Summer Stars is an exciting reading-based programme which is available free of charge to all children across the country.  The Summer Stars Reading Adventure will run during the summer in Fingal in July and August. All children are invited to register for the adventure and enjoy reading many books during this time. All participants will be given a Summer Stars Reading Card to record and track their own progress and a grand finale event at the end for all participants.

Check out the Summer Stars website for lots of online games and activities as well as a range of animated ebooks. You will find a Children’s Books discussion board and interviews with well-known people about their favourite books. There are also some helpful tips for reading and some recommended titles for the various age groups.  The books can then be borrowed from your local library service. And it’s all free!

It is important to continue reading during the summer months. Research shows that children who read over the summer maintain their reading levels and return to school well able for the new school year. Reading also helps to develop creativity and the imagination.  It’s a fun and calming activity that will improve concentration and communication skills.

The best way to help someone pick a book, or to pick out books for yourself, is to make it FUN.

• Find a book that you will really like
• Understand the story by looking at the words or reading a page
• Narrow your search by choosing books about something that you are interested in

Of course there is a lot more to libraries than books.  Fingal Libraries also offer:

• Comics, graphic novels and magazines
• Activities and games
• Computers and Internet access
• DVDs and CDs
• Story-times
• Fun reading events
• Learning and reading spaces

So pick up a Star Card in your local library and be a Library SUMMER STAR in 2017!!

Fingal Libraries have published a guide to Summer Library Events for children and adults – collect a copy in your local branch today.

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Events for the night include traditional song and dance, a puppet show and a brass band.

The schedule of events is:

There will be an Exhibition of Crafts by the Irish Countrywomen’s Association throughout the Evening

 All ages are welcome.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

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Friday 16^th September 2016

The original meaning of ‘culture’ had to do with the land. The word is connected etymologically with Latin cultura ‘a cultivating, agriculture’ and had the figurative sense of ‘to care’ ‘to honour’ from past participle stem of colere ‘to tend, guard; to till, cultivate’ (Online Etymology Dictionary).

The Oxford English Dictionary gives one definition as: ‘The action of refining or improving a person, the mind, faculties, etc., by education or training.’ The following examples of the use of ‘culture’ as a verb are worth quoting. Some of them sound odd to modern ears:

1677, J. Hanmer: ‘…Being.of a sharp and piercing judgment; which he cultured and improved by the study of the Liberal Arts, and other Humane Learning.’

1752, T. Pownall: ‘His Necessities require the working and culturing [of] many different and various Branches of the Community.’

1844, H. W. Herbert: ‘The powerful mind of the young soldier had been cultured, from his earliest youth, to skill in all those liberal arts.’

1958, R. C. Churchill: ‘Those noblemen who were cultured were cultured in many different fields.’

2002, Usenet newsgroup: ‘The wealthy and powerful in the US often sent their kids overseas to be cultured.’

To be ‘cultured in many different fields’ was the epitomy of the Renaissance man, the word ‘field’ ironically harking back to the land. With the advent of the Internet, access to a variety of knowledge—however much sifting is required—has widened the opportunity for this kind of ‘culturing’. But there’s general agreement that ‘culture’ is something we acquire; we don’t automatically inherit it.

James Fennimore Cooper begins The Last of the Mohicans with the sentence: ‘It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of north America that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet.’ Cormac McCarthy, in his novels, starkly and lyrically recreates the toils of that same wilderness, where living often meant simply staying alive, and where the wilderness was both inside and out. Situations of aggressive colonialism show that the cohesive force in all societies is their aggregate of behaviours, their ‘culture’. ‘Culture’ is posited on a certain level of security; it’s a kind of agriculture of the mind. This applies just as much to nomadic peoples. As the philosopher Gilles Deleuze pointed out, nomads are essentially still, because the world belongs to them as ‘smooth’ space. Their culture has to do with self-possession.

‘Culture’ is group living, a means of connection. ‘Culture’ is practice, language, history and art. Global communication has given us a much wider definition of what it is to belong, but for many people, it’s still primarily about the local. In Swords Library last year, we had a traditional Irish Culture Night, and you could feel connection in process. The interactive aspects of the music and dance had people connecting, not just with their community via shared memories and sounds, but with something in themselves—ancestry, genetics. A kind of coming home.

Culture also divides. Misunderstandings abound. Even if we are appreciative of cultures other than our own, it takes more than a leap of the imagination to truly connect with them. However, the planet is our primary home, so any night of cultural activity is, in real terms, Panculture Night. With this in mind, this year we’ve decided to host ‘The International Experience’, featuring two events from other countries.

At 6.30pm, dancers from the Wassa Wassa Collective will take adults and children alike leaping into African culture with workshops in African dance and song. Later, Olesya Zdorovetska will take us on a musical tour of the Ukraine, a country much in the news, but whose culture is probably little known in this part of the world.

We’ve been careful to offer separate workshops for adults and children, because adults, we know, also like to have fun and learn. You may come on your own, with a few friends, or, if you’re coming en famille, then there’s something for everyone.

The ‘cultured’ person has long ceased to be a privileged being. Culture is a practice, not a commodity; it is not a badge. Libraries have always been a vehicle for cultivating innate abilities, expanding horizons and preserving societies—for free. In this sense, it is intrinsically attuned to the spirit (the ‘culture’) of Culture Night, where you can travel widely, in yourself, in your community, in the world of art and information, without leaving your home ground.

Please book for the workshops: swordslibrary@fingal.ie / 018905582 / 018905894

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Please see details below of some of the events for all the family in Fingal Libraries

Storytelling

Storyteller Brendan Nolan is visiting some of the Fingal Libraries during the week and will be telling stories to children age 7 years plus. See below for the list of libraries the event will be on in – contact each branch to book in.

Tuesday 23rd of August

Rush Library at 11.30am – Phone 01-8708414

Donabate Library at 2pm – Phone 01-8905609

Wednesday 24^th of August

Malahide Library at 12pm – Ph 01-8704430

Swords Library at 3pm – Ph 01-8905582

Natural Heritage Workshop

The Rediscovery Centre are offering a 90 minute workshop on Natural Heritage for children age 7-12 years.

Monday 22^nd of August

Balbriggan Library at 11.30  – Ph 01-8704430

Garristown Library at 2.30pm – Ph 01-8355020

Thursday 25^th of August

Howth Library at 11am – Ph 01-8905026

Baldoyle Library at 2pm – Ph 01-8906793

Friday 26^th of August

Blanchardstown Library 2pm – Ph 01-8905563

Talks for Adults

Two different talks are offered in Malahide and Blanchardstown Library.

“The Theatre Royal” by Conor Doyle

Monday 22^nd of August

Blanchardstown Library 6.15pm – Ph 01-8905563

“Recollections of Malahide 1908 -1918” by Mary McNamara

Thursday 25^th of August

Malahide Library at 7pm – Ph 01-8704430

Swords Castle seminar

A half-day seminar  Swords Castle: a Medieval Manor  will take place in Fingal Local Studies and Archives Saturday morning August 27 in Clonmel House, Forster Way, Swords  at 10am. The past, present and future of the Castle will be explored in three talks presented by Medieval historian Dr. Adrien Empey, County Architect Fionnuala May and Fingal Community Archaeologist, Christine Baker. Seminar is concluded with a trip to the castle.  Please contact Jacinta 01-8704495 or email Jacinta.judge@fingal.ie to book a place.

With so much going on all over the country, we wish our borrowers and their families a wonderfully busy Heritage Week!

By Enid Bebbington, Fingal Libraries

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-          Roald Dahl

Garristown Library is a hidden gem nestled in the north-west of Fingal. It’s one of the smallest branches of Fingal libraries, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in character!

The majority of our borrowers are children and the love of books is a shared passion amongst them. “I read 4 or 5 books a day,” one of our young borrowers tells us. Another, Jason, says he stops by “sometimes for books and sometimes just for the chat!” The most popular books are those by David Walliams as well as the Dork Diaries, Wimpy Kid and Percy Jackson collections.

There are lots of exciting events for kids taking place throughout August too. We’ve got crochet workshops where we’ll make friendship bracelets and flowers (August 10^th), Pokémon themed arts and crafts (Aug 15^th), mindful colouring for children (Aug 18^th) and story-time, to name a few! We’ve also got a Marvellous Beasts event where you can get up close to creepy crawlies like tarantulas and centipedes!

We haven’t forgotten about the adults of course! We’ve started organising our autumn events for adults and from September the Irish Conversation Club, Scrabble Club and a brand new Knit & Crochet Group will be up and running, with more to be announced. Contact us at Garristown library if you’d like to join in the fun!

By Nadene Ryan, Garristown Library

The post What’s Happening at Garristown Library? appeared first on Fingal County Council - Blog.

Howth Castle, the ancestral home of the St Lawrence family, was chosen as the venue. This was just one of the many highlights of this festival. As the castle is not normally open to the public, it proved to be a great opportunity for people to see the beautiful Lutyens Library and enjoy tea and scones in the Kitchen in the Castle cookery school on the grounds.

A series of talks on the great architect Sir Edwin Lutyens launched the festival with Joycean themed talks taking place on the Friday also. There was a brilliant series of five conversation style talks throughout the weekend with internationally renowned authors, headlined by Pulitzer Prize winners Richard Ford and Michael Cunningham and Booker Prize winners John Banville, Anne Enright and Roddy Doyle. It was a huge success and there was a fantastic buzz around Howth.

We knew this was a special event and all of us in Howth Library couldn’t wait to see what would follow in 2016. We were not disappointed when we saw the fantastic programme featuring such brilliant authors as John Boyne, Claire Kilroy, Catherine Dunne and Hilary Fanin with a series of lectures on Jonathan Swift kicking off the festival this year. Dean Swift was a regular visitor to the castle and also a family friend and his portrait hangs in the castle.

I attended Joe Duffy’s moving talk on his book ‘Children of the Rising’ and got my copy signed after the talk. There really was something for everyone and the free events for children in St Mary’s Parish Hall included the CBI Book Clinic and Fighting Words creative writing workshop. I got a prescription from the CBI Book Doctor for our new Junior Book Club in Howth Library which included titles such as ‘Fortunately… the Milk’ by Neil Gaiman and ‘Fuzzy Mud’ by Louis Sachar. We especially loved ‘Fortunately… the Milk’ and the book club are reading it this month!!

The Literary Festival provided us with another great opportunity as Fingal Libraries were involved in the Two Cities, One Book Programme 2016 for the first time this year.  We decided to invite some reading groups from Libraries N.I. to Fingal as part of this event.  It was a new initiative for Fingal Libraries and began with two Fingal branches, Howth Library and Garristown Library, being twinned with Ormeau Road and Lisburn Road Libraries earlier in the year.

The reading groups involved all read this year’s selected book ‘Fallen’, a book connected to Dublin city and based around the events of 1916, by Lia Mills. Many of us from Howth Library also attended an author visit by Lia Mills in Baldoyle Library which we really enjoyed. The next step was to organise to visit each other with the Belfast groups making the first trip down on the 11^th June for the Howth Literary Festival. We will return the visit in October to Central Library, Belfast and are counting down the days here!!

The groups all had a wonderful day and attended a magical talk with poet, Adam Wyeth and novelist, Nuala O’Connor. A lively exchange took place between the two writers and we could have listened to them talk all day. We followed this with a leisurely walk to the Deer Park Hotel for lunch. The view from the public golf course is simply stunning or as H.G. Wells said ‘the view of Ireland’s eye was the finest view west of Naples’. This was a great way to get to know each other and discuss some mutual interests, namely books and libraries!!

We returned to the castle in the afternoon and continued the day with an interesting lecture called 77 Lives – Commemorative Quilt. This beautiful project is normally on display in Richmond Barracks and honours the women who took part in the 1916 Easter Rising. The day, unfortunately, had to come to an end and we finished off a fantastic cultural experience by attending a series of open-air plays by Shiva Productions the last of which took place in a marquee because of the rain…we were still in Ireland after all!!

By Ciara Farrell, Howth Library

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Here in Swords Library we’ve decided to add to the many commemorative events happening in Fingal by having a Seachtain na Gaeilge weekend with an eye on the 1916 centenary.

The success of our Irish language Culture Night last year made us aware of how interested the community is in all things to do with traditional culture. That is not to say that the artists were so traditional they didn’t infuse their performances with modernity. Tura Aratura, for example, who dances sean nós, also raps as Gaeilge. If there’s an impression that the Irish language is keeping itself precious or looking to the past, it’s certainly not correct. The popularity of Irish language schools is an example of the revival of interest in the language in recent years, and numerous publication and performance efforts have imbued it with a new vitality. The annual Imram festival is just one of these. All language exists in the synthesis of past, present and possibility, and the Irish language is as influenced and influencing as any other. Perhaps when Irish people encounter it as habitual English speakers, we become conscious of a possibility in ourselves that is not immediately accessible. Aside from determined study, bi-lingual, musical and other activities are a way to connect with this inalienable heredity. One of the results, as we saw at our Oíche Chultúir, is simply, joy. For some good webpages on the history of the Irish language, see Ask About Ireland.

Our events on 18th and 19th March are bi-lingual. Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill is an internationally acclaimed Irish language poet, who was Ireland Professor of Poetry 2001-2004, and the first Professor of Irish language Poetry. She has received many scholarships, prizes, and bursaries and has also won numerous international awards for works translated into French, German, Polish, Italian, Norwegian, Estonian, Turkish, Japanese and English.

Pádraig Ó Snodaigh is a writer of prose, poetry and history, and his talk promises to be extremely interesting and entertaining. As Coiscéim, he is also an uncompromising Irish language publisher. The title of his talk is taken from that of one of his books, Comhghuaillithe na Réabhlóide (Allies of the Revolution), in which he examines the parts played by the various revolutionary movements in the lead-up to the Easter Rising— the tensions and controversies, and the attitudes of the ordinary soldiers. Using the title as a generative theme, he may branch out and talk in general about his life’s work in writing and publishing.

Bernie Masterson and Máighréad Medbh collaborated on a short film called Bold Writing, on Bernie’s discovery of an old Vere Foster copybook, of the type used in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in the prison where she teaches. Vere Foster was a philanthropist who aided many Irish people, especially women, to emigrate and find work. He was the founder of the INTO and helped greatly to improve educational standards. The copybook consists of moral proverbs which are to be transcribed in a careful longhand. The film takes an ironic approach, with Máighréad’s anagrams of the proverbs signalling a dialectic of privilege and aspiration, as a hand scratches out a response to each proverb.

Also on Friday evening, in view of the fact that 1916 has been referred to as a poet’s rebellion, there’s an open invitation for members of the public to come along and read a favourite poem of the rising. Pádraig Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh and Joseph Plunkett created a mythology that was immortalised by their deaths. Such poems as Plunkett’s ‘Of a Poet Patriot’ and MacDonagh’s ‘The Golden Joy’, exalted the role of the poet, connecting it with national history and the promulgation of joy and liberty. As we may have limited time for this Open Mic, do register at the desk when you arrive.

Although children are very welcome at Friday night’s events, Saturday morning’s bi-lingual music workshops for 4-12 year-olds promise to be engaging and instructive. The Mobile Music School is a specialist music education company that runs music projects, instrumental lessons and workshops in schools and other educational institutions, and is currently teaching in excess of 2,000 students nationwide.

And finally, we celebrate Arlen House, a small publisher based in Fingal, which has become noted for the high literary and production standards of its books. Three bi-lingual poets, published by Arlen House, will read from 2pm on Saturday. Celia de Fréine, Colette Nic Aodha and Deirdre Brennan are all well-known, acclaimed poets and you can be assured of an interesting and entertaining afternoon.

Beir slán,

Swords Library

Seachtain na Gaeilge / 1916 Centenary at Swords Library

Friday 18th March:

6.30pm – 7.20pm:

Pádraig Ó Snodaigh – Talk: Comhghuaillithe Na Reabhlóide / Allies of the Revolution. Pádraig, a historian, poet and novelist, is founder of Irish language publisher, Coiscéim. He was assistant keeper of the National Museum from 1963-88 and President of the Gaelic League from 1974-78.

7.20pm – 7.45pm:

Art & Poetry Film: Bold Writing (15 mins.). A visual and verbal engagement with a Vere Foster copy book in the context of its use in schools and prisons. With introduction. Film by artist, Bernie Masterson, and poet, Máighréad Medbh. Bernie has won several awards for her work, and has paintings in many collections, at home and abroad. Máighréad Medbh is widely known as a poet-performer, in Ireland and internationally. She has six published collections, a prose work, Savage Solitude (Dedalus 2013), and a verse fantasy is to be published this year.

8pm – 8.40pm:

Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill: Internationally acclaimed Irish language poet. Ireland Professor of Poetry 2001-2004, and the first Professor of Irish language Poetry. She has received many scholarships, prizes, and bursaries and has also won numerous international awards for works translated into French, German, Polish, Italian, Norwegian, Estonian, Turkish, Japanese and English.

8.40pm – 9.30pm:

!Open mic!

We invite all members of the public to come along and read their own favourite poems of the 1916 rising. Please register at desk in advance.

—————————

Saturday 19th March:

Children’s Bi-lingual Music Workshops (Please register in advance)

11am: Drumming with 4-7 year-olds, with some Irish spoken.

12 noon: Singing workshop with 8-12 year-olds, working with an Irish language song. Provided by the Mobile Music School: www.mobilemusicschool.ie

2pm: Arlen House presents three bi-lingual poets:

Celia de Fréine, Deirdre Brennan and Colette Nic Aodha.

Based in Baldoyle, Arlen House is an innovative small publisher, noted for stylish, high-quality books. Its remit includes poetry, short stories, art (particularly the work of Pauline Bewick), as well as literary and political criticism. Founded in 1975 as a women’s press, it now publishes both genders, several of whom are national literary figures. This event celebrates its 40 years in publishing.

Events are free. All welcome. If possible, please let us know you’re coming.

Swords Library, Rathbeale Road, Swords, Co. Dublin: 01-8905582/5894; swords.library@fingal.ie

By Maighread Medbh, Swords Library

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To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, family history experts from Findmypast and Eneclann are touring Ireland to help you trace your ancestors for FREE!

To start the tour we are hitting Blanchardstown Library first this Saturday the 16th from 11am-4pm

On the day you can expect:

. Free access to billions of family History records on Findmypast.ie

. One-to-one genealogy sessions with and Eneclann expert

. Talks on finding your roots and the 1916 rising

 

Talk 1:

Brian Donovan

Irish Soldiers & Rebels: tracing WW1 and Irish revolutionary ancestors

Time: 11.30am

Book Now

______________________________________

Talk 2:

Brian Donovan

How to use Findmypast.ie to search for your family records

Time: 3.00pm

Book Now

This is a FREE event open to all members of the public, all you have to do is pop in and let us help you solve the mystery in your Family History!

This day is the perfect opportunity for all of you who want to get going on building your family tree but just don’t know where to start. We can’t wait to share our expert advice to you all and get you started.

Talks and one to one genealogy sessions are subject to booking,

For more information on the event and to book your seat for a talk visit the links below

 Book Talk 1:Irish Soldiers & Rebels: tracing WW1 and Irish revolutionary ancestors

Book Talk 2: How to use Findmypast.ie to search for your family records

Book to Talk to an expert genealogist

Dont forget you can just pop in and talk to a Findmypast Expert without any booking from 11am-4pm.

See you then!

The post Discover your Family History Day appeared first on Fingal County Council - Blog.

National Heritage Week is coordinated by The Heritage Council and its aim is to build awareness and education about our heritage thereby encouraging its conservation and preservation. National Heritage Week 2014 will run from August 23rd to 31st.

Events for adults include talks on

James Joyce: His Life and Times by Anne Colgan

Centenary Talk on the Asgard and the Howth Gun-Running by Pat Murphy

Dublin’s Changing Faces: An Interactive Talk with Pat Upton

World War 1 and the shaping of Europe by Padraig Yeates

Seagrange Excavations: An Update by Grassroots Archaeology by Paul Duffy

Events for children include:-

Newgrange Willow Design Workshop for 8 to 12 Year-Olds

Rediscovery Workshop on our Natural Heritage for 7 to 11 Year-Olds

You can view Malahide Library’s World War One Centenary Exhibition and also visit Local Studies & Archives Exhibition – Hely-Hutchinsons  and the Great War which will be open Mon-Fri 10-1 & 2-5 during Heritage Week but NOT Sat 23rd Aug.

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soccer blitzs

Free Soccer Fun Day!

Register a team, some friends or just yourself!

1.00pm-3.00pm

Saturday 16 August 2014

Open to U9-U13

Venue: AUL Complex, Clonsaugh, Dublin13

Register by 12 August

for details

contact: Tel: 0860444435, 0871323260

email: paul.Keogh@fai.ie, Sharon.boyle@fai.ie

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