March 9th, 2010
” Our object in building up the country economically must not be lost sight of. That object is not to be able to boast of enormous wealth or of a great volume of trade for their own sake. It is not to see our country covered with smoking chimneys and factories. It is not to show a great national balance sheet, nor to point to a people producing wealth with the self-obliteration of a hive of bees. The real riches of the Irish nation will be the men and women of the Irish nation the extent to which they are rich in body and mind and character. “
- Michael Collins
Tags: Ireland, Recession
Posted in Uncategorized |
March 8th, 2010
Ré Ó Laighléis reads at Scéál Eile Books
This clip features Ré Ó Laighléis reading from “The Great Book of the Shapers” as part of the Ennis Bookclub Festival, 6-8th March 2010. Fred Johnston also read at this event which was tri-lingual: English – Gaeilge – Francais. A big thank you to both authors for providing a most lively and interesting afternoon’s entertainment in Scéal Eile Books!
You can read more about this event by following the links below:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/95936
http://www.twwc.ie/?p=952
Tags: Ennis Bookclub Festival, Event, Reading
Posted in Uncategorized |
January 5th, 2010
One good thing about facing into the New Year is that we are all in the same boat: between the past- and future-tense, in the dead centre of nowhere, held transfixed in liminality.
To be honest, I’ve always felt comfortable being in this liminal state, I like the chance to rethink my old patterns, to distance myself from the thread of mundane routines and thoughts that hold my days together throughout the rest of the year. It’s a rare opportunity to take stock, re-evaluate and attempt to scry into the new year, see what fortune it could bring. The borderland between the old and the new year is a place ripe with hopes, wishes, dreams and fears.
The traditional Irish New Year was Samhain, October 31st – modern Hallowe’en. One of the many rituals was to drive the livestock towards a bonfire, forcing them to leap through time/space from the old year into the new. This was thought to secure their health and well-being in the New Year, fire was considered a purifying element. I hope that this transition into 2010 has burned away all the bad, grim elements of 2009 and that we land square on a blank page of possibilities!
I hope that 2010 brings more magic, laughter and happiness into all of our lives, more kindness, dreams, love and wisdom, lots of wonderful books, and the chance to curl up with them!
Posted in Uncategorized |
June 12th, 2009
Or: a blog is born. I myself was not born today. Or even yesterday. Although in the world of books, it does often feel that way, there is so much to learn that it’s dizzying.
In fact, myself and my father opened our bookshop doors to the public over three years ago now. We are based in Co Clare in the west of Ireland, and we sell second-hand books, rare books, new books of local interest and any interesting book or book-related object that we can get our hands on! Since that autumn day in September 2006, we have been (literally) up to our eyes in books- living, breathing, dreaming them (more on the dreams later….). And now can’t imagine being any other way.
This blog is an attempt to record the happenings in Scéal Eile Books, the treasures we find, the characters we encounter and what we learn when our noses are in a book and outside of one.
Posted in Uncategorized |