2,500 leabhair Ghaeilge gifted to 50 primary schools in 21 counties island-wide thanks to partnership project between Children’s Books Ireland and Foras na Gaeilge

As students settle into the new academic year, a bookgifting initiative from national charity Children’s Books Ireland and Foras na Gaeilge has launched to instil a grá for books as Gaeilge amongst our young readers across the island of Ireland. 

This partnership, supported by the Love Leabhar Gaeilge initiative, is ensuring that hundreds of children will have access to a rich and contemporary selection of books from Irish artists. Gifting fifty primary schools with fifty new leabhair Ghaeilge, students across twenty-one counties have received a high quality collection of brand-new books for their school library.

Recent research from Children’s Books Ireland revealed that 43% of parents and guardians felt that the cost of books was a key factor impeding on reading and sharing books with their children. This free, all-island bookgifting initiative, is helping to provide access to brilliant books whilst offering children the opportunity to become a reader, something that they may not be exposed to at home. This collaborative project is presenting young people with a chance to immerse themselves into the rich world of literature available in Irish, with an aim to read for fun and enjoyment.

The gifted books were selected from a curated reading guide, Léigh Leabhar Gaeilge – an annual collaborative resource between the organisations – copies of the ten editor’s choices were chosen as the books gifted to each school. The titles include a wide range of exciting stories by some of Ireland’s most celebrated writers and illustrators, including: 

• Bearradh Gruaige d’Eoinín by Muireann Ní Chíobháin, illustrated by Róisín Hahessy
• An Fia sa Choill by Sadhbh Devlin, illustrated by Anastasia Melnykova
• Na Trí Mhuicín by Áine Ní Ghlinn, illustrated by Paddy Donnelly
• Rita agus an Dineasár by Máire Zepf, illustrated by Mr Ando
• An Drúchtín agus an Seilide by Oein DeBhairduin, illustrated by Olya Anima

These books are a showcase of the creativity, imagination and vibrancy of contemporary Irish-language publishing, providing readers young and old, with opportunities to see themselves, their language and their experiences reflected in high-quality stories. 

As well as a total of 2,500 books, each participating school has also received support and inspiration on how to use their brand-new library books in their classroom. A specially developed resource pack Léigh Leabhar Gaeilge – Pacáiste Acmhainní spotlights ten of the books which have been gifted into each of the schools. This curated resource pack has been designed to assist teachers and educators in bringing the books to life in their lessons. With a range of useful activities and conversation starters, teachers can feel more confident in fostering a lifelong love and an appreciation of reading as Gaeilge in their students in Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Speaking on this initiative Múinteoir Róisín Ní Mhuineacháinn from Scoil Lorcáin, one of the participating primary schools said: 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our pupils and it will help hugely to promote reading around the school. Our students are already really enjoying the books that we received as part of the scheme. It will be a huge help to widen the choice of Irish books in our library and it will promote Irish reading amongst the pupils. We aim to instill a love of reading in the pupils of Scoil Lorcáin and we’re certain that this will be a huge help in that goal. 

It can be challenging sometimes to find new, interesting books for pupils in Irish that are different from the ones we already stock in school. With the support material from Léigh Leabhar Gaeilge there are many recommendations and those will be a huge support when we are picking new books for our school and classroom libraries. The resource pack we received is excellent and gives interesting questions to use with different books in the class. This will be a fantastic addition to classroom discussions about different books and reading in general.” 

CEO of Children’s Books Ireland, Elaina Ryan said: 

“Access to great books can have a transformative impact on children’s reading habits and their enjoyment of books. We are delighted to have the support of Foras na Gaeilge for our annual guide to excellent books in Irish, and this year, thanks to this partnership, we are excited to gift a selection of wonderful books in Irish to primary schools across the island. This gift will allow children to get lost in leabhair Ghaeilge and to discover world-class stories and illustrations which we hope they will enjoy for years to come.”

Clárbhainisteoir na Leabhar, ÁIS agus Clár na Leabhar Gaeilge said: 

“Bhí lúcháir orainn comhpháirtíocht a dhéanamh arís eile le Leabhair Pháistí Éireann, ag cur ar taispeáint raon leathan na leabhar Gaeilge atá ar fáil do pháistí de gach aois. Tugann an ghné den tionscadal comhoibríoch seo a bhaineann le bronnadh leabhair, chomh maith leis an bpacáiste acmhainní, tacaíocht bhreise do scoileanna, múinteoirí agus teaghlaigh chun forbairt a dhéanamh ar a ngrá do scéalta iontacha a léamh. Faigheann Léigh Leabhar Gaeilge tacaíocht ó Love Leabhar Gaeilge, agus is toradh é ar chomhfhís do gach páiste agus teaghlach feasacht níos mó agus rochtain a bheith acu ar na leabhair Ghaeilge iontacha seo.”

The programme reflects the shared commitment of Children’s Books Ireland and Foras na Gaeilge to promoting reading for pleasure and supporting children’s engagement with the Irish language through high-quality, contemporary books.