Cruinniú na nÓg is back! 2019 is the second year of this nationwide festival of creativity for children, organised through the Creative Ireland Programme and this year there are 750 events planned in locations all around the country!
 
Fernhill Park and Gardens is the location for the biggest programme of events in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Fernhill opened as a public park earlier this year and we are delighted to be able to hold some great activities here as part of Cruinniú na nÓg! We'll have nature art workshops, forest rope play, treasure trails, circus skills and lots more!
In addition to the

It's summertime so it must be time for Summer Stars!

Summer Stars is a free national reading challenge which takes places over the summer months to encourage children to begin or continue reading for pleasure while on school holidays. Sometimes children can regress in their reading skills between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next so Summer Stars is a great way to keep up those skills in an enjoyable way. The challenge is open to children of all ages and all reading counts - independent reading, shared reading, bedtime reading. Children can count any books read as part of

Congratulations to our new Writer in Residence 2019-2020 Sadhbh Devlin, who will join us from July. The residency this year will focus on the theme of inclusivity and will have a particular emphasis on creativity for 6-12 year olds. Sadhbh is the author of two picturebooks in Irish; Bí ag Spraoi Liom! (illustrated by Tarsila Kruse, 2017) and Beag Bídeach (illustrated by Róisín Hahessy, 2018). Beag Bídeach was recently shortlisted for the Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year Awards. 

dlr Libraries are delighted to announce that Jennifer Johnston has donated her writing desk and nearly 2,000 of her books to dlr Libraries. The collection will be housed in dlr LexIcon.

Jennifer’s desk was made to her precise specifications over 30 years ago and it is a real privilege to house it in the Residency Room on the top floor of dlr LexIcon. Sadhbh Devlin, the recently appointed dlr Writer in Residence is thrilled to be able to use Jennifer’s desk and has no doubt that it will inspire her work in the coming year. Jennifer likewise is pleased that it will be used in this way

From Monday 22 July-Thursday 25 July 2019, Fighting Words hosted a free Film Camp for teenagers in dlr LexIcon. There was huge interest in the camp and the 18 participants had to be selected by lottery. Each day was scheduled tightly – Day 1 covered script writing, Day 2 shooting, Day 3 editing and Day 4 screening of the films in the LexIcon Lab for family and friends.

Students attended masterclasses by experts on topics such as film techniques, plot structure, managing a shoot and the power of the edit. They worked in groups with two Fighting Words volunteers per group – experimenting with

Planting pollinators is an effective way to support biodiversity in your local area. Insects – such as bees and butterflies – are vital for pollinating our food crops, gardens and wild plants. One third of our local bee species is currently under threat due to lack of food and nesting sites. Planting pollinator plants ensures food supply, and creating wildflower meadows provides both food and habitat in one location.

At Cabinteely Library we are proud to host the first seed library in the Irish Public Library Service. Inspired by Mary Reynolds’ “We are the Ark” project, our seed collection

The Oratory of the Sacred Heart was built on the grounds of St. Mary's Dominican Convent in 1918 and dedicated to the Sacred Heart in 1919. It commemorates the many local Irishmen who fought and died in the Great War. From 1920-36, it was hand-painted by Sr Concepta Lynch, a Dominican nun at St. Mary's and the result is a stunning example of the Celtic Revival style. The attached leaflet highlights the events taking place during October and November 2019 to mark the publication of a new book Divine Illumination, published by New Island Books and an exhibition at dlr LexIcon to showcase the