Category Archives: Irish history

The New Library Opens in Stillorgan

Posted on by

Hip, Hip… Hurray….The lovely new Library in Stillorgan has just opened and I popped in for a visit as I was so curious to see it.   Libraries are my favourite spot and I spend a lot of time in them… This one is close to where I live.

Everyone has been waiting for this, as the old prefab style library behind the old Stillorgan Bowling Alley closed down a good few years ago, with the library moving across the road to a much smaller space upstairs in the Shopping Centre.

The large site was developed into apartments by private developers and Dunlaoghaire Rathdown County Council.  At long last after all the years of speculation the Council’s apartments and Library are finished. 

The library is a really nice, bright, well designed space, with a good children’s section on the ground floor and space for people to study and read and browse. There is a lift and stairs to the First floor, which has more study and reading spaces and lots of lovely new books shelves to fill. It is right in the hub of Stillorgan and was already busy with a lively story telling session for younger kids, with older students arriving in school uniforms to study.

We are blessed with great libraries in the County, with the flagship one in Dun Laoghaire overlooking the harbour and pier, and other ones are in Deansgrange, Blackrock, Shankill, Ballyogan and Dundrum.

Like everyone else, it is concerning to see that the latest published readership figures show that among teenagers and young people reading books for pleasure is going down.  The vital and most important thing about libraries is to use them.

Safe Harbour and Greystones

Posted on by

It’s exciting as Safe Harbour my book about World War 11 has another lovely new edition with a great cover by artist Philip Cullen coming out this week.

The book is about Sophie and Hugh who live in London during the blitz. Their dad is a soldier away fighting in the war. When their home gets bombed their mum is badly injured, they are evacuated to Ireland to stay with their grandfather, in a big old house overlooking the sea in Greystones, Co Wicklow.

However their grandfather is a man they know little about and have never met.  He is crusty and difficult and doesn’t really want the two children foisted on him. It seems to Sophie she is caught up in another war ….

I spent so much of my own childhood in Greystones I knew it was the perfect place to bring Sophie and her younger brother Hugh who are scared, upset and lonely at having to leave their mother and home.

I will be visiting Greystones and Halfway up the Stairs, my favourite children’s book shop, on Saturday 13th May at 4.00 pm to talk about Safe Harbour and meet young readers and sign books. Please come along as I love meeting young readers. 

There is also a big Zoom with about 80 schools on Thursday 11 May at 11.30 am with the amazing Hannah Gold author of The Last Bear and I with author Sarah Webb, also organised by Halfway up the Stairs bookshop. 

Fun at Fighting Words

Posted on by

Fighting Words, Dublin with all the Young Writers

I had lots of fun at Fighting Words meeting a group of brilliant young authors who gave up their Saturday morning to come and talk about ideas, writing and creating stories.

It was all arranged by the amazing Louise Melinn and Mark Davidson and the team of volunteers in Fighting Words in their bright and welcoming head -quarters in Dublin’s Russell Street. Writer Catherine Prasifka author of ‘None of this is Serious’ was there to help moderate what was a lively session.   We all had such fun with the young writers getting out pen and paper to write a new story.

Fighting Words is a creative writing organisation which was the brain child of Writer Roddy Doyle and Sean Love. It was set up in 2009 to encourage children to write and create stories of their own.  They hold workshops for both primary and secondary school students and summer camps which they run with the help of volunteers.

The Creative Ireland Programme has partnered with Fighting Words to help it expand and they now have 12 branches in towns and cities across Ireland.  Volunteers play a huge part in its operation and there are over 400 wonderful volunteers and mentors helping young writers to harness their imagination and develop their creative writing skills.

Thanks to everyone and remember to keep writing!  

A Memorial to Michael O’Brien at the Dublin Book Festival

Posted on by

Michael O’Brien President Michael D.Higgins

It was a great honour to be asked to take part in the memorial tribute for my friend and publisher Michael O’Brien in Dublin Castle as part of The Dublin Book Festival. Friends and family and colleagues from the book world gathered in the Print Works to remember this extraordinary man who had done so much to grow and develop Irish publishing over the years. He was involved in setting up so many organizations that would encourage reading, writing and publishing.

O’Brien Press growing from the small beginnings of just two people working there to becoming one of Ireland’s foremost award winning publishers. Michael had huge energy and drive and a vision for Irish publishing that he lived to see fulfilled. His achievements in terms of publishing were enormous as found gaps in the Irish book market and set about filling them as well as regularly attending the huge book fairs and selling translation rights to so many books by Irish authors.

His son Ivan O’Brien and Editor Ide O’Laoghaire and designer Emma Byrne all shared their memories as a montage of  photographs of Michael’s rich life was shown on screen.

I told of my first meeting Michael in O’Brien Press in Rathgar in 1989, when he gave me the good news that he was going to publish my book ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree.’ This was the start of a long friendship which stretched over many years, with O’Brien due to publish my new children’s book Fairy Hill in spring 2023.

Playwright and author Frank McGuinness was a long -time friend of Michael’s but unfortunately at the last minute was unable to attend but Ivan read out his words about the high regard he had for Michael O’Brien.

President Michael D Higgins also spoke of their enduring friendship over many years and how he looked forward to meeting Michael and the lively discussions that ensued. Michael was always an innovator, full of ideas ready to try new things.

Michael O’Brien was huge figure in Irish publishing and will be missed by all of us who had the good fortune to know him. However he has left an abiding legacy and O’Brien Press continues to thrive under the good care of his sons Ivan and Eoin O’Brien and all the publishing team there.

Dublin Castle with Ivan O’Brien and the wonderful Alice Leahy

A Night of Book Launches

Posted on by

On a balmy November’s evening in Dublin it was great to be able to get along to two busy book launches after such a long time of having no launches.

 Ally Bunbury’s fun Christmas read ‘All Wrapped Up’ was launched in The Little Museum by Anne Doyle and then down the road to Hodges and Figgis Bookshop for the launch of my friend P.J. Lynch’s beautiful  new picture book ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ which is based on the famous Robert Frost poem. Eoin Colfer did the honours and it was great to meet up with so many friends.   Both are perfect Christmas books 

One more book I should mention is by talented  young Ukrainian writer Yeva Skalietska  whose wonderful book  ‘You Don’t Know What War Is’ has also only been published.

Twelve year old Yeva recounts what happened when Russian forces began to bomb her home town of Kharkiv, at first they shelter but as things worsen she and her grandmother Irina have to flee, moving to another part of Ukraine. Yeva keeps a diary recording what is happening all around her and her fears and hopes. She and her grandmother make the long journey to Hungary where a journalist sees her writing it and helps them until they eventually come to Ireland. There are maps of her hometown and of the long journey she and her grandmother made   I met Yeva months ago with Irina and she is already trying to make the best of things, settling into her new school and life here.