Kildare bookshop to host  community events with grant

A series of community-focused events will be organised by Woodbine Books in Kilcullen in the coming year, thanks to the bookshop being awarded a €5,000 grant from the Books at One Community Fund. Twenty-one independent bookshops around Ireland shared €100,000 from the fund, targeted at initiatives which would bring local communities to their bookshops as cultural and leisure hubs, and Woodbine Books is the only County Kildare bookshop to be awarded a 2025 grant.

"We put together a proposal for twelve events," the shop's owner, Dawn Behan, says. "The organisers told us when we had won our grant that what we planned was exactly the kind of thing they'd hoped they would get."

Dawn's ideas, planned to begin implementation in September, will include a local history night featuring a guest speaker, board game nights, a music evening aimed at teenagers, a creative writing workshop for children, and some seasonal-themed gatherings. "The grant gives us a small fund to run each one, perhaps pay something to a speaker or organiser, and help towards the cost of staff and some refreshments. It will allow us to buy some board games, which can be used by customers during the ordinary opening hours as well as for the board game nights."

Dawn says her colleagues around the country are very excited about the initiative, which will allow bookshops to do more to make their enterprises a social part of the community as well as retail spaces.

"We believe the power of a bookshop goes far beyond bookshelves and look forward to seeing how these ideas come to life across the country,” says Eoghan Stack, Chairperson of The One Foundation, which is supporting the initiative.

The winning ideas will be brought to life over the coming months across towns and cities.