Switching off and giving some time to yourself to do the things you enjoy doing is so important in looking after your mental wellbeing.

Visit https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/374ba-switching-off/ for information on Healthy Ireland, Keeping well Initiative. 

Your Library Online

Join online or by contacting your local library. Check out Kildare’s online library – you have access to ebooks, audiobooks, newspapers, magazines,music, comics, Language classes and online courses –All of which can be accessed with your library card and PIN number. Unsure how to access these services give your local library a call or keep your eyes peeled for our Library Blog How To posts. 

Kildare Housebound Delivery Service

Following the announcement by government that the entire country was to love to Level 5, Kildare Library Service is providing a housebound delivery service to library users who are over 70 or who are medically vulnerable.

Kildare Online Bookclub

Join the Kildare Library online bookclub – there is a chat on Facebook but the meeting is every month on Zoom so you don’t need to be a regular Facebook user. The books borrowed are all available through Borrowbox.

Rewarding Reads

Rewarding reads is a new campaign from Libraries Ireland and Creative Ireland that is celebrating Irish writers and encouraging people of all ages to discover the joy or reading. Libraries have a wealth of books for all ages and interests as well as online library services including free access to eBooks and audiobooks. Join online at librariesireland.ie/join or by contacting your local library.

Online Story Time

Check out the Kildare Library Vimeo Channels for a range of videos including author talks, story times for babies and toddlers and older children and much more.

Learn A Language

Learn a new language through Kildare Libraries. Online through Transparent Languages. Kildare Libraries are also running online Irish Language classes for absolute beginners, intermediate and advanced levels via Zoom.

Start A New Hobby

Libraries has a Photography Club? Check it out here. Also Keep an eye on our various Social Media accounts for more information about events, activities and what's happening at your local library.Facebook Instagram Twitter Vimeo Blog

Kildare Town Tidy Towns Presents

Interactive Nature Based Workshops - Full details are abailable at Kildare Town - Nature Workshops 

Kildare Readers Festival

We just celebrated our annual readers festival here in Kildare and had a wealth of events, activities and author talks take place online. Missed the festival don't worry you can still access the online content here.

Discover Kildare

Kildare is actually a great place, not just because of it's proximity to Dublin but because there are so many things to do, places to visit and great spots to eat. Check out some lists of things to do in the county here and discover Kildare for yourself!

Susan Boyle’s: Fireside Stories for Wintery Days. 

https://youtu.be/5UcKdZ9MNzA 

SpeakUp SingOut - Virtual Choir

This virtual choir project ran across 5 choirs, totalling 120 people. This was a virtual choir project with something extra – not only did we write the song ourselves, we also made our own music video filled with content that we designed and developed ourselves. Each person involved learned how to collaborate and about song-writing. We explored themes about what it means to keep the Christmas spirit alive at these difficult times. After discussing these things in detail, each group then developed their own action-based plan of how they could work on their theme. The groups decided on the following themes:

Retired Choir (retired ladies):
Reached out to local nursing homes and wrote letters to residents

Fusion Choir (adult choir):
What makes us smile! Finding ways to smile and make others smile

Mammies Choir (group for mothers):
How can we connect with our children and our families

Focus Choir (young teens):
How can we be kind at home and remember the importance of family

Junior Choir (ages 7-11):
Local heroes – who has helped us through covid and how can we thank them?

The footage for the music video is made of the results of all these themes. After workshopping and learning about song-writing each group wrote a different section of the song. The music was composed by Claire Crehan and then each participant was shown how to remotely record themselves. We could not be happier with the results and the level of enjoyment by the members surpasses anything we could of imagined. We can see a growth in confidence, personal development, joy, happiness, gratitude, presence and appreciation for community. Our heartfelt thanks to Healthy Ireland and Kildare County Council Arts Service for their generous funding for this project, without them it would never of happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_ivFRuZVLk

3x3 Ireland

3x3 Ireland is an organisation in Co. Kildare who is working with the Latvian community in Ireland. Our main areas of focus are:

• Keeping and preserving Latvian Heritage abroad
• Informing and educating the Latvian community in Ireland
• We are supporting the Latvian community in Ireland throughout pandemic, by delivering information in the native language and offering networking opportunities for Latvians in Ireland.

Covid-19 has prevented Latvian community form fulfilling any face to face projects, and even socialising has become an issue. Many members of the Latvian community need help, especially those with language barriers, who have an issue to follow important information that is vital during the pandemic. Members of the community need practical advice as well as emotional support.

In the event we will be talking about: the Covid-19 rates in Ireland and the world, levels of restrictions, wearing of face coverings, Covid-19 experience story from Latvian family in Dublin. We will also have a Latvian Medical Doctor practising in Ireland Talking about medical aspects of Covid-19, practical advice and importance of face coverings. Also, we will have a Latvian member of an Garda Siochana talking about the Covid-19 restrictions from Garda perspective.

In January – workshop on project management on how to change/adopt face to face projects to virtual ones. The meetings would be to generate ideas on how to keep the Latvian community together virtually, activate the Latvian community in Kildare, as well as increase collaboration with Latvians in other counties.

Both of those talks will be recorded, edited, designed, post redacted and sent to Kildare CC for dissemination.