Christmas Music Club in Loughrea Library

The Loughrea Music Club held it's monthly free concert in Loughrea Library on the 4th of December.

The theme this month was Christmas and the audience were treated to some festive carols and Christmas songs from the Gray Lake String Quartet and Piano, including For Unto us a Child is Born from Handel's Messiah.

Also performing on the night were the Kiltulla

Community Choir and the night ended with a grand finale performance of Adeste Fidelis by tenor Timmy Lynch.

Next concert takes place on February 4th 2012.

Tuam Library Arts & Crafts Session

Green Schools Exhibition at Loughrea Library

Green-schools, known internationally as Eco-Schools is an environmental education programme currently taking place in over 3,500 primary and secondary schools in Ireland. Participating schools focus on five themes, starting with Litter and Waste, and continuing on to Energy, Water, Travel and Biodiversity. Schools recieve a Green Flag for every theme they complete and so far 2,310 schools have been awarded a Green Flag.

Loughrea Library is currently hosting an exhibition of work from local schools participating in the Green-Schools programme on the Water theme.
As part of the exhibition pupils attended a wildlife and biodiversity workshop with wildlife expert Gordon D'Arcy at the library.The colourful exhibition consists of a range of collages, paintings and drawings by pupils highlighting the importance of water conservation as well as showing the local wildlife that depend on clean water for survival.

Polar Express will be stopping at Loughrea, Tuam, Ballybane, Westside & Dunmore Libraries

Christmas Storytelling will take place in a number of Libraries based on the award winning picture book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. It won the Caldecott Medal in 1986.

It is a wonderful Xmas story based on an old fashioned steam train that brings children to the North Pole on Xmas eve to meet Santa and see him off on his annual sleigh ride. Santa selects one boy to receive the first present of xmas, rather than the usual requests the boy asks for one of Santa’s sleigh bells!

There will be bells and hot chocolate in keeping with the story!

The sessions are being held in the evening, darkness required and there will be 50 children approx at each session. The story is magical.

The Polar Express will be stopping at the following stations during December 2011:

Loughrea Library-- Tuesday the 20th of December at 5.30. --ph. 091 847220

Tuam Library -- Wednesday the 21st of December at 6.00pm -- ph.093 24287

Ballybane Library -- Wednesday 21st at 5.30. -- ph. 091 380590

Westside Library -- Thursday 22nd at 5.30. -- ph. 091 520616

Dunmore Library -- Thursday 22nd at 5 pm. -- ph. 093 38923

Some of these sessions are heavily booked. You should enquire at the relevant library.

Friels's 'Buaiteoirí' in Loughrea library

Splódar Theatre Company recently toured Buaiteoirí, (Irish language translation of 'Winners' by Brian Friel). Loughrea library hosted the play on 8 Samhain.

Friel’s masterpiece is surely the Romeo and Juliet of Irish literature as the ill-starred lovers Mag and Joe find societal and family pressures too much for them.
Strangely, this tale of tragedy with its hilarious humorous sequences awakens feelings of optimism rather than despair as it draws us deftly into the charged and changing world of the young lovers. Neasa Ní Chuanaigh and Iorras Ó Gallachóir played the characters of Mag and Joe.

Over the Edge in Galway City Library

Learning to Fly in Dunmore Library

This is a young girl in the Dunmore Library holding a book entitled For Those Who Want to Fly.

The Library Service is there for all those who want to fly!

This book of beautiful illustrations and text depicts a newly born bird going through life stages...the kind of life stages we all go through. The young bird falls several times before it eventually flies: as the book says: "Falling down can help us free ourselves from the superfluous".

Nurturing literacy and the imagination does transform people‘s lives: or as that great Italian writer Anna Maria Ortese put it: “the more books you read, the better you might express yourself.” She observed that “the possession of a means of self-expression – a means of self-expression and an education in its use - might provide us sometimes with what she called ‘a parachute in life’.”

That is what the Library Service tries to do...tries to teach us all to fly and provides us with a parachute whenever we hit turbulence!

Irish Successes Abroad Exhibition at ED Ballinasloe Library

An exhibition,compiled by the European Union Representation in Ireland,is now showing at the Europe Direct Centre, Ballinasloe Library until January 9th, 2012.

Entitled “Irish Successes Abroad” and taking its inspiration from the National Gallery's exhibition, which looks at Irish people who went abroad in the 16th Century, it puts the focus on 21st century Ireland and on the people and products who have achieved extraordinary success abroad, both in the EU and globally,in their chosen field. Categories include Business, Dairy products, Authors, Film, Irish horseracing, musicians, aviation, fashion, fishing, sport.

The exhibition consists of a collection of colourful panels and is a testimony to the achievements of Irish people,companies and organizations and serves as an inspiration for those who follow in their footsteps. It can be viewed during library opening hours.

Europe Direct Centres were set up by the European Commission with the purpose of making information on the EU readily available to the citizen.

There are 8 such centres in Ireland, with 2 in Galway ..at Ballinasloe and An Cheathru Rua.

MS Ireland Art & Photography Exhibition in Galway City Library