Bealtaine Festival 2023

Bealtaine Festival takes place across Ireland in May every year and is a celebration of the arts and creativity as we age. Bealtaine engages people to foster and inspire creativity among older people and to promote the skills, experiences and exposure that can lead to a rich creative life.

This year activities in dlr Libraries will occur online and in-person and feature a variety of free events, including arts and crafts workshops, dance workshops, somatic movement, creative writing, and lots more

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Bealtaine Events

Writing for Well-Being with Martin Keaveney

Tues 2,9,23 & 30 May

11.00am-1.00pm
Room 1, Level 3, dlr LexIcon

Booking required via Eventbrite.ie Must be able to attend all 4 sessions.

If you have any questions, please contact libraryculture@dlrcoco.ie

Explore the ways creative writing can enhance well-being. We will look at how the regular practice of writing enhances time & space management, appreciation of artistic achievement and productivity and leads to the development of rewarding creative projects both in the home and in the workplace. We will learn how this practice can enrich lifestyles while also providing valuable transferable skills. The objective of the course is to ignite a creative practice that will increase productivity in the workplace and creative fulfilment in leisure time

Somatic Movement with Laura Dowdall

Weds 3,10,17,24 & 31 May

10.15am-11.30am

Must be able to attend all 5 sessions. Booking required by contacting libraryculture@dlrcoco.ie

Level 3, Municipal Gallery, dlr LexIcon

Adaptations for all levels of experience, including beginners.

Gentle movement practice that can be done in a chair.

Somatic Movement focuses on restoring neurological ease, balance, harmony and relaxation to the body and mind. Through somatic movement you will recover dexterity, fluidity and lightness in your body. Somatic movement reduces the impact of ageing on the body. It rewires and reconnects parts of our brain and body that have lost agility over time and improves cognitive functioning, mental clarity and memory.

Healing Yoga with Laura Dowdall

Wed 3,10,17,24 & 31 May

11.45am-1.00pm

Level 3, Municipal Gallery

Booking required, please email libraryculture@dlrcoco.ie

Participants should be able to attend all 5 sessions.

Adaptations for all levels of experience, including beginners.

A dynamic, energising class practiced on the floor- *Ideally bring own yoga mat, mats will also be available!

Class to revitalise your body, mind, heart and soul with fun flowing sequences to:

Invigorate the body, Boost feel good hormones, Detox the mind, Restore balance, Shake off tension & stress!

Classes include elements of tai chi, chi gung, dance, kundalini yoga, yin yoga, dynamic yoga flow, hatha yoga, sound healing, breath work, self-care practices and healing meditations

Online Course: Creative Writing: An Introduction, with Martin Keaveney

Wed 3,10,17 & 24 May

6.00pm-8.00pm

Online via ZOOM

Participants should be able to attend all sessions in the series. Booking required via Eventbrite.ie

In this introduction course, Dr Martin Keaveney will introduce participants to the exciting and very rewarding craft of creative writing. Learn how to get started in creative writing, whether it is poetry, short stories or novels. We begin with getting started to write, explore editing your work through poetry and fiction, before providing specialised guidance on the publishing process. Option to submit writing each week and receive typed feedback.

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Dalkey Library

TY Tech Sessions

Wednesdays 3,10,17 & 24 May, 2.00-2.30pm & 2.30-3.00pm

To book, please email dalkeylib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 285 5277

Students from local Transition Year classes are available in the Library for half-hour sessions to assist with any tech queries you may have about your smart phone, tablet or laptop.

Creative Workshops for the artistically curious with Briege Byrne

Fridays 5, 12, 19 & 26 May 

10.30am-12.30pm

To book, email dalkeylib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 285 5277

Introducing “The Artist's Way for Retirement” in a relaxed, supportive setting.

Exploring latent artistic talent through fun warm-ups, writing and poetry, imaginative doodling. Try drawing with the non-dominant hand to boost brain activity and Brain Gym exercises to improve listening and memory. 

Laughter guaranteed. Go on, take a chance!

Pottery Painting Workshop for Adults

Tues 16 May, 6.00-7.30pm 

To book, email dalkeylib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 285 5277

Celebrate Spring and join us for a pottery painting session with Siobhán Brennan of Crazy Glazing, part of Healthy Ireland At Your Library. We will be painting butterfly garden ornaments which Siobhán will be glazing for us after the event

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Shankill Library

Creative Workshops for the artistically curious with Briege Byrne

Fri 5 & 19 May, 2.30-4.30pm

To book, email shankilllib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 282 3081

Introducing “The Artist's Way for Retirement” in a relaxed, supportive setting.

Exploring latent artistic talent through fun warm-ups, writing and poetry, imaginative doodling. Try drawing with the non-dominant hand to boost brain activity and Brain Gym exercises to improve listening and memory. 

Laughter guaranteed. Go on, take a chance!

 

Healing Through Art & Meditation with Mary Daugherty 

Mon 8 May, 2.15 - 3.45 pm

To book, email shankilllib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 282 3081

In this class we relax through meditation, then paint through intuition. All art materials supplied. Reiki healing will then be offered to the group. 

 

Painting with John Carpenter 

Thursday 11 & 25 May (separate sessions for booking)

2.00pm-4.00pm

To book, email shankilllib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 282 3081

Would you like to learn to paint and draw? Over the last 25 years John has introduced thousands of adults and children to the joy of painting. John says there is no magic in it, the magic is in you waiting to be unleashed! Take this opportunity to learn a craft that will give you and others years of contentment and joy! All materials supplied.

 

Crochet for beginners with Anne Marie Connolly

Wed 24 & 31 May, 2.30pm-4.00pm

To book, email shankilllib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 282 3081

Learn the basics of Crochet this May! All materials supplied.

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Dundrum Library

All Day Sewing Workshop

Sat 6 May, 10.00am-4.00pm (with 1 hour lunch break)

To book, email dundrumlib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 298 5000 

Sew Fun Studios are coming to Dundrum Library to teach the principles of sewing and design in a 1-day beginners’ sewing workshop for adults. 

Our beginners’ sewing workshop is perfect for the complete beginner or as a refresher for someone who hasn’t sewn in many years. We focus on teaching our students the foundation of sewing and pattern reading through making and creating practical fashion accessories whilst teaching basic sewing skills used in creating some of today’s top fashion designs. During our day we will walk our students through the operation of the sewing machine, introduce them to basic patterns and tutorials, along with creating two projects which cover multiple sewing techniques. Students will work at their own pace to achieve their goals in a relaxed and fun environment.

 

Cathal Brugha: An Indomitable spirit

Tues 9 May, 6.30pm

To book, email dundrumlib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 298 5000

Join us at Dundrum Library, where historians Professor Daithí Ó Corráin and Dr Gerard Hanley, will be giving a talk on the life and times of Cathal Brugha. Brugha was a leader in the 1916 Rising and Minister for Defence in the government of the First Dáil, but he is, perhaps unfairly, most widely known for his turbulent relationship with Michael Collins. Daithí and Gerard, authors of a new critically-acclaimed biography of Brugha, will be discussing the importance of this sometimes misunderstood figure, in Ireland's revolutionary history.

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Blackrock Library

Bealtaine Knit-A-Hug!

Mondays 8, 15, 22 & 29 May, 10.30am-12.00pm

Participants must be able to attend all 4 sessions. 

To book, email blackrocklib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 288 8117.

In this series of workshops, knitting expert Pauline Gallagher will lead a Mystery Knit-Along, in which we will create a knitted hug together. 

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dlr LexIcon

Wire Tree Sculpture with Susie Kenny 

Tues 9 May, 10.30am - 12.30pm 

Room 4, Level 5, dlr LexIcon

To book, email dlrlexiconlib@dlrcoco.ie

During this two-hour class, you will choose your crystals and wires and Susie will show you how to make these into a beautiful Tree of Life mandala...or freestanding tree on a rock base if you would prefer! All materials and tools will be provided for what should be a fun and creative morning!

LexIcon Writing Group for Adults

Starting Wed 10 May, 11.00am-1.00pm

Room 2, Level 5, dlr LexIcon

To book, email dlrlexiconlib@dlrcoco.ie or Tel (01) 280 1147

New members welcome to dlr LexIcon writing group. The group meet fortnightly to share their work. For more information, contact staff at dlr LexIcon.

Edith by Martina Devlin

Thurs 11 May, 6.30pm

Studio Theatre, dlr LexIcon

Booking required via Eventbrite.ie

This promises to be a fascinating evening in the company of author and journalist Martina Devlin and her historical novel Edith (Lilliput Press). Edith is a captivating novel based on the life of Edith Somerville (1858-1949) of ‘Somerville and Ross’ fame. It is the early 1920s and Ireland is on the cusp of radical change. Amid the turbulence of the revolutionary period, Irish R.M. writer Edith Somerville struggles to find a place for herself.

The Challenge of Retirement- A talk with Trish Murphy

Tues 16 May, 6.30pm

dlr LexIcon Lab, Level 3

Booking required via Eventbrite

At the end of a working life, we all hope to enjoy our retirement, but many people find it difficult to adjust to a life after work. Building on her 20 years of experience running courses on preparing for retirement and redundancy, psychotherapist Trish Murphy understands the challenges of entering this new phase of life. Her talk will cover many subjects that are covered in her book, The Challenge of Retirement. She will address such issues as managing relationships, sexuality, mental health, self-care and intergenerational living.  

Q & A is a significant part of this talk, so please email in your questions beforehand to dlrlexiconlib@dlrcoco.ie

dlr Yarnspinners with Storyteller Jack Lynch 

Wed 17 May, 6.30-7.30pm

LexIcon Lab, Level 3 

Refreshments available from 6pm

All welcome, no booking required

Dublin-born Jack Lynch performs throughout Ireland, combining folkloric elements with ancient Irish myths, Wonder Tales and absurdist Tall Tales, working in schools, libraries, prisons, elderly care homes and arts festivals. He has represented the Irish oral tradition throughout Europe, in the Middle East, North Africa, the Caribbean, Newfoundland and the U.S.(at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival). Jack works with migrants and asylum seekers, with dementia patients and students of all ages.

 

Acrylic Painting with Fiona Ní Ghliasáin 

Thurs 18 May, 10.30am - 12.30pm 

Room 4, Level 5, dlr LexIcon

To book, email dlrlexiconlib@dlrcoco.ie

Join Merrion Square artist, illustrator and photographer, Fiona Ní Ghliasáin for an acrylic painting class looking at the local landscape of the West Pier. Fiona will show how to mix a palette of colours for this atmospheric scene and offer a few tips on how to create a stone wall and paint boats in water.

Leather Jewellery with Mary Daugherty

Tues 23 May, 10.30am - 12.30pm 

Room 4, Level 5, dlr LexIcon

To book, email dlrlexiconlib@dlrcoco.ie

Join Mary Daugherty’s leather workshop and learn how to make a beautiful leather flower pin, which can also be used on a hairband or wristband.

Bridge for beginners with Michael O’Loughlin

Every Wed from 24 May – 28 June, 10.30am-12.00pm

Room 3, Level 5, dlr LexIcon

Participants should be able to attend all 6 sessions

To book, email dlrlexiconlib@dlrcoco.ie

Bridge is by far the greatest card game of all and can provide immense challenge and enjoyment. It is a great way to develop and retain memory, tactical, probability and communication skills, and is a great social activity. Learn the game right from the start!

Michael O'Loughlin is the author of the best-selling book Bridge: Basic Card Play, is Bridge Correspondent of The Senior Times and has enjoyed teaching Bridge for over 30 years.