book’.
Throughout February, and especially on Ireland Reads Day, library staff are calling on people across Clare to open a book and read.
To help select a book there will be recommended reads lists available on the Ireland Reads website at https://www.irelandreads.ie/. There will also be book displays with staff recommendations in all Clare Libraries.
Helen Walsh, Clare County Librarian, said, “I hope people take this opportunity to visit their local library on the day, check out our recommended reads and look at our book displays for guidance. Books are one of the core services in libraries and reading has so many benefits for people, so we encourage everyone to open a book, read a few pages and relax in the joy of reading.”
Clare Libraries will run a series Ireland Reads events and activities in a number of libraries on the day. De Valera Library in Ennis will host a Ukrainian language event with author Serhii Adamenko, who will be interviewed by journalist Alina Senkova. Serhii is the author of The Flight of the Butterfly, The Gaze of the Raven, The Step of the Wolf, The Heroes of Modernity and Slaves are not allowed into Heaven. This event is co-hosted by Ennis Book Club Festival.
De Valera Library will also hold a craft event for decorating and building paper sculptures with library staff. This is a special STEAM workshop decorating and building 3D shapes from paper and card, and is suitable for those aged 8-12.
Rachel Uí Fhaoláin will be in Miltown Malbay library as she introduces her new book Glór Naomh Bríde. This publication examines the song repertoire of the late Jamesie McCarthy (1898-1977) in the Carroll Mackenzie Collection in Clare County Library Archives. The book focuses on the song ‘St. Brigid’s Well’ as sung by Jamesie McCarthy and the folklore surrounding the holy well at Liscannor.
There will be an opportunity to learn and sing the ballad of St. Brigid’s Well with Rachel on the day. Copies of the book will be made available to schools and libraries in Clare.
Shannon Library is also hosting two events for Ireland Reads Day. The first is an event for all crime fiction fans. Three crime authors will discuss their own books, crime writing in Ireland and why it is so popular with audiences. Kitty Murphy author of Death in Heels, Death in the Dark and Death in the Holidays; Marianne Purcell author of A Lie of Omission and Finding Hannah; and Gillian Perdue, author of the Laura Shaw series of crime novels, will all take part on the day.
Shannon Library’s second event is a junior book club where ‘The Magician’s Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia Book 1)’ by C.S. Lewis will be discussed. The event promisions a fun book quiz, games and the potential to make new friends.
Call in to chat to library staff, get reading recommendations for all ages and reading levels, and find out what else is on offer in your local library. Ireland Reads is an initiative of the Government of Ireland to celebrate the joy of reading. It is funded by Healthy Ireland and supported by public libraries and many organisations that promote reading, literacy and the arts.