a whole new world

The story of Classical Music is a 4 CD set produced by Naxos, that explores the life and music of the great composers of classical music in a very entertaining and informal way. The account is written by Darren Henley and read by singer and presenter Aled Jones and is an excellent introduction to classical music

It outlines the development of classical music from 600 to present day and gives a historical overview of classical music beginning over 1400 years ago with Gregorian chants and Hildegard von Bingen and culminating with a brief listen to the soundtracks from the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Due to the vast time period covered, this CD does not attempts to look at the development of classical music in any great depth, but rather to give an overview. Read more »

Today is Daffodil Day, an opportunity to support those excellent people who support those who have had cancer.

And I'm one of them.  About 9 years ago I developed cancer and had to have chemotherapy.  It was hard, it was not something I'd like to have to do again and I'm glad it's over.

I do plan to do a more comprehensive blog post about books about cancer but a few that I recommend (on top of the Irish Cancer Society website which is a great resource in itself), as useful books are: Read more »

Librarians spend their days surrounded by books – all kinds of books, good, bad, and indifferent. They promote them, mend them, shelve them, read them, think about them; and occasionally, they write them. Here’s a selection of books by librarian-turned-authors. Read more »

Eoin Colfer shortlisted for LA Times Literary Award!! Why the exclamation marks you may ask? Well, Eoin, so well known as the author of the famous and best selling (and borrowed!) Artemis Fowl fantasy series of books for younger readers has been nominated in the adult mystery/thriller category!

Eoin's comedy crime caper 'Plugged', his first adult crime novel, was first published in May 2011 to positive reviews. It is the story of an Irish ex-army man Dan working as a bouncer in a seedy club in New Jersey, half in love with hostess Connie. When Connie is murdered on the premises, a vengeful Dan finds himself embroiled in an increasingly deadly sequence of events in which his doctor friend Zeb goes mysteriously missing and a cop-killing female cop becomes his only ally. Read more »

Today, Thursday the 8th March being International Women's Day, I thought I might make mention of just four great Irish women who have made, and continue to make, their mark on Irish society and internationally. The four are: Mary McAleese, Mary Robinson, Christina Noble, and Adi Roche. I will point you to books we have in stock that are either based on their lives or/and which they have authored themselves.

Of the four, the first that comes to my mind, for the reason that I got to meet her in Áras an Uachtaráin in June 2011, is Mary McAleese, who served as the eight President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. 

The eldest of nine children, President McAleese was born in 1951 in Belfast and became a barrister and a Professor of Law. In 1994, she became the first female Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Queen's University of Belfast. Her lifelong interests have been in justice, equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism and reconciliation.  Read more »

A talk "From Independence to the IMF: the Irish Economy and the forces that shaped it" took place on Thursday March 1st at the Central Library.The speaker, historian and author Conor McCabe ("Sins of the Father"), took a historical perspective on economic developments as he maintains only this can allow us see social forces acting over time. Conor's central thesis is that the recent and ongoing bust has its origins in our history dating back to 1922 and the political break with the UK. Decisions were made then and subsequently which favoured the middle classes and classes of middlemen such as bankers, lawyers, stockbrokers and builders to the detriment of real, sustained economic development. A culture of home ownership was also prioritised by offering grants and tax relief favouring again the middle class over the working class. Read more »