Blogs

Author Andrew Hughes and State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers and Deputy State Pathologist Dr Jill Roman in conversation with novelist and journalist Conor Brady.

This spring children in Dublin are urged to keep their eyes peeled for mysterious aliens at their local library as Bumpfizzle – the Best on Planet Earth by Patricia Forde, has been chosen for the 2019 Citywide Reading Campaign for Children.Bumpfizzle is an alien, sent to Earth from Planet Plonk on a research mission. Or is he really just a ten-year-old boy who is feeling a bit disgruntled at all the attention his parents are lavishing on The Baby? It is up to readers to make up their own minds. The author, Patricia Forde, has published numerous books for children in English and in Irish, two plays, in addition to several television drama series for children and teenagers. She has worked as a writer on both English and Irish language soap operas. In another life, she was a primary school teacher and the artistic director of Galway Arts Festival.The illustrator Elīna Brasliņa is an illustrator from Riga, Latvia. She has illustrated fifteen titles to date, most of them picturebooks, children’s books and young adult novels. Her work has been nominated for many local awards as well as the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. She has twice received the Zelta Abele Award for Book Design, as well as the Janis Baltvilks Baltic Sea Region Award (2017).This is the eighth year of the city wide reading initiative. Previous books selected for the Citywide Reading Campaign in previous years include; Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent by Alan Early, The Nightmare Club series featuring Annie Graves, The Powers by Kevin Stevens, Danger is Everywhere by David O’Doherty and Chris Judge, The Book of Learning by E.R. Murray, Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden and last year’s book was Making Millions by Erika McGann. The aim of the campaign is to encourage children to read for pleasure. There will be author visits to many Dublin City Council branch libraries as well as city-centre based events in bookshops, the National Library of Ireland and Dublin City Gallery – Hugh Lane. The campaign ends with fun events based on the book, as part of the St. Patrick’s Festival’s in Merrion Square. Copies of the book are available in all Dublin City Public Libraries as well as in all good bookshops.  Dublin City Council Library stock can be borrowed from libraries nationwide.Key Events;•    Author visits to Dublin City Public Library branches between January and March. Class visits booked locally at branch libraries.•    Cabra Library, Navan Road, Dublin 7, Tuesday 29th January at 3.30pm (Booking Essential; [email protected] or ph. 8691414).•    The National Library of Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin 2. Thursday 7th February at 10am (Booking required: Contact Bríd O’Sullivan  [email protected])•    Dublin City Gallery - The Hugh Lane, Charlemont House, Parnell Square North, Dublin 1 Saturday 16th March 11am-12pmAuthor Patricia Forde says: “I am delighted and very excited that Bumpfizzle The Best on Planet Earth is the 2019 Citywide Read.  Bumpfizzle is an alien- which may attract some funny business from other planets - but I think Dublin children are up for that. I sincerely hope so.  We may need heroes before this is over.”(Dublin City Public Library Staff, Patricia Forde and Kids at Launch)(Photo Credit Fennell Photography)You can download a Reading Guide to the book, suitable for teachers and parents at http://www.dublincityofliterature.ie/projects/citywide-read/The campaign is run by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and Dublin City Council Public Libraries, in partnership with Little Island Books, and is funded by Dublin City Council’s Public Library Service and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. 

Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath Mícheál Mac Donncha, launches the 2018 Dublin: One City One Book programme of events today on the eve of International Women’s Day.The Long Gaze Back – An Anthology of Irish Women Writers edited by Sinéad Gleeson, joins a long list of illustrious titles as this year’s featured book in the Dublin: One City One Book Festival. As suggested by the title, this book is rooted in the present with emerging writers, while looking back to the flag bearers of Irish women’s writing.The month-long festival will feature dramatised readings, music, song and poetry, discussions with the featured authors, walking tours, talks on topics such as the tradition of women’s short fiction in Ireland, gender balance and anthologies, writing workshops, exhibitions and much more.  Many of the events are free. Check out Dublin: One City, One Book events on in our libraries.The flagship event of this year’s festival is ‘Our Stories Ourselves’ an evening of music, readings and discussion in The Great Hall, Royal Hospital Kilmainham on Wednesday 25th April. Madeleine Keane will chair a discussion panel comprising Anne Enright, Lisa McInerney, Christine Dwyer Hickey and Sinéad Gleeson. Actor Cathy Belton will read excerpts from the book and critically-acclaimed musician and singer Lisa Hannigan will perform. This event is free but booking is essential at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/our-stories-ourselves-tickets-43606189286Speaking at the launch an tArdmhéara said “It is very fitting that this year’s book choice for the Dublin: One City One Book Festival is an anthology of Irish women writers. In the year in which we celebrate the centenary of the Suffragette movement, it is important to highlight women writers’ contribution to the arts, both historically and at the present time. The book spans four centuries of women’s writing and brings voices from Ireland’s past together with contemporary writers.”Sinéad Gleeson said: “I’m thrilled and delighted on behalf of the 30 writers, past and present, that The Long Gaze Back is this year’s Dublin: One City One Book choice. Anthologies are a platform for telling multiple stories and so many of the writers and their work included here are intrinsically connected to Dublin and its people. The book arose from a desire to amplify the voices of women who write, and being chosen for Dublin: One City One Book will help to introduce these talented writers to all kinds of new readers.”Dublin City Librarian Margaret Hayes added “This collection of stories embraces writers of the past, present and of the future, an anthology of diversity and talent. With themes universal and contemporary, and settings urban and rural, it includes some of our best writers in a genre much loved by the Irish reader and storyteller. Dublin City Libraries wishes to showcase the full catalogue of these women writers, many of whom will be well known to readers but others who may have slipped a little from view and who deserve to be looked at anew.”The Long Gaze Back, a collection of thirty stories from writers past and present, from the 18th Century to now is available to borrow from libraries and to buy in bookshops. Taken together, the collected works of these writers reveal an enrapturing, unnerving, and piercingly beautiful mosaic of a lively literary landscape. This year's Festival, which runs during the month of April, offers an opportunity for readers to engage with the book, and the city, through music, readings, walks and talks at various venues.Programme details are now available online. Pick up a copy of the printed programme of events in libraries and bookshops across Dublin.The Festival is organised by Dublin City Council’s Public Library Service. Dublin: One City One Book is supported by New Island Books, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and RTÉ Supporting The Arts.

A talk entitled "Why are some of us optimists and others pessimists and what can we do about it?" will take place in the Central Library on Thursday June 21st at 1pm. Renowned psychologist and professor of cognitive neuroscience, Elaine Fox of the University of Essex will answer the above question from a totally scientific point of view (The talk is part of Dublin City of Science 2012). Author of "Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain", Elaine will explain how we already have tendencies towards optimism or pessimism when we are born. However, all is not lost as she can reveal some techniques to help us change our mindsets.In anticipation you can read here an interview Elaine gave to New Scientist magazine.Here are a couple of quotations to get you thinking on the matter:" Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute". - G.B. Stern." An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty;and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be".

Irish Writers’ Centre: Read For The World: Breaking a Guinness World RecordThis weekend Ireland will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for ‘Most Authors Reading Consecutively From Their Own Books’. The title record of 75 is currently held by the Berlin International Literature Festival. This weekend 111 Writers will read for 28 Hours in one venue.Kick off is at 10am in the Writers' Centre on Parnell Square this Friday the 15th of June and slots of 15 minutes each will run for 28 hours, all through the night, finishing at 2pm on Bloomsday.View a full schedule of readers and times.The Germans may be better at their banking but at least we can be good at something!!!

This week the Dublin Writer's Festival is taking place from June 4th - 10th.There's a taste of everything from philosophy and fiction to poetry, music, film,discussions and workshops. Writers from home and abroad take part in the events. There are some interesting readings and creative writing workshops for children also. It is well worth having a look!  

A talk "From Independence to the IMF: the Irish Economy and the forces that shaped it" took place on Thursday March 1st at the Central Library. The speaker, historian and author Conor McCabe ("Sins of the Father"), took a historical perspective on economic developments as he maintains only this can allow us see social forces acting over time. Conor's central thesis is that the recent and ongoing bust has its origins in our history dating back to 1922 and the political break with the UK. Decisions were made then and subsequently which favoured the middle classes and classes of middlemen such as bankers, lawyers, stockbrokers and builders to the detriment of real, sustained economic development. A culture of home ownership was also prioritised by offering grants and tax relief favouring again the middle class over the working class.Conor presented his case very well with statistics and charts to back his argument. His presentation was followed by a question and answer session with many contributions from the audience. Comments left by the public included: " very informative, raised an interesting hypothesis", " very good speaker", "an excellent lecture and an excellent idea for the series of lectures".This talk was one of a series - The Irish Economy, What Happened? What Next? taking place at the Central Library every Thursday in March. The series is organised by librarian Pádraic Stack who previously organised the very successful "Crime & the City" talks, also at the Central Library.If you missed the first talk, don't worry, a podcast will be posted on this site in due course- check back soon and often! Also, there are four more talks with places still available for each. To book, contact [email protected] or phone 01-8734333 ext. 4. Admission is free.