Story Time and Character Creation Workshop

Apr 30, 2026

Story time and Character Creation Workshop

Date:Monday 25th May 2026

Venue:Scoil Réalta na Maidine

Time:Confined Event. Fully Booked.

Author Sue Loughnane will read from her books and lead the junior classes in a creative illustration workshop where children will be given an opportunity to work together to design their characters outfit.
Sue Loughnane is an actress, author and children’s art facilitator. She is known for playing Debbie in drama Love / Hate for which she won the 2013 Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her first novel The Art of Scandal was published in October 2014, and she has published five children’s books including The Slug Who Came to the Sleepover, Football Nursery Rhymes and Dusty the Irish Dancing Dolphin.

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Story time and Writing Workshop

Apr 30, 2026

Story time and Writing Workshop

Date:Monday 25th May 2026

Venue:Lenamore National School

Time:Confined Event. Fully Booked.

Author Deirdre Laide will lead a full school workshop incorporating storytelling, history and creative writing.
Deirdre Laide is a primary school teacher and children’s book author living in Kerry. She is passionate about nature, conservation, and the lesser-known aspects of history. She aims to bring curiosity and wonder to young readers through storytelling, making history accessible and engaging. Her debut children’s book “Shipwreck” is a lyrical non- fiction picture book exploring famous and infamous shipwrecks, the intrepid scientists and treasure hunters who discovered them, and the scientific techniques used in the process.

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Céardlann Filíochta / Irish Language Poetry Workshop

Apr 30, 2026

Céardlann Filíochta / Irish Language Poetry Workshop

Date:Thursday 28th May 2026

Venue:Listowel Library

Time:Confined Event. Fully Booked.

Déanfaidh Áine Ní Ghlinn céardlann filíochta sa leabharlann le grúpaí ó Ghaelscoil Lios Tuathail. Cabhróidh sí leis na páistí dánta simplí a scríobh agus saothar ealaíne spraíúil a chur leo.
Áine Ní Ghlinn will deliver poetry writing and illustration workshops with children from Gaelscoil LiosTuathail.
File, drámadóir agus scríbhneoir do dhaoine óga í Áine Ní Ghlinn. Tá 40 leabhar scríofa aici – pictiúrleabhair, drámaí do pháistí, scéalta & úrscéalta do léitheoirí óga agus do dhéagóirí, cnuasaigh filíochta do pháistí agus do dhaoine fásta. Ainmníodh í mar an séú Laureate na nÓg, 2020-2023. Tá sí ina ball d’Aosdána.
Áine Ní Ghlinn is a poet and children’s writer. She has written forty books, including picture books for very young readers, stories and novels for children and teenagers and poetry collections for children and adults. She was named as Ireland’s sixth Laureate na nÓg, 2020-2023. She is a member of Aosdána.

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Sensory Story time and Creative Workshops

Apr 30, 2026

Sensory Story time and Creative Workshops

Date:Tuesday 26th May 2026

Venue:Presentation Primary School and Nano Nagle Special School

Time:Confined Event. Fully Booked.

Katie O’Donoghue will bring the magic of sensory story-time to pupils at Presentation Primary School and Nano Nagle School, Listowel.
Dr Katie O’Donoghue is a Kerry based author, illustrator, and Art Psychotherapist with a PhD in Health Psychology. Both her creative and therapeutic work focus on nurturing children’s minds, hearts and imaginations. Her books include “The Little Squirrel Who Worried”, “The Little Otter Who Tried” and “The Little Lamb Who Led”, published by Gill Books.
Katie finds much of her inspiration in nature, whether its growing vegetables and flowers in her cottage garden or exploring the wild landscapes of Ireland.

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Stories and Sport: A Winning Team!

Apr 30, 2026

Stories and Sport: A Winning Team!

Date:Thursday 28th May 2026

Venue:Scoil Réalta na Maidine

Time:Confined Event. Fully Booked.

Author Emma Larkin will show the pupils at Scoil Réalta na Maidine that reading and sport have a lot more in common that you might think, and that reading can actually help you level up on the pitch. The children will create their own story, as part of a team, using Emma’s secret trick: mapping out a plot using the positions on a Gaelic Football pitch!
Emma Larkin lives in Kerry with her husband, four children and dog. Emma is the author of the “Twin Power” series for O’Brien Press and the “Izzy’s Magical Adventures in Sport Series”. The third Twin Power book in the series, ‘Féile, A Twin Power Adventure’, was published in May 2025. Emma’s original inspiration to write her books was her grandmother, Maureen Hennebry, (née Cashman), who was on the Cork camogie team which won the All-Ireland Camogie Championship three times in row between 1939 and 1941. Emma hopes that the young people who read her books will be inspired to keep playing and reading and most importantly, to have fun in both of these pursuits.