Read Mór: Arts Council will gift over 3,600 books in hospitals on culture night, Friday 22nd September
The Read Mór book gifting project is back again for its second year. This time patients in Portiuncula Hospital will have an opportunity to participate in Culture Night and escape to the furthest reaches of their imagination with a choice of 29 different books by Irish based authors and publishers.
This year the Arts Council is proud to partner up with HSE Healthy Ireland and the Read Mór project will ensure that more people in more places can enjoy Culture Night.
On Friday, 22nd of September the Read Mór ‘Book Doctors’ and their teams will be prescribing over 3,600 free books from their Library Trolleys as they visit the wards and public spaces in Portiuncula Hospital and six additional hospitals across Ireland.
The Book Doctor’s rounds will commence nationwide from 3pm onwards.
Director of the Arts Council, Maureen Kennelly said: “In a world filled with technological distractions, the joy of reading a physical book remains an invaluable resource. Read Mór is all about the public engaging with stories, ideas, and emotions that transport us to different realms of our imagination.
HSE Director of Strategy & Research, Dr Philip Crowley said: “The HSE is delighted to be part of this event. The visit from the Read Mór Book Doctors and their teams to the hospitals will be a wonderful novelty and add some joy to our patients and healthcare staff.
Once finished, patients are encouraged to share the joy of reading by passing on their book when they leave hospital to a family member or friend. With a wide variety being gifted, some as Gaeilge, there will be titles to suit all interests and ages, from novels, short stories, poetry, memoirs, to children’s and young adult books.
There are a wealth of authors who are part of the Read Mór book gifting programme including Eimear McBride, who won the inaugural Goldsmith prize; John Banville, winner of the Booker Prize 2005; Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, leading Irish poet; Oein DeBhairduin, co-founder of LGBT TARA (Traveller and Roma Alliance); and Emma Donoghue, whose book was transformed into the Oscar winning film, Room; and many more!
