Has the type of tree planted on Slievenamon made this week's wildfires worse? Coillte insists its Sitka spruce species has no bearing on the spread of wildfires, but an ecologist has questioned whether the trees are more flammable in hotter, drier weather. www.thejournal.ie/slievenamon-...

Has the type of tree planted on Slievenamon made this week's wildfires worse?

Sitka spruce, which originates in North America, is a staple of Coillte forests, but has long been criticised by environmentalists.

thejournal.ie

Kids today have lost the fine art of bullshitting a 10 page paper from a single Funk & Wagnalls entry or from reading only the CliffsNotes. 🤣

Health and housing will leave other sectors of the economy short of workers - report

Health and housing will leave other sectors of the economy short of workers - report

Department of Finance paper says channelling workers into critical sectors will implications for wider economy

irishtimes.com

UCC Library is seeking a Deputy Librarian to play a key leadership role in shaping the future of our services and supporting the University’s strategic direction. 📅 Closing date: 16 June 2026 📍 Join the team at UCC Library www.ucc.ie/en/hr/vacanc...

What a legacy! How lucky we are he’s lived long and productively. Happy 100 years! 🎈

Happy centenary, David! Attenborough’s 100 most spectacular TV moments

He has been besieged by birds, had 120m crabs try to crawl up his trouser leg and stayed cool beside an erupting Icelandic volcano. As David Attenborough turns 100, we celebrate his most extraordinary...

theguardian.com

"But this level of aid is unsustainable..." None of this is sustainable. War is unsustainable. Climate denial is unsustainable. Homelessness is unsustainable. Unfettered capitalism is unsustainable.

I don't want to hear another fucking word about how the war in Ukraine exemplifies Ireland's need to abandon neutrality when we're throwing their refugees to the mercy of Ireland's housing "market". If our solidarity can be expressed with bullets but not beds it is devoid of humanity. #spéirgorm

Rural Ireland isn’t a slogan and it doesn’t belong to anyone. It’s diverse, complex, and changing. Farmers, migrants, artists, families, LGBTQ+ people are all part of it. Caring about nature and inclusion isn’t anti-rural. It’s essential.

This needs to be rolled out nationally! #LAICILIP2026

Library Association of Ireland @laibluesky.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Just before we break for lunch, we had the Mairéad Treanor delivering the plenary talk at #LAICILIP2026. The FUTU4U workshops at Monaghan County Libraries are an amazing initiative that promote democratic engagement and future thinking.

For our #LAICILIP2026 lightning sessions, our speakers shared some of the amazing initiatives they have been involved in their public libraries. Thank you to Michelle Leamy and James Duggan (South Dublin), Paul Kelly (NI) and Rasa Dromantiene (Fingal) for all your work!

“What we’ve done in Manchester over the years is create spaces where people see people” Keynote speaker Neil MacInnes spoke at #LAICILIP2026 about his experiences as Strategic Lead for Manchester Libraries and how the library can be “the city’s living room”.

A lovely presentation from Rasa Dromantiene from Fingal Libraries looking at how library services can support the integration of immigrants in Ireland, specifically the Lithuanian community 🇱🇹🇮🇪 To quote Rasa, libraries are "building bridges, not walls" #LAICILIP2026

We found out more about the LAI/CILIP Ireland AIM Mentoring Programme at #LAICILIP2026. If you would like to get involved, make sure to reach out to allislandmentoring@gmail.com

We are hiring! 📢 An Assistant Librarian (permanent) position is now available. This role focuses on printed material from UCD Special Collections but will also encompass print from across our repositories. universityvacancies.com/university-c... for full details & apply by 7th May. #LISjobsIE

Neil MacInnes giving an excellent keynote. Particularly struck by "We don't have hard to reach communities, we sometimes have services that are hard to reach" #LAICILIP2026

Beautiful Castleblayney Library, a renovated and extended gatehouse @castleblayney.bsky.social @laibluesky.bsky.social #LAICILIP2026

The lighting sessions were up next at #LAICILIP2026. Andrea Dillon, Martha Ewence, and Silje Skuterud spoke to us about the initiatives they have created to engage and educate students and younger patrons about the library services.

There I was trying to figure out how to curate our own collections into a relaxing reading area, and then Conor McKee from @librariesni.bsky.social presents a great solution - a slice of public libraries existing within the university library. #LAICILIP2026 #inspired

Silje Skuterud shares the incredible programme of events from Kildare's Power of Play. Particularly interesting to see the high attendance at staff run events - familiarity and regular sessions key here. #LAICILIP2026

A fabulous talk from Sam Helmick reminding us of how storytelling connects us, fighting censorship and the importance of asking ourselves why we, as librarians, do what we do! "Taking care of yourself is taking care of the mission" #LAICILIP2026

“Censorship is a hammer looking for a nail and it is never fully satisfied” Thank you so much to Sam Helmick (ALA President) for sharing their insights with us at Monaghan Peace Campus. What a fantastic start to the sessions at #LAICILIP2026!

The #LAICILIP2026 Plenary Speakers were brilliant! Thank you to Paula Leavy-McCarthy and Antonine Healy for sharing with us their work reviving Kinnegad Community Library. And to Conor McKee for his talk on student reading habits and the Reading for Pleasure Initiative.

Amazing talk from Conor McKee from Libraries NI looking at reading for pleasure for university and college students. I'll definitely be taking some inspiration to promote our fiction section at Marino Institute of Education Library! #LAICILIP2026 📚

Delighted that my exhibition “Cork Afterlives: Single Women and the New Irish State” is now on display in the Boole Library, UCC, my first Alma Mater @ucclibrary.bsky.social

'Printed in Defiance – Making the 1916 Proclamation' explores the story behind one of Ireland’s most iconic documents—focusing on the people who made it possible. New exhibition now open at @ucclibrary.bsky.social

ICYMI: David Walliams has reportedly been dropped from the line-up for 2026's Waterstones Children's Book Festival in Dundee 👇

David Walliams 'dropped from Waterstones Children's Book Festival line-up'

ebx.sh

On the left, this week at Bondi, refugee faces deportation after tackling the gunman and getting shot by police for his efforts On the right, at Bondi last April, French guy given residency

The LAI/CILIP Ireland Library Ireland Week team is delighted to announce the winner for the Staff Champion Award: Tracy McEneaney of Ardkeen Library, Waterford. Congratulations Tracy! A truly inspiring and transformational Library colleague who goes above and beyond! #LIW25

It's been two years of a year... It was the year we started with two dogs and ended with three, the year I wrote and ended a book column, the year the @laibluesky.bsky.social gave me their Presidents Medal, the year I interviewed authors and filmmakers on stage, curated events, gave away awards. 🧵