What is Ireland Reads?

A national day to celebrate reading.

On February 25th we’re inviting people of all ages to get reading.

One minute, ten minutes, an hour, or more – it doesn’t matter how long you read for or what you read!

Why? Because taking some time for yourself to relax and do the things you enjoy (like reading) is important to help look after your mental wellbeing.

Take the pledge below and see how many minutes people all over Ireland will be reading for on February 25th.

Ireland Reads is a is an initiative of the government of Ireland, funded by Healthy Ireland and supported by public libraries, and many organisations that promote literacy and the arts.

A woman with a prosthetic leg sits in an open fridge holding a book in one hand and reaching for sweets with the other

Take the Pledge

Pledge today to squeeze in a read on 25 February.

Just let us know how many hours or minutes you would like to pledge to read for below.

The outline of a stack of fourteen books of varying sizes fills with colour and animates one by one in correlation to the number of minutes pledged

Ireland has pledged to read for 241,610 minutes on 25 February.

Pledge

Enter your name and email to receive reading reminders and keep up to date on the latest news and events.

If you would like to pledge reading time on behalf of your class or school, you can email school.irelandreads@lgma.ie

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Ireland has pledged to read for 241,610 minutes on 25 February.

A young man in swim shorts and a snorkel sits squeezed into a fish tank holding a book out of the water with his right hand

Find a Book

Time
65

Found 2098 Books

    3 of 2098    

The Story Keeper  by Anna Mazzola

The Silent Companions

by Laura Purcell

If you squeeze in 40 minutes a day, you can read this book in approximately 20 days

If you squeeze in 0 hours and 30 minutes a day, you can read this book in approximately 26 days

Get this Book at the Library   Get this Book at a local Bookshop

Did you know there are 330 library branches all around Ireland? Find your local library here

Our Partners & Ambassadors

Thanks to our incredible partners and ambassadors who are helping to get Ireland reading for Ireland Reads!

A boy sits squeezed into the knot hole in a tree reading a book wearing a red hat, striped jumper and jeans
Joe Duffy
Emma Donoghue
Áine Ní Ghlinn
Liz Nugent
Rick O'Shea
Melatu-Uche Okorie
Dave Rudden
Colm Toibin
Sarah Webb
The Arts Council logo
The Borrow Box logo
The Children's Books Ireland logo
The Government of Ireland logo
NALA logo
The RTÉ Supporting the Arts logo
National Library of Ireland logo
Laureate for Irish Fiction logo

Rick O’Shea

Broadcaster and Presenter of RTÉ’s The Book Show

Rick O'Shea

The last few years, more than others, are the years we need reading in our lives most.

For me it’s always been a brilliant way to escape, keep my mental health on an even keel, learn new information and developments that change my view of the world, fall in love with incredible characters, meet old friends having new adventures, experience pasts and even futures that I couldn’t otherwise, and even travel when I haven’t been able to!

I am thrilled that the Ireland Reads initiative is happening and I hope it kick-starts reading all year round for you!

Áine Ní Ghlinn

Laureate na nÓg (2020-2023)

Áine Ní Ghlinn

Osclaíonn leabhar doras na samhlaíochta, doras isteach i saol ina mbuaileann páistí le cairde nua – cairde na samhlaíochta. Sa domhan seo tá saoirse ag páiste a bheith ina bhleachtaire nó ina asarlaí, ina chailleach nó ina thaiscealaí. Tá saoirse aige nó aici a rogha rud a dhéanamh sa domhan samhailteach seo. Faoi láthair ní féidir linn dul ag taisteal sa bhfíorshaol. Tá srianta na pandéime an-dian ar pháistí. Taobh istigh de leathanaigh an leabhair, áfach, tá na srianta sin imithe. Tabhair tacaíocht don bhfeachtas Éire ag Léamh. Tabhair saoirse na samhlaíochta dár bpáistí.

Liz Nugent

Author

Liz Nugent

A love of books and reading was the greatest gift my father ever bestowed on me. Stories are available and free (libraries!) to everyone.

Through books, I have travelled all over the world, and to other worlds. I have solved and committed ghastly crimes. I have learned about great historical figures and little-known obscure ones. I have learned to cook and, if I wanted, I could learn to assemble a light aircraft or play a tuba. I have expanded my vocabulary and looked forward to bedtime and have laughed or cried myself to sleep, depending on the pages on my pillow.

Books are my solace and my escape and we have all needed one or the other at many stages of our lives.

Dave Rudden

Author

Dave Rudden

It is my great pleasure to be an ambassador for the 2022 ‘Ireland Reads’ campaign.

As a former teacher turned author, I have first-hand experience of the connective power of reading at any age. The magic of being transported to other worlds and other times is one thing, but what I find far more important is that very particular teleportation of stepping into other people’s heads.

Any reading is good reading, because reading reminds you that we all have our own plotlines – our own battles, our own triumphs, our own losses. I think there’s no lesson more important than that.

Sarah Webb

Author

Sarah Webb

Above everything, I’m a reader.

Books and reading mean so much to me. I could live without a lot of things, but not without books. They inform me, entertain me, help me step into other people's shoes, make me wonder. They are there when I'm well, when I'm sick, when I'm rested, when I'm tired.

They are my dear friends, my loyal companions. From old friends like Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters (a wonderfully immersive summer holiday book) or Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (one of the best books about creativity out there), to shiny new children’s novels, I love them all! 

Joe Duffy

Broadcaster

Joe Duffy

TBC

Colm Tóibín

Author and Laureate for Irish Fiction

Colm Tóibín

Reading is done alone and in silence, but the sense that books are also enjoyed by others and discussed widely makes reading communal and a rich part of a shared culture. The Ireland Reads campaign responds to the impulse readers feel to talk about the books they love and pass on the experience to others. The pandemic was a good time for readers; no one asked us to be socially distant from a book. But it was also a time when readers could feel isolated, in need of others to discuss literature, to make the experience of reading deeper and more textured. This makes the Ireland Reads campaign even more essential.

Marian Keyes

Author

Marian Keyes

I was an anxious, lonely child, but when I read my first Enid Blyton book (‘The Twins at St Claire’s’) my mind was blown. Suddenly, I had a gateway to another world – to infinite worlds. I was able to escape the discomfort of being me by immersing myself in the lives of others..

Since then, reading has been my saviour. No matter what was going on for me, books comforted me, befriended me, made me laugh, made me think, gave me a breathing space and cocooned me from the world.

The ability to read is my superpower.

Melatu-Uche Okorie

Author

Melatu-Uche Okorie

I love reading because it gives me heroes. I also get to go to different places in my mind's eye, fall in love, be sad, get angry, laugh at other people's idiosyncrasies, all in a matter of minutes.

Our Resources

Spread the joy of reading and encourage others to get lost in a book with posters and other resources to promote your event here.

A woman reads upside down squeezed into a doghouse with a dog sitting on top of the doghouse

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