Ireland Reads campaign gathers momentum

People are encouraged to take part in the national day to celebrate reading on 25 February

As a country boasting a multitude of writers and no less than 4 Nobel Prize winners in Literature: William Butler Yeats (1923), George Bernard Shaw (1925), Samuel Beckett (1969) and Séamus Heaney (1995), Ireland is perfectly poised to declare 25 February as its national day to celebrate reading.

Squeeze in a read  

In the build up to this date, public libraries nationwide have launched a campaign called Ireland Reads in partnership with local councils, publishers, booksellers, authors and others. Campaign partners will be running ‘Ireland Reads’ initiatives and events throughout the month, asking everyone to ‘squeeze in a read’ (no matter what - a book, a poem, a comic, or a newspaper) on Ireland Reads Day, Thursday, 25 February.

A new website has been set up where people can take a pledge to read on the day and see how many minutes have been pledged by their fellow-readers all over Ireland. The website also offers 800 book recommendations from librarians across the country, suited to a person’s interests and time at their disposal. There you can meet the campaign ambassadors from the sphere of writing, science, sport, health and broadcasting, who share their stories about what reading means to them.

“Right now, many of the activities we used to take for granted are not available to us, but you can always enjoy a good book, newspaper or magazine. These are all available free online and any time to library members. Libraries and library staff are waiting to welcome people back whenever that’s possible, but until then we always have books to remind us of other people, other places, and better days,” says Marian Higgins, County Kildare Librarian, quoted by the county website.

Ireland Reads is part of the government-backed Keep Well initiative to help people maintain enjoyment and physical and mental wellbeing amid the lockdown.   

The benefits of reading

Studies summed up by RTÉ show that children who read a lot when they are young tend to become avid readers throughout their life, accumulating significant knowledge along the way. As for adults, reading for pleasure enhances empathy, self-understanding and is an effective antidote for loneliness. And last but not least, reading offers an easy escape from the mental treadmill of anxiety and depression caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.