County Mayor’s Diary

Cllr Mary Linehan Foley

As the nights grow longer, we think about different ways to pass the time as we stay warm and dry indoors.

Some people have their own hobbies for this time of year, from knitting to enjoying a book club with their friends and families. Others use this period to learn something new, through classes in the evenings or at weekends.

That is why I was honoured as Mayor of the County of Cork to announce Cork County Council’s participation in Skills for Life, a new nationwide initiative designed to help individuals build essential life skills.

The programme is being rolled out across all local authority library services in Ireland and is free to access for everyone and it offers support across six areas. We have schemes designed to help individuals learn digital skills for their phone or computer, improve their money management, develop media literacy so they can navigate the online world more safely, and more.

Events include workshops and talks such as Introduction to Using your Smartphone in Fermoy Library to Cyber Security Talks on Practical Ways to Stay Safe Online in Bandon, Kinsale and Mitchelstown Libraries.

Each programme has been organised to address a specific issue in everyday life with practical support and advice, while giving people confidence through skills.

For further information contact Cork County Library on 021-4774266 or email corkcountylibrary@corkcoco.ie.

Another initiative we launched this week was the latest edition of One County, One Book in association with Cork County Council’s Library and Arts Service and Creative Ireland. Now in its fifth year, One County, One Book is designed to promote homegrown literature by making books readily available to young people in our communities.

This year ‘Global’ by authors Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin was chosen, which tells the story of climate change and the need to preserve nature and save the planet, and copies are available in all library branches and mobile libraries across the county.

Eoin Colfer is the author of the best-selling Artemis Fowl series, and he was the third Laureate na n-Óg, Ireland’s laureate for children’s literature.

Andrew Donkin is the author of over eighty books and graphic novels for children and adults. His books have been translated into thirty languages around the world and have sold over ten million copies in the last decade.

Copies of ‘Global’ are now available in all library branches and mobile libraries across the county.

In celebration of this year’s edition of One County, One Book, secondary school and Youthreach students are invited to meet the authors, Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin and discuss the graphic novel on 25 November at Carrigaline Library and 26 November at Clonakilty Library.

Booking is essential and places can be secured by emailing Cork County Council’s Library and Arts Service at schoolslibrary@corkcoco.ie.