Sligo Libraries Christmas Opening Hours

Sligo Library Service Branches will close on Saturday 21st December 2013 at their usual times.

Central Library: 5pm
Ballymote Community Library: 1.30pm
Tubbercurry Community Library: 1.30pm
Enniscrone Branch Library: 5pm

All Branches will reopen on Tuesday 31st December 2013 at their usual times.
All Branches will close on Wednesday 1st January (New Years Day) reopening for business as normal on Thursday 2nd January 2014.

We wish all our customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Daoibh.
___________________________________________________

Normal Opening Hours
Tubbercurry Community Library:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday- 12 noon to 7pm
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday - 9.30am to 5.00pm
Saturday - 9.30am to 1.30pm*
Ballymote Community Library:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday-Friday - 9.30am to 5.00pm
Saturday - 9.30am to 1.30pm*
Enniscrone Branch Library:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday & Thursday - 3.00pm to 5.00pm
Wednesday - 3.00pm to 7.00pm
Friday- 1pm to 5.00pm
Saturday - 10am to 1pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm*
Sligo Central Library:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Friday - 9.30am to 5.15pm  
Saturday - 9.30am to 1.00pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm*
Local Studies Library:

Monday – Closed
Tuesday-Friday - 9.30am to 12.45pm and 2.00pm-5.00pm*
Saturday - Closed until further notice.

*Closed Saturday of Public Holiday Weekends.

Draft Strategy for Public Libraries 2013 - 2017

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government invites comments from interested parties on the draft Strategy for Public Libraries 2013 – 2017. The draft public libraries strategy is an initiative of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the County and City Managers’ Association and the Local Government Management Agency. It sets out a plan for the systematic growth and development of public libraries in Ireland for the period 2013 to 2017 in the context of people’s changing needs, Government policy and the current and predicted economic, social and cultural environment.

A consultation document, the draft strategy on which comments are sought and templates for comments are available below:

- Consultation Document
- Draft Strategy for Public Libraries 2013-2017
- Comments Template

Comments on this public consultation should be submitted by email or by post no later than 5pm on Friday 11 October 2013 to one of the addresses below:

Email: librariesdevelopment@lgma.ie

Post:

Libraries Development,
Local Government Management Agency,
Local Government House,
35 – 39 Ushers Quay,
Dublin 8.

* Please note that comment forms are available at all four branch libraries of Sligo County Library Service.*

Booker Prize 2013 Shortlist announced!

1. The Testament of Mary – Toibin, Colm – ISBN: 9780241962978 
2. We Need New Names NoViolet Bulawayo – ISBN: 9780701188047  
3. The Luminaries – Catton, Eleanor – ISBN: 9781847084316 
4. Harvest – Crace, Jim – ISBN: 9780330445665  
5. The Lowland – Lahiri, Jhumpa – ISBN: 9781408828113  
6. A Tale for the Time Being – Ozeki, Ruth L. – ISBN: 9780857867971 

The six books on the list could not be more diverse. There are examples from novelists from New Zealand, England, Canada, Ireland and Zimbabwe – each with its own highly distinctive taste. They range in size from the 832 pages of Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries to the 104-page The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín. The times represented stretch from the biblical Middle East (Tóibín) to contemporary Zimbabwe (NoViolet Bulawayo) by way of 19th-century New Zealand (Catton), 1960s India (Jumpha Lahiri), 18th-century rural England (Crace) and modern Tokyo (Ruth Ozeki). The oldest author on the list, Jim Crace, is 67, the youngest (indeed the youngest ever shortlistee), Eleanor Catton, is 28. Colm Tóibín has written more than 15 books, The Luminaries is only Catton's second.

Sligo Libraries Revised Opening Hours

The following opening hours will be implemented as and from the week beginning Tuesday September 3rd 2013.

Tubbercurry Community Library & Ballymote Community Library:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday-Friday - 9.30am to 5.00pm
Saturday - Closed

Sligo Central Library:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Friday - 9.30am to 5.15pm  
Saturday - 9.30am to 1.00pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm*
*Closed Saturday of Public Holiday Weekends.

Local Studies Library:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday-Saturday - 9.30am to 12.45pm and 2.00pm-5.00pm
*Closed Saturday of Public Holiday Weekends.

Enniscrone Branch Library:
Opening Hours have not changed.

Sligo County Council regrets any inconvenience caused by these changes to opening hours.

Creepy House Summer Reading Challenge

Sligo Central Library once again held a successful Summer Reading Challenge, aimed at encouraging children to read over the summer months. Coordinated by the Reading Agency in the UK, this year’s theme was “Creepy House” and the challenge ran in libraries throughout the UK and Ireland. Children aged 6-12 years were challenged to read six books from Central Library during July-August.

Sligo children certainly rose to the challenge, with over 300 joining in Sligo Central Library. Some children also joined the Library for the first time in order to take part in the Sumner Reading Challenge. Most participants read many more than six books, resulting in 6,083 books being borrowed from the Juvenile Library during the month of July 2013. The children received posters, stickers, bookmarks and wristbands when they joined, and collected stickers as they completed the challenge. Children also accessed the Summer Reading Challenge website to view author profiles, book recommendations, competitions and games.

Participating children and their parents celebrated in Sligo Central Library, Stephen Street, Sligo, on Monday 12th August at 3pm, where Mayor Cllr. Marcella McGarry and Cathaoirleach Cllr. Pat McGrath presented Certificates and Medals to all participants. The children received goodies from Library staff to reward them for successfully completing the challenge. The Summer Reading Challenge is an excellent initiative to encourage children to maintain their reading levels during the holidays and completing the challenge is a great boost to their confidence.

Man Booker Prize 2013 Longlist announced!

'This year's prize judges can breathe out, briefly at least. Faced with scaling a gargantuan mountain of books – a daunting 151 of them – they have reached the first plateau, panting and aching no doubt, and whittled out a longlist for the 2013 prize. The “Man Booker dozen” comprises an eclectic list of 13 novels that will surprise and intrigue in equal measure.

Of the various predictions that have been bandied about as to what might be on the list none have even got close. This year's judges, yet again, have shown themselves to be independent of fashion. Diverse doesn't quite do the longlist justice: seven different countries are represented on it and there is a strong hand of established authors selected (Tash Aw, Jim Crace, Jhumpa Lahiri, Colum McCann, Charlotte Mendelson and Colm Tóibín) mixed with first timers. Only Crace and Tóibín have previously appeared on Man Booker shortlists – Crace with Quarantine (1997) and Tóibín with The Blackwater Lightship (1999) and The Master (2004)'. Man booker Prize website 23rd July 2013

For a full listing of the longlisted titles please visit the official website http://www.themanbookerprize.com/man-booker-prize-2013

Sligo Libraries 'National Playday' Colouring Competition

The aim of National Play Day is to help increase public awareness of the importance of play. Promoting play is a key policy response to improving outcomes for children and supporting children’s physical and social development. Play is integral to children’s lives. National Play Day is an opportunity to link activities already undertaken by Local Authorities and many other locally based providers, youth and sporting organisations.

Ballymote Community Library Entries

Sligo Libraries ran a number of events throughout its branch network for National Recreation Week and National Playday, one of which was a colouring competition of “Nina The Owl”. The winning entries from Central Library, Tubbercurry & Ballymote Library customers can be seen in the various images.



Sligo Central Library Winners

Tubbercurry Library Entries



The image selected to be coloured in was that of Nina The Owl who is “EU guardian of children’s right to go to school and get an education.” Entries were received from a number of playgroups, pre-schools and afterschool homework clubs throughout County Sligo.  Sligo County Library Service wishes to acknowledge the support given by Sligo County Childcare Committee with regard to the distribution of entry forms and to the Department of Children & Youth Affairs for funding the events.

Tubbercurry Community Library Entries

E-books now available at Sligo County Libraries

 Downloadable eBooks are now available for all our customers with Sligo Libraries. This user friendly service has a range of books, which we will slowly add to, in all genres. Click on the following link http://sligolibraries.wheelers.co  to go to Sligo Libraries ePlatform, where you can easily register.

To register you will need your User Id Number (which is printed beneath the barcode on the back of your library card) and a unique Pin No. of your choosing. Once your details are submitted they will need to be confirmed by Sligo Libraries before you can start borrowing. You will be informed of your successful registration by email.

Once successfully registered you can begin downloading to your reader; however you will need to download an ‘e-book reader App’ specific to your device. For more information on this please click on the link below for the ePlatform help page. http://sligolibraries.wheelers.co/help/guides

Contact Sligo Library at sligolib@sligococo.ie  if you encounter any problems. Happy reading!

Creepy House Summer Reading Challenge

At Sligo Central Library there's a spine-tingling adventure waiting for children when they take part in the 2013 Summer Reading Challenge. They can join in the adventure as they explore the Creepy House, simply by reading six books from Sligo Central Library. They can discover the secrets of Creepy house and meet some of the hair-raising residents! There are competitions and author news on the website www.creepy-house.org.uk

Join now at Sligo Central Library, and receive your free Creepy House poster, bookmark and wrist band. Collect some gruesome scratch and sniff stickers as you complete the challenge. The challenge runs until 12th August 2013.

National Recreation Week 2013

A number of events will be held throughout Sligo to celebrate National Recreation Week, an initiative of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Events in Sligo are co-ordinated by Community and Enterprise, Sligo County Council (Te. 071 9111802) in association with Sligo County Library Service, Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership and Foróige. Events are aimed at young people between the ages of 12 and 18 years.

Monday 24th June: Sligo Central Library
10.00am—12.00 pm Robotics Workshop hosted by St. Angela’s College at Sligo Central Library Pre-registration required Limited Places

Monday 24th June: North West Adventure Tours
Time to be confirmed. Hiking Activity for young women age 12-14 years, in conjunction with North West Adventure Tours Limited places. Contact Karina or Sinead at the C.R.I.B. Youth Project and Health Cafe, 071 9146526

Monday 24th June: Sligo Sports & Recreation Partnership
Time to be confirmed Horseriding with Keash Equestrian Centre for teenagers with a disability Keash Equestrian Centre Contact: Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership on 071 9161511 or email shane@sligosportandrecreation.ie

Tuesday 25th June: C.R.I.B Youth Project
3.30pm —5.00 pm Cupcake making workshop for young women age 12-14 years Limited places. Contact Karina or Sinead at the C.R.I.B. Youth Project and Health Cafe, 071 9146526

Tuesday 25th June: C.R.I.B Youth Project
5.30pm —7.00 pm Soccer tournament for 13-17 year olds Limited places. Contact Karina or Sinead at the C.R.I.B. Youth Project and Health Cafe, 071 9146526

Wednesday 26th June: C.R.I.B Youth Project
Time to be confirmed Cinema trip for young women age 12-14 years Limited places. Contact Karina or Sinead at the C.R.I.B. Youth Project and Health Cafe, 071 9146526

Wednesday 26th June: Ox Mountain Development Group
10.00am — 2.00 pm Orienteering with Ox Mountain Development Group
Meeting point—Aclare Contact Tubbercurry Family Resource Centre 071 9186926

Thursday 27th June: Beat It Dance School
5.00pm —6.00 pm Hip Hop/Street Open Dance Class with Beat It Dance School
Fitness4All Gym, Strandhill Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership on 0719161511 or email diane@sligosportandrecreation.ie / or Sarah at Beat It Dance School on 0879486922

Thursday 27th June: Tubbercurry Family Resource Centre
11.00am—1.00pm Rebounding and Boxercise Contact Tubbercurry Family Resource Centre 071 9186926

Friday 28th June: Tubbercurry Family Resource Centre

11.00am—1.00pm Boccia and Multi Sport Contact Tubbercurry Family Resource Centre 071 9186926

Tuesday 2nd July : Ballymote Community Library & Sligo Central Library
11.30 am & 2.30 pm Reading and Q&A session with Award -winning author Sheena Wilkinson Pre-registration required Limited Places. Sligo Central Library 071 9111859

On-going Promotion of reading materials for 12-18 year olds in Sligo Libraries Ballymote, Enniscrone, Sligo Central Library and Tubbercurry www.sligolibrary.ie

Summer Opening Hours in Tubbercurry & Ballymote Community Libraries

To assist Library staff in taking annual summer leave and to minimise disruption to our branch services it has been decided to close Tubbercurry Community Library and Ballymote Community Library for a 2 week period over the Summer.

Library: Tubbercurry Community Library

Closes: Wednesday 31st July @ 5pm

Reopens: Tuesday 20th August @ 12 noon

Library: Ballymote Community Library

Closes: Wednesday 31st July @ 5pm

Reopens: Tuesday 20th August @ 9.30am

If you wish to contact either of these branches to discuss borrowing arrangements etc you can call;

Tubbercurry Community Library: 071 9111705

Ballymote Community Library: 071 9111669

We apologise in advance for an inconvenience caused by this issue.

'Paths to Commemoration' Lecture

Lecture Title: Commemoration & the 1981 Hunger Strike
Date: Tuesday 18 June @ 7.30 p.m
Venue: Sligo Central Library

The 1981 Hunger Strike was a pivotal event of the Troubles, galvanising Republican support and attracting worldwide media attention. The strike was a powerful symbol of the Republican struggle & the event and reaction by the British Government resulted in increased tension between the two main communities. By early April 1981, Bobby Sands was elected MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone. By the end of August, ten men had died on hunger strike.

Over 30 years later, it remains hugely significant, poignant and symbolic for the Republican community, and simultaneously uncomfortable, contentious and difficult for many within the Unionist community.

Laurence McKeown will be speaking of his personal experience of the Hunger Strike. He will look at how it is commemorated and how that has changed over the years.

Laurence will also talk about the arts works he has produced in relation to the hunger strike; the play ‘Laughter of Our Children’, the feature film ‘H3’, and short biography of Bobby Sands ‘I arose this morning’.

Our previous guest speaker talks have so far looked at the origins of parading on St Patrick's Day, commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising, and the Apprentice Boys of Derry.

2013 Yeat's Day a great success!

This year Yeat's day was a dawn to dusk celebration not just of Sligo’s Nobel Laureate and his works, but also of his brother Jack, one of the country’s most significant painters of the last century, and his sisters Susan and Elizabeth- who made an enormous contribution to the Gaelic art and crafts revival in the early 20th century. The Library was one of the venues involved with Yeat's Nobel Medal on display throughout the day in the County Museum. Also held in Central Library was 'Choral Yeats - Children in costume recite Yeats poetry' which was a great success and entertained the large crowd in attendance.

The full group recite Yeats Poetry

Some of the younger members take centre stage

For further information on Yeats Day and the upcoming Season of Yeats events please visit www.seasonofyeats.com/yeatsday/

Yeats Day 2013

Poetry, painting, song, craft and food; all will be on the menu for Sligo’s second annual Yeats Day celebration throughout the town on Thursday June 13, birthday of Nobel Prize Winning poet WB Yeats.

This year the day will be a dawn to dusk celebration not just of Sligo’s Nobel Laureate and his works, but also of his brother Jack, one of the country’s most significant painters of the last century, and his sisters Susan and Elizabeth- who made an enormous contribution to the Gaelic art and crafts revival in the early 20th century.

The highlight will of course be the birthday celebrations on O’Connell Street, Sligo with poetry, balloons, birthday cake and music. Among key events of the day will be actor Michael Fish’ fascinating interpretation of WB Yeats Nobel Prize winning speech, delivered in Stockholm, Sweden in December 1923. The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Yeats for his “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation”.

Yeats actual Nobel prize –go and see it – is on display at the County Library & Museum, Stephen Street, Sligo. To celebrate the prize, restaurants in Sligo will be asked to serve a variety of foods, based on the theme of sausages and wine, the food that WB celebrated with when he was told he had won the prize. Apparently it was the only food he had in the house!

Also at 12.30pm at Central Library in Stephen Street: 'Choral Yeats - Children in costume recite Yeats poetry'

The Hamilton Gallery will launch a Gathering-inspired exhibition of Irish American art, inspired by what WB Yeats called Numberless Dreams.

A variety of competitions are being run with primary and secondary schools to celebrate poetry, art, print and embroidery with prizes announced on Yeats Day.

For further information on Yeats Day and the upcoming Season of Yeats events please visit www.seasonofyeats.com/yeatsday/

Sligo based Kevin Barry wins 2013 IMPAC award with 'City of Bohane'

'City of Bohane' by Kevin Barry is the winner of the 2013 International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award.

The €100,000 prize is the largest prize for a single novel published in English, and nominations are made by public libraries around the globe.

Irish-born Kevin Barry hails from Limerick and lives in Sligo, on Ireland’s west coast. He is the author of two award winning short story collections: City of Bohane is his first novel.

‘I’m thrilled to see an Irish author of such immense talent take home this year’s award. City of Bohane is a vivid, atmospheric portrayal of a city in the West of Ireland set in the future but mired in the past. The highly original cast of characters are at once flamboyant and malevolent, speaking in a vernacular like no other,’ said the Lord Mayor of Dublin and Patron of the Award, Naoise Ó Muirí, announcing the winner at a ceremony in Dublin’s Mansion House on 6th June. Kevin Barry received the trophy and a cheque for €100,000 at the presentation dinner following the announcement.

The winning novel beat off competition from 153 other titles, nominated by 160 libraries from 44 countries. It was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape. The shortlist of ten novels, as chosen by an international panel of judges included novels from France, Iceland, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the USA. Kevin Barry is the third Irish author to win the prize. It was awarded to Colm Tóibín in 2006 for The Master and to Colum McCann in 2011 for Let the Great World Spin.

Commenting on his win, Kevin Barry said: ‘The fact that this award originates with the libraries is what makes it very special for me – libraries are where we learn that we can live our lives through books.’

A.M Holmes wins the 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction.

American author A.M. Homes has won the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction with her sixth novel 'May We Be Forgiven'.

2013 marks the eighteenth year of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, known from 1996 to 2012 as the Orange Prize for Fiction, which celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.

At an awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London – hosted by Chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction board, Kate Mosse – the 2013 Chair of Judges, Miranda Richardson, presented the author with the £30,000 prize and the ‘Bessie’, a limited edition bronze figurine. Both are anonymously endowed. Richardson said: “Our 2013 shortlist was exceptionally strong and our judges’ meeting was long and passionately argued, but in the end we agreed that May we be Forgiven is a dazzling, original, viscerally funny black comedy – a subversion of the American dream. This is a book we want to read again and give to our friends.”

The Women’s Prize for Fiction was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction written by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible. The Women’s Prize is awarded to the best novel of the year written in English by a woman.

Ballymote Library Book Club revel in their role as book critics!

Ballymote national School pupils are not only readers, some of them were also Judge and Jury for the Children's Books Ireland Awards 2013.The 6th class children are members of Ballymote Community Library's Junior Bookclub. They read, critiqued and debated all 10 shortlisted titles and then voted for their favourite book.

The children, with their teacher Ms Hunt and Librarians Brenda Cawley, Naoni Brennan and Louise McGrath made the trip to the National Library of Ireland in Dublin for the Awards ceremony. Eimer Conlon and Cian Quinn made the preseentation on 'Hong'. Ada McDonagh, Niamh Currid and Katie Anderson presented 'Mise agus an Dragun'.

The children also met and chatted with Sheena Wilkinson, winner of the Children's choice awards for her book 'Grounded'

Belfast author Sheena Wilkinson, the winner of the 23rd CBI Book of the Year Award is the second author ever to win both the Book of The Year Award and the Children’s Choice Award for her novel Grounded. Set in a beak, contemporary Belfast, the novel follows a talented show-jumper from the wrong side of the tracks and his struggle to cope with his responsibilities as a boyfriend, son, employee and friend. The judges said ‘this powerful first person narrative is an unsentimental account of a teenager trying to cope with a series of unexpected responsibilities, and explores the effects of caring too much and of caring too little.’ Grounded is the sequel to Sheena’s previous novel Taking Flight, which won both the CBI Honour Award for Fiction and the Children’s Choice Award in 2011.


The winner of the Eilís Dillon award, which is awarded to a first time author or illustrator is Sarah Crossan for The Weight of Water. Written in a verse narrative, Sarah’s coming of age tale portrays not only the fear and isolation felt by many young immigrants, but also the courage and resilience that is often needed for a young person to find his or her way in the world.

Paths to Commemoration Series

Lecture Title: Commemoration & the 1981 Hunger Strike
Date: Tuesday 18 June @ 7.30 p.m
Venue: Sligo Central Library

The 1981 Hunger Strike was a pivotal event of the Troubles, galvanising Republican support and attracting worldwide media attention. The strike was a powerful symbol of the Republican struggle & the event and reaction by the British Government resulted in increased tension between the two main communities. By early April 1981, Bobby Sands was elected MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone. By the end of August, ten men had died on hunger strike.

Over 30 years later, it remains hugely significant, poignant and symbolic for the Republican community, and simultaneously uncomfortable, contentious and difficult for many within the Unionist community.

Laurence McKeown will be speaking of his personal experience of the Hunger Strike. He will look at how it is commemorated and how that has changed over the years.

Laurence will also talk about the arts works he has produced in relation to the hunger strike; the play ‘Laughter of Our Children’, the feature film ‘H3’, and short biography of Bobby Sands ‘I arose this morning’.

Our previous guest speaker talks have so far looked at the origins of parading on St Patrick's Day, commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising, and the Apprentice Boys of Derry.

Sligo Libraries Opening Hours

All Sligo Library Branches will be closed from 5pm on Friday 31st May over the Bank Holiday weekend until their usual opening times on Tuesday 4th June 2013. These are as follows;

Central & Local Studies Library, Stephen Street: opens 9.30am
Tubbercurry Community Library, Humbert Street, Tubbercurry: opens 12 noon
Ballymote Communuty Library, Teeling Street, Ballymote: opens 9.30am
Enniscrone Branch Library, Pier Road, Enniscrone: opens 3pm

You can also renew your items online (with your User ID and Pin NO) at www.sligolibrary.ie or by clicking on the appropriate link on the top right hand side of this page.

We wish all our customers a very happy bank holiday weekend.

CBI Book of the Year Awards 2013

The CBI Book of the Year Awards (formerly the Bisto Awards) are the leading annual children’s book awards in Ireland. Now in their 24th year, the awards are made annually by Children’s Books Ireland to authors and illustrators born or resident in Ireland and are open to books written in Irish or English. The shortlist for the awards is announced annually in March and the winners are announced in May.

Belfast author Sheena Wilkinson has won the 23rd CBI Book of the Year Award and is the second author ever to win both the Book of The Year Award and the Children’s Choice Award for her novel Grounded. Set in a beak, contemporary Belfast, the novel follows a talented show-jumper from the wrong side of the tracks and his struggle to cope with his responsibilities as a boyfriend, son, employee and friend. The judges said ‘this powerful first person narrative is an unsentimental account of a teenager trying to cope with a series of unexpected responsibilities, and explores the effects of caring too much and of caring too little.’ Grounded is the sequel to Sheena’s previous novel Taking Flight, which won both the CBI Honour Award for Fiction and the Children’s Choice Award in 2011.

Children from Ballymote Community Library (pictured) formed one of the Junior Juries at this event which voted for the Children's Choice Award.

For more information on the winners and shortlist please click on the following link http://www.childrensbooksireland.ie/the-cbi-awards/shortlist-and-winners-2011/

Paths to Commemoration Series

Title: Commemoration and the 1981 Hunger Strike
Time: Tuesday 18th June @ 7.30pm
Venue: Sligo Central Library
The 1981 Hunger Strike was a pivotal event of the troubles, galvanising Republican support and attracting worldwide media attention. The strike was a powerful symbol of the Republican Struggle and the event and reaction by the British Government resulted in increased tension between the two main communities. By early 1981, Bobby Sands was elected MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. By the end of August, ten men had died on Hunger Strike.

Over thirty years later, it remains hugely significant, poignant and symbolic for the republican community, and simultaneously uncomfortable, contentious and difficult for many within the Unionist community.

Laurence McKeown will be speaking of his personal experience of the Hunger Strike. he will look back at how it is commemorated and how it has changed over the years.

Laurence will also talk about the arts works he has produced in relation to the hunger strike; the play "Laughter of our Children", the feature film "H3" and the short biography of Bobby Sands "I arose this morning".

Upcoming Events during May 2013 - Sligo Central Library

Paths to Commemoration Series - Who are the Apprentice Boys Anyway?
Time: Tuesday 14th May, 7.30pm

Beginning with the Siege of Derry, Mr David Hall will give an account of the key events and personae that are central to Apprentice Boys' commemorations. David will then look at the history and development of the Apprentice Boys up to the present day and at how the Association will carry its commemorations into the future.

Mr David Hall hails from County Antrim and is a member of the Apprentice Boys Club of Research, which is the Association's historical society.


Lockout 1913 Austerity 2013 - Book Launch by Mícheál Mac Donncha

Time: Thursday 16th May, 7.30pm

2013 marks the Centenary of the biggest industrial struggle in Irish history - the Great Lockout of 1913. This was culmination of similar strikes and lockouts in Dublin and across Ireland - including in Sligo - as the ITGWU and other unions sought to vindicate workers' rights. The long and bitter dispute saw the communities of Dublin's tenement slums pitted against the might of the employers, the Dublin Metropolitan Police and the British Army. After months of desperate hardship the lockout ended, seemingly in defeat for the workers. But the Irish trade union movement survived and thrived, workers won better conditions, the Irish Citizen Army was founded and the Lockout proved to be a key event leading to the 1916 Rising.


Book Launch & Readings
Time: Tuesday 21st May, 6.30pm

Alan McMonagle is a poet, playwright and short fiction writer living in Galway. He has received awards for his work from the Professional Artists’ Retreat in Yaddo (New York), the Fundación Valparaiso (Spain), the Banff Centre for Creativity (Canada) and the Arts Council of Ireland.

He has contributed stories to many journals in Ireland and North America including The Adirondack Review, The Valparaiso Fiction Review, Natural Bridge, Grain, Prairie Fire, Southword and The Stinging Fly.

Liar Liar, his first collection of stories appeared in 2008 (Wordsonthestreet) and was longlisted for the 2009 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. The title story from his second collection, Psychotic Episodes, (Arlen House, April 2013) was nominated for a 2011 Pushcart Prize.

Aideen Henry writes short fiction, drama and poetry. Her short stories, Saibh and Idling, were shortlisted for the Francis McManus Award in 2011 & 2012. Idling was published in The Dublin Review in 2012. She has contributed short stories to three published collections of the Atlantis Collective. Her three one-act plays were staged at NUI, Galway and the Galway Theatre Festival. Her debut poetry collection, Hands Moving at the Speed of Falling Snow, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2010 and that year she was shortlisted for the Emerging Poetry Section of the Hennessy XO Literary Awards. Hugging Thistles is her debut collection of short stories.

Paths to Commemoration Lecture Series

The lecture, "Was it for this?’: How and why do we commemorate the Easter Rising?" was held in Sligo Central Library, Stephen Street, Sligo last night. The main thrust of the lecture was to explore the significance of the Easter Rising and how it outweighed the events of April 1916. It had become a touchstone and a lightning rod in the Irish imagination. Dr. Roisín Higgins explored what we might learn from previous commemorations and asked, as its centenary approaches, how should we remember the Easter Rising?

A large crowd was in attendance to hear Dr. Roisin Higgins discuss this topic & its continued significance in Irish Society. Questions and comments from the floor were discussed afterwards.

The next lecture in the series takes place at 7.30pm on Tuesday May 14th and looks at Appentice Boys & the Derry Walls.


Roisín Higgins is the author of Transforming 1916: meaning, memory and the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising and the editor, with Regina Uí Chollatáin of The Life and After-Life of P.H. Pearse/ Pádraic Mac Piarais: Saol agus Oidhreacht.
This project has been funded by the PEACE III Programme through the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund managed for the Special EU programmes Body by Sligo County Council on behalf of Sligo Peace & Reconciliation Partnership Committee.

Paths to Commemoration

Sligo County Library has just begun an exciting new project, supported by Sligo PEACE III and delivered by community consultancy Green Hat. Paths to Commemoration will engage with 20 civic and community leaders who will take part in a series of workshops and study trips on commemoration between now and December 2013.

The programme consists of three elements, including guest speaker sessions, research on best practice for commemoration, and study trips including one international visit.

County Librarian Donal Tinney explained, “This is an exciting project for Sligo. From March we will be hosting a series of 8 monthly guest speaker sessions, which will be open to the general public as well as the 20 programme participants. These will cover a range of topics around commemoration including the Easter 1916 Rising, 1981 Hunger Strike, Origins of St Patrick’s Day, and use of arts in Commemoration. The recruited civic leaders will also be undertaking a number of study trips across the border to look at commemoration in Northern Ireland, as well as a trip to the fascinating World War I battle site of Messines in Belgium.”

PEACE III Programme Development Officer Deirdre Rooney also said, “It is hoped that through these activities participants will develop a greater understanding of their community leadership role and be able to interact and actively engage in the process of commemoration of historical events in an inclusive & sympathetic way, recognising that in the past such anniversaries have divided communities.”

Green Hat’s Director Bryony Flanagan said, “We are absolutely delighted to be working with the staff at Sligo County Library on this programme, as well as the Sligo PEACE III Partnership. Paths to Commemoration promises to be a thought-provoking and engaging programme of events. It will also stimulate worthwhile discussion amongst civic leaders in County Sligo around how we commemorate significant events and how they can take this into the future”.

Paths to Commemoration was officially launched on Tuesday 19 February at 3.00 p.m at the Sligo Southern Hotel. You can get more information and an Expression of Interest form by emailing commemoration@greenhat.org.uk  or contacting Fiona on 048 6772 3766

Name of Guest speakers; Topic covered, Date and Venues listed below.

• Thérèse Cullen "Saint Patrick’s Day" Tues 12 March 2013 at 7.30pm Sligo Central Library.
• Roinin Higgins "1916 Easter Rising" Tues 16 April 2013 at 7.30pm Sligo Central Library.
• To be identified "Sligo 400 / Lock-Out" Sligo Central Library.
• Susan McKay "Women’s Suffrage" Sligo Central Library.
• Billy Moore "Apprentice Boys, Derry walls 400 etc" Sligo Central Library.
• Martin Snodden "WWI / WWII" Sligo Central Library.
• Laurence McKeown "1981 Hunger Strike" Sligo Central Library.
• Lycia Trouton / "Similar Art & Commemoration" Sligo Central Library.

Library Press Display

‌Welcome to PressDisplay.com from NewspaperDirect – the world’s largest online newspaper kiosk, where you can browse and read hundreds of full content premium newspapers and magazines from around the globe.

PressDisplay.com is the most convenient, complete and cost-effective way to read all your favorite publications on one site. Sligo Library users gain access to newspapers from home and around the world on the day they are published, often before they hit the news stands.

How to get started:

You must be logged onto any public PC within our branch network.

Simply click on the logo-link above to gain access to the Library PressDisplay website.

Scroll done through the various Countries publications via the listing on the left hand side.

Select the Country of your choice and then select the publication of your choose from that Country selection.

Reopening of Central & Local Studies Libraries

Happy New Year to all our customers!

Sligo County Council is pleased to announce that Sligo Central Library and Local Studies Library reopened on Tuesday the 8th January 2013. All normal services have resumed. Please ring the branch on 071 9111675 if you have any specific queries.

We wish to apologise for any inconvenience that this disruption in service may have caused our customers over the Christmas period.

County Librarian
9th January 2013