Mayo for The Children’s Book Festival

Castlebar Library

October is always the busiest month in every Irish Children’s Writer’s calendar as we as we travel around Libraries, Schools and Arts Centres meeting brilliant young readers and writers to talk about books during Ireland’s annual Childrens Book Festival.

I was delighted to launch the ‘One Book, One County Project ‘with crowds of schools in Monaghan who will all read ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’ and also get to visit the Exhibition based around the book in the Ulster American Folk Park, in Omagh. This is a wonderful creative initiative by Monaghan County Libraries which I am so happy to be involved with.

Then I was off on the train to Mayo, where I visited Castlebar Library, Ballina Library, and went out along The Wild Atlantic Way to the beautiful seaside town of Belmullet to talk in their lovely Arts Centre ‘ Aras Inis Gluaire’ with its views of the sea.

I met some amazing classes from lots of schools and was also delighted when a few came in costume to meet me. It was a very busy few days but I had a wonderful time.

Thanks to the kind librarians Maria Cunningham, Kate Healy, and Angela Carey of the Arts Centre for looking after me so well.