All About Cork: Carrigaline Bookshop to host Book Week events

Carrigaline Bookshop is one of four Cork outlets selected to host events under the umbrella of Irish Book Week 2025, which will run from October 18 to 25.

Now in its eighth year, Irish Book Week is a nationwide celebration of Irish bookshops, Irish books, publishers, writers, illustrators, and poets.

The campaign encourages people to shop local and shop Irish by visiting bookshops in their area to discover or rediscover the joy of reading, and enjoy interesting events and displays.

On Saturday, October 18, Carrigaline Bookshop will hold an in-store event, offering visitors the opportunity to meet and chat with author, Irish Book Week ambassador, and Carrigaline resident Patrick Holloway, and fellow authors Jennifer Horgan, Matthew Geden, and Louise Hegarty.

A prize-winning writer of fiction and poetry, Patrick Holloway published his debut novel, The Language of Remembering, in February to critical acclaim.

Co-editor of the literary journal The Four Faced Liar, Mr Holloway is also the Erasmus coordinator at Munster Technological University, where “I get to help others to experience the joys of living abroad and broadening their horizons.”

Jennifer Horgan is a Cork poet, English teacher, and weekly columnist with the Irish Examiner. Her non-fiction book O Captain My Captain: One Teacher’s Hope for Change in the Irish Education System was published in 2021 with Orpen Press. Her debut poetry collection, Care, was published this year.

Kinsale resident Matthew Geden is a poet and teacher of creative writing whose published books include The Place Inside, Fruit, and The Cloud Architect. He has been writer in residence for Cork County Library and Arts Service since 2020.

Louise Hegarty’s stories have appeared in Banshee, The Tangerine, The Stinging Fly, and The Dublin Review, and have been featured on BBC Radio 4.

She was the inaugural winner of the Business Post/Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize, and her debut novel, Fair Play, was published in April of this year.

Waterstones on Patrick St, Leaf and Bower in Ballincollig, and Dubray Books on Patrick St will also be hosting events across the Irish Book Week.

For more information about Irish Book Week, keep an eye on Bookselling Ireland’s social media platforms: Facebook @booksellingireland; X @booksellingirel and Instagram @booksellingireland and the campaign hashtag #IrishBookWeek.

TV show focuses on Cork school

Students at Carrigaline Community School will feature in a four-part ‘fly on the wall’ series on Virgin Media One this Sunday at 8pm.

A Rebel Education takes viewers inside the joyous, complicated, and messy world of secondary school education.

Filmed over an academic year, the show follows the students as they navigate their formative years under the guidance of principal Paul Burke and his team, including TikTok teaching sensation, Tadgh O’Donovan.

Told with typical Cork warmth and humour, A Rebel Education delves deep in to pupil-teacher relationships, exploring the hopes, struggles, triumphs ,and transformations of one year in secondary school.

According to Virgin Media, the new series is “driven by a powerful ‘no student gets left behind’ ethos and offers an emotional and eye-opening look at what school life is really like for young students in 2025.

“Told from the students’ point of view, the series captures the funny, messy, and often deeply moving moments that define teenage life.

“From classroom hijinks to life-changing events, audiences will find themselves totally immersed in the real stories of young people finding their way in a rapidly changing world.”

Shine Centre host sleep talk

The Shine Centre for Autism in Carrigaline will hold a talk entitled ‘Autistic Sleep: Achievable Solutions for Common Difficulties’ at the centre from 6.30pm to 8pm on Thursday, October 23.

The talk, will be facilitated by autism and sleep consultant Laura Crowley.

It will be suitable for parents and carers of autistic individuals of all ages, providing practical neuroaffirmative strategies that are realistic to implement in everyday family life.

Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of why sleep can be such a challenge in autism, alongside achievable solutions to support more restful nights and calmer days.

Tickets for the talk, priced at €20, are available at educate.shineireland.com.

For more information contact 021 437 7052.

Road to close overnight

Cork County Council has advised that the R612 road, Bothar Guidel, Carrigaline, will be closed to traffic from 4pm on Saturday, October 18, to 10am the following morning.

The reason for the temporary closure is to facilitate the installation of precast beams for a pedestrian bridge. Motorists wishing to travel south of the closed section of road should divert on to R613 and travel in a westerly direction to the roundabout. They should then turn left on to Main St and proceed in a southerly direction. They should then turn left on to the Strand Road and proceed in an easterly direction to rejoin the Crosshaven Road. Traffic travelling from south of the road closure should utilise the same signposted diversion route in the opposite direction. The council has advised that local access will not be maintained while the road is closed.

Free concert at Holy Trinity

The Crosshaven Music Collective will hold a free concert at the Holy Trinity Church, Templebreedy, from 3.30pm on Sunday, October 19.

The concert will feature a mix of folk and traditional music by members of the collective (aka Crosshaven villagers). All donations on the day will be channeled to local environmental projects. All are welcome.

Development committee AGM

The Crosshaven Development Committee will hold its AGM at the Crosshaven community Centre on Thursday, October 16, from 7.30pm.

A spokesperson said the meeting is open to anyone living in the local community.

“Please have someone attend from your community group. It’s important we all have an input into our community,” they added.

Club hosts talk on caving

Cork Speleological will present a talk on caving in the Carrigaline Library on Saturday at 2pm. A group spokesperson said the presentation will be of interest to anyone interest in learning more about the “hidden world beneath our feet”.

“We will take people on a journey through the history of our club, our current projects and future plans, and highlights from our recent expedition to the Philippines.”

Admission is free, and all are welcome. For info contact corkspeleologicalgroup.com.