Thurles Information

Original Sins

A new and exciting publication entitled ‘Original Sins,’ an anthology of short stories by some 22 Irish authors, has just hit our book shelves. This anthology, which includes contributions from Tipperary author’s, Majella O’Gorman,(Thurles), Stella Lannigan, (Gortnahoe), Mary Healy, (Freshford), Maura Barrett, (Killenaule), Martha Woodcock, (Cuffesgrange) and Jane de Montmorency, latter a relative of US President Barak Obama, was recently launched, to high acclaim, in St.Kierans College, Kilkenny.

The writers who feature in this anthology are dreamers who turned their dreams into reality.

Kahlil Gibran writes of the tragedy of leaving a page empty: “Pure was I created and pure will I remain forever…And the sheet of snow white paper did remain pure and chaste forever – pure and chaste – and empty.”

The dream of writing is often so precious, so dearly held, that it is avoided out a fear of failure. All writers fail. No writer avoids disillusion. But after the essential period of consternation, sometimes despair, the piece pearls and the truth of it begins to shine, through the various drafts. The initial inspiration is what fires us all to put pen to paper. The perspiration required to finish a piece is what causes a lot of the initial willing to abandon the dream. A lived dream is a muddied thing, it is tired old and dirty by times, but in becoming more familiar to us, it allows us to know ourselves all the better and to have the easier breathing of one who has attempted, rather than one who has not tried.

Joint editors Suzanne Power and John MacKenna work with the contributors to ‘Original Sins,’ at NUI Kilkenny Campus.

“We have worked with them for four years now and the individuals featured in this collection have stayed the course literally since the very beginning. Our job is to persuade them of what is already in themselves, to foster it to the point where they no longer need convincing and to leave them alone with their empty pages and time. The writers featured here have learned this and are comfortable with the knowledge. They have a full awareness that pages, when a writer is living their dream, fill with word plays known only to them and stories only they can tell.” state Suzanne and John. ”

This well written gem is a must for the ‘bedside locker.’  It will allow each relaxed reader to digest one short story from one author each night, with it’s written content guaranteed to remain the subject of thought, in that time between lights out and dreams beginning.

Zac the Rat and Other Stories

The drop in literacy levels among secondary school kids in Ireland causes some concern. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s latest Programme for International Student Assessment, the reading ability of Ireland’s 15-year-olds was ranked only 17th out of the 39 countries that were studied. Ten years ago, this figures placed Ireland as the fifth nation for literacy skills among this age group. However these new figures should not cause alarm, since they could be affected by the influx of large numbers of pupils into the Irish education system, who do not speak English as their first language.

For Tipperary parents of very young children, note the reading of books aloud is one of the best ways you can help your child learn to read and this can also be fun for you. The more excitement you show when you read a book, the more your child will enjoy it. If you are looking for a fun way to start your child reading or to help your child to  improve his/her reading skills, look no further than Zac the Rat and Other Tales.

Zac the Rat and Other Tales is a new set of books currently being hailed by Irish primary teachers, that make learning to read, learning letters, phonics and high frequency words, a fun experience for both parents and young children alike. These books comprise witty story lines and a whole host of quirky characters that will capture your children’s complete imagination.

The most important thing to remember is to let your children set their own reading pace and have fun learning.

Do The Following When Reading To Your Children

Use funny voices and animal noises. This will help your child get excited about the story.

If your child asks a question, do stop and answer it. The book being read may help your child to express his/her thoughts and begin the process of learning to solve their own problems.

Stop to talk about the pictures and ask your child to name things he/she sees in the pictures. Talk about how the pictures relate to the story.

Invite your child to join in whenever there is a repeated phrase in the text.

Keep reading to your child even after he/she learns to read.

Remember introducing your children to the world of books at an early age, gives them an enormous advantage and helps them to settle in more easily, when eventually they start at school.