Library News | December 2025

Newsletter Contents

Latest News | Events | Exhibitions | Online Resources | My Life in Books

Latest News

Family Time At Your Library

In December, we’re celebrating a full month of fun, family-friendly events designed to spark a love of reading and the joy of sharing stories together.

Our Family Time at Your Library activities invite families to discover the magic of books and stories while spending quality time together. Explore our collections of children’s books, e-books, and e-audiobooks, and enjoy everything from lively storytimes to creative workshops. Every library across Cork County is taking part, so there’s something for everyone!

Family Time at Your Library is part of the national Right to Read programme, which promotes reading as a fun and meaningful activity for children of all ages.

Visit your local branch to find out what’s happening near you, and don’t forget to follow us on social media for updates on all the exciting events taking place this December!

Library Development Plan 2026-2030

Cork County Council Library & Arts Service is currently preparing its Library Development Plan for the years 2026-2030. This plan will inform how the library service progresses and grows over the next 5 years ... and we want to hear what you have to say!

To complete a short online feedback form, scan the QR code below or click here!

The closing date for submission of feedback is Monday 22 December 2025.

Wildlife Photography Competition Winners

The winners of our Make One Change Wildlife Photography Competition have been announced.

Our judges had a tough time choosing just five winners from a diverse pool of high-quality submissions.

All winners will receive a framed copy of their entry, along with a book voucher. Thank you to everybody who took part and congratulations to our winners!

2026 Library Calendar

Our 2026 Library Service calendar features beautiful artwork by 12 very talented young library users.

The calendar celebrates 100 years (1926-2026) of Cork County Council’s Library Service.

Copies will be available at your nearest library branch from the second week of December, while stocks last.

My Creative Wish 2026

Cork County Council are now accepting applications for next year's My Creative Wish initiative.

My Creative Wish invites children and young people from across Cork County to submit their most imaginative creative wishes, with the opportunity to see those wishes brought to life by professional artists.

A total of 16 winning wishes will be selected by Cork County Council’s Culture and Creativity team. Each winner and their class will receive 6 fully-funded creative workshops, delivered by professional artists. An additional 16 runners-up will be awarded a free Creative Ireland–funded workshop in their local library.

To apply, schools and youth groups may request an application pack by emailing creativeireland@corkcoco.ie The deadline for applications is 19th December 2025.

Library Events

Arts Funding Schemes

Cork County Council are inviting proposals for arts projects, activities and events taking place in Cork County in 2026 that may be eligible for funding under a range of grant assistance schemes, including the Arts Grant Scheme which supports arts organisations and the voluntary sector; support for arts projects delivered through the Irish Language; as well as bursary and residency opportunities for professional artists working in all disciplines.

📍Macroom Library: Tuesday 2nd December from 1pm to 2pm
📍Bantry Library: Wednesday, 3rd December from 1pm to 2pm
📍Carrigaline Library: Thursday 4th December from 1pm to 2pm

To assist applicants, Cork County Council will host a series of public information sessions in the three libraries listed above. After each session, attendees will have the opportunity to speak one-to-one with a member of the Arts Office team about their individual applications.

For those unable to attend in person, an online evening session will take place on Monday 1st December from 7pm to 8pm. If you are interested in attending, please contact arts@corkcoco.ie specifying which session you wish to attend, and if you wish to avail of a one-to-one meeting.

Schedule of Library Events

Events marked with an asterisk* require booking. Pease contact the host library to reserve your place. You can find contact details for all of our library branches on our website.

📍Carrigaline Library

Christmas Storytime & Songs | Saturday 13^th December at 10.30am
Gramophone Circle | Thursday 18^th December at 11am 
Christmas Arts & Crafts with Noelle* | Saturday 20^th December at 12pm
Children’s Book Club (Ages 10-12) | Thursday 18^th December at 4.30pm

📍Charleville Library

Crochet Group | Wednesdays at 10.30am
Christmas-Themed Tots Time | Thursday 11^th December at 11am
Storytime with Sr Bernadette | Saturday 13^th December at 11am
Ciorcal Cainte | Saturday 13^th December at 3.30pm

📍Clonakilty Library

Ciorcal Comhrá | Friday 12^th December at 11am
Launch of E-zine Magazine by Blow Inks Creative Writing Group | Friday 12^th December at 7pm
Boardgames | Saturdays from 10am to 5pm
Lego Club Drop-in Session | Saturdays from 12pm to 1pm

📍Cobh Library

Bookflix Teen Book Club (Ages 13-15) | Wednesday 3^rd December at 4pm
Annual Gramophone Christmas Recital | Friday 5^th December at 11am

📍Dunmanway Library

Green Christmas Upcycling Workshop* (Ages 8-12) | Saturday 6^th December at 11am
Christmas Victorian Craft and Scavenger Hunt | Saturday 20^th December at 3pm
Tots Time | Tuesday 2^nd and 9^th December at 9.45am

📍Fermoy Library

Repair Café | Saturday 13^th December at 11am
Lego Free-Play* (Ages 7-12) | Saturdays from 11am to 12pm and 12.30pm to 1.30pm

📍Macroom Library

Integration Session* (Ages 0-3) | Thursday 11^th December from 11am to 12pm
Music Morning | Friday 12^th December at 11am

📍Mallow Library

Repair Café | Saturday 6^th December from 11am to 1.30pm
Irish Conversation Circle | Tuesdays at 11.30am
Adult Knitting Group | Wednesdays at 2.30pm
Active Retirement Cards | Thursdays at 2pm
Friday Totstime | Fridays at 10.30am
Children’s Storytime | Saturdays at 11am
Brickheads Lego Club* (Ages 8-12) | Saturdays at 3.30pm

📍Midleton Library

Faílte Ireland Public Consultation | Wednesday 3^rd December from 4.30pm to 6.30pm
Christmas Storytime | Saturday 20^th December at 12pm

Midleton Library will be closed from Tuesday 9^th until Saturday 13^th December (dates inclusive).

📍Mitchelstown Library

Christmas Storytime | Saturday 13^th December at 11.30am
Christmas Carols with Kilshanna | Friday 19^th December at 4.30pm
Family Time At Your Library Activities | Friday 19^th to Tuesday 23^rd December
Christmas Mystery Reads | Week of Christmas

📍Newmarket Library

Christmas Storytime | Saturday 13^th December at 11.30am

📍Passage West Library

Gramophone Circle | Friday 19^th December at 11am
Chat and Craft | Thursdays from 2.30pm to 4pm

📍Skibbereen Library

Writers Group | Saturday 6^th and 20^th December at 11am

Poetry Circle | Wednesday 10^th December at 11.30am

Christmas Storytime | Saturday 13^th December at 11am

UCC Science Talk for Adults | Saturday 13^th December at 11.30am

Lego Club (Ages 8-12) | Fridays from 4pm to 5pm

Tots Time | Wednesdays at 10am

Sketching Group | Saturdays from 2pm to 4pm

Library Exhibitions

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think at LHQ Gallery

All art starts with an idea, whether that’s a rural landscape, a poem, a milking stool, or an abstract piece. Borrowing its title from the 1975 Dr Seuss book of the same name, this exhibition describes the many 'thinks' one can think and the endless possibilities that imagination can create.

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think features 72 works from 68 Cork-based artists, all of which celebrate the thinking behind works of art.

Among the artwork there are many different ‘thinks’ represented:

Bríd Moynihan’s Memory is ostensibly a partly demolished building, while the deterioration of memory is the central theme.
Gerard Daly’s There Is Always One is about the idea that there’s always an odd one out. He asks: are we strong enough to be that one?
Inspired by W.B. Yeats' The Stolen Child Aoife Casey’s photograph of the same name captures the faery realm—a place beyond the veil of the human world.
Self taught artist Aoibheann Kennedy is inspired by the intersectionality between her lived experiences as a woman, an artist and a musician, who is also disabled, making everyday journeys.

This exhibition runs until Friday 19th December.

LHQ Gallery is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5.30pm

Comfort and Joy at Cobh Library

Artist Kirsten Murray presents an exhibition of paintings entitled ‘Comfort and Joy’ at Cobh Library, which opens on Saturday 6th December at 2pm and runs until Wednesday 31st December.

Cobh Library opening hours and contact details can be found here .

Christmas Window Display at Dunmanway Library

Dunmanway Library will play host to a fabulously festive Christmas window display, created by members of the local Knit & Natter group, who have been exceptionally busy knitting and crocheting since September! This display will be in place from Monday 8th December until Tuesday 6th January 2026.

Dunmanway Library opening hours and contact details can be found here.

Mallow Camera Club at Mallow Library

A beautiful selection of photographs taken by members of Mallow Camera Club is currently on display at Mallow Library.

Mallow Camera Club was established in 1986 by a group of enthusiastic photographers who wanted to share their interest in photography with other like minded people in the area.

Mallow Library opening hours and contact details can be found here.

Self Help Africa at Mitchelstown Library

For the month of December, Mitchelstown Library will host an exhibition on Self Help Africa, an Irish-based charity whose mission is to alleviate hunger, poverty, social inequality, and the impact of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa and around the globe.

Call in to learn more about the valuable work this organisation undertakes.

Mitchelstown Library opening hours and contact details can be found here.

Libby: Your Favourite Magazines

If you love staying up to date with your favourite magazines, Libby is the perfect app for you.

Libby offers library members free access to thousands of popular magazine titles, all in one convenient digital space. Whether you’re into lifestyle, technology, travel, or current events, you can browse and read instantly with no subscriptions or hidden fees.

Getting started is simple: download the Libby app using one of the links below, connect it to your library card, and search for the topics that interest you or explore Libby's curated shelves. You can even download issues for offline reading.

With Libby, your library brings the world of magazines to your fingertips ... anytime, anywhere!

Browse Libby!

Libby is just one of the many online resources you can access for free with your library card! You can also borrow eBooks & eAudiobooks; browse eNewspapers; learn a New Language; partake in an eLearning Course; borrow Comic Books & Manga; stream movies & documentaries; delve into encyclopedia articles; and even trace your family history.

My Life In Books

Each month we ask library staff about their favourite books and their current reading. This month, we chatted to Peter from Newmarket Library and Rachel from Library HQ about their lives in books.

What was your favourite childhood book?

Peter: The High Deeds of Finn MacCool by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Rachel: I wasn’t a great reader growing up, but I remember loving Megan McDonald’s Judy Moody series. As a former feisty little tomboy, I think I related to Judy.

Is there a book that had a lasting impact on you?

Rachel: Angels In My Hair by Lorna Byrne. One of my friends started reading it when I was in secondary school. It sounded interesting and next thing you know the book did the rounds of our classrooms and we had a casual book club. It inspired an interest in mediums and fortune tellers and we’re all still a bit ‘woo woo’ since.

What genre of books do you like to read?

Peter: I like to read a bit of everything.

Rachel: I love a good ‘whodunnit’, especially Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series. I also love non-fiction books especially memoirs: if it’s anything like Katriona O’Sullivan’s Poor or Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died I’ll read it.

What are you currently reading?

Peter: Hanging with the Elephant by Michael Harding.

Rachel: I’m reading Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver as part of my Book Clubs. I am also reading We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch -- an eclectic mix!

What unexpected ending would you like to change?

Rachel: Milkman by Anna Burns. I finished this months ago and I’m still thinking about middle sister. The tension chipped away at her until she finally gave up on herself altogether.

Which book should be made into a movie?

Peter: My own books! They are called The Green of the Spring which is a WW1 drama, and Yehuda which is a thriller.

Rachel: The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. Lakshmi is such a great character, and I’d love to see Jaipur in full colour. I would also like to see Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series as a TV show.

And lastly, what is on your To Be Read pile?

Peter: The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook.

Rachel: Like every member of the Library Team, my membership card is at capacity. I have the final book of Alka Joshi’s Jaipur Trilogy The Perfumist of Paris lined up next and I’m waiting for Watermelon by Marian Keyes on BorrowBox. I’ve never read any of her books, but my friends won’t stop talking about The Walsh Sisters, so I’m finally getting around to it!