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What is Culture Night?

Culture Night/Oíche Chultúir is a national moment, celebrating all that makes up the richness and diversity of Culture in Ireland today, connecting people to cultural activities locally and nationally and aims to open up pathways to ongoing engagement. An annual, all-island public event which takes place each year and this year taking place on Friday 22^nd September 2023, it celebrates culture, creativity and the arts and seeks to actively promote the belief that this rich and varied culture is alive, treasured and nurtured in people’s lives, today and every day. Special and unique events and workshops are specifically programmed at participating locations and thanks to the continued support of the Arts Council and local Authorities across the island of Ireland, all activities are made available to the public free of charge.

Culture Night

• Encourages more people to visit cultural venues and experience culture in their locality
• Reminds us all about the fantastic cultural facilities and resources that we have locally and nationally
• Raises the profile of cultural organisations, activities and facilities
• Encourages people to try new things and to get into the habit of going more often to cultural venues and activities in their locality
• Makes it easier for people to play a role in their local cultural scene
• Helps create a sense of community and belonging

Who makes Culture Night happen?

Culture Night happens because many people share a vision and enthusiasm for enjoying, celebrating and promoting creativity and culture. The following list gives a taste of the wide range of institutions that make it happen across Ireland: The public, artists, performing groups, galleries, museums, sport clubs, libraries, arts centres, craft workers, studios and workshops, theatres, public spaces, broadcasters, schools, community groups, local authorities, government departments, state agencies and public bodies, transport companies, universities, shops and many more! For full details on Culture Night see: www.culturenight.ie   

Culture Night in County Monaghan

 Culture Night has been celebrated throughout County Monaghan for several years and we want to build on this momentum again in 2023. If you are a Monaghan based creative practitioner/artist, not-for-profit organisation, local community group, arts, heritage and cultural groups, venues, and societies, we would like to hear your proposal.

What are we looking for?

 In terms of programming, as per Culture Night criteria it is not only about promoting our cultural venues and organisations but engaging creative practitioners as we endeavour to promote the Pay the Artist initiative. We are particularly interested in participatory projects that can give ownership on the part to the audience; initiatives which may broaden the concepts of culture; projects which include equality, inclusion, accessibility and diversity; and projects which can have lasting legacies beyond Culture Night. We also advocate for groups/venues to collaborate on programming with creative practitioners. We seek programming which creates opportunities for increased participation with those who may not always have easy access to events of a cultural nature, particularly but not limited to the following – Asylum seekers, migrants and migrants; arts and disability; Irish traveller culture; promoting gender equality.

To find out more and receive application form email culturenight@monaghancoco.ie

Closing Date: Expression of interest applications must be returned by 5pm Friday 23^rd June by email only.

Monaghan County Libraries team up with TFI Local Link Cavan Monaghan to give away free books on buses.

On Friday 24th February passengers using Transport for Ireland (TFI) bus services on the M1, M2, M3 & 176 routes  noticed book bags placed on the seats.  These bags contained a ‘Quick Reads’ title which Monaghan County Libraries gifted to TFI Local Link Cavan Monaghan passengers.

This initiative was part of ‘Ireland Reads’, a campaign to get the whole country reading.   Irish libraries have teamed up with publishers, booksellers, authors, and others for the campaign, which is part of the government’s Healthy Ireland programme and aims to celebrate reading and all the benefits it can have for wellbeing and enjoyment.

The campaign is asking everyone to ‘squeeze in a read’ on Ireland Reads Day, Saturday, February 25^th.

We would like to say a huge thank you to David McMullan and all the Local Link drivers for their help in co-ordinating this initiative.  For more information on routes and departure times for the participating TFI Local Link buses visit www.locallinkcm.ie

Karen Mc Cague, Executive Librarian with Monaghan county Libraries spoke to ‘The Wider View’ on Northern Sound radio about the initiative.  You can listen back here.

IrelandReads.ie

The pledge to read can be made at www.irelandreads.ie where you can also see how much time has been pledged by the Irish public so far and sign up for reading reminders.

The website also offers book recommendations suited to a person’s interests and the time they have available. There are more than 1,500 recommendations from librarians all around the country for all interests and reading levels.

Participants  can simply enter their favourite type of book and how long they would like to read each day and the website will offer the perfect book suggestion and work out how long it will take to complete – so you can set yourself a challenge if you’re finding it hard to get back to reading.

A number of well-known campaign ambassadors are on board to help promote the campaign, including Marian Keyes, Joe Duffy, Colm Tóibín, Rick O’Shea, Liz Nugent and more. You can find out what reading means to them and why they support the campaign at www.irelandreads.ie.

There’s just 1 month to go to World Book Day and we have a very creative competition running in the lead up to it. We want you to turn a Wooden Spoon into your favourite Book Character! We have wooden spoons available at the library desk or use your own but be sure to pick up an Entry form to go with it. You can also use your own spoon from home and download the Entry form below.

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!!!

Wooden Spoon Competition Entry Form