Council Partners Culture News

Official Launch of Chosen Title for One Dublin One Book 2022 

Dublin UNESCO City of Literature are delighted to announce their programme of events for this year’s One Dublin One Book which features ‘NORA: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce’ by Nuala O’Connor (New Island Books), following on from ‘Leonard and Hungry Paul’ by Rónán Hession in 2021.

One Dublin One Book aims to encourage everyone in Dublin to read a designated book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year. This annual Dublin City Council initiative, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, encourages reading for pleasure. 

There will be discussions, readings, music performances, film screenings, book club events and lots more during the month in various venues across the city as well as in Dublin City Libraries, DLR Libraries, Fingal Libraries, South Dublin Libraries, and drawing on the connection with Nora’s home county, a special event by Galway Public Libraries, will take place on 1st April. There will also be One Dublin One Book events in London, Warsaw and Monaco. RTÉ Radio One’s The Book on 1 will feature NORA by Nuala O’Connor over 10 nights in April.

Nuala O’Connor said, “I’m honoured and humbled that Dublin City Council has chosen NORA as its One Dublin One Book read for 2022, the Ulysses centenary year. I imagine Nora Barnacle would be as pleased as I am to see her contribution to the life and work of James Joyce celebrated in this way. I’m a proud Dub and this wonderful opportunity has me really looking forward to engaging with library users and readers, all over my home city, in April.”

Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Alison Gilliland, who launched the programme at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum said, “Dublin City Council’s One Dublin One Book initiative is a creative and inclusive way to get all our citizens reading.  With copies of NORA by Nuala O’Connor available to borrow for free in physical, e-book and e-audio versions throughout our public library network, it just remains for the people of Dublin and beyond to enjoy this brilliant book about Nora Barnacle and James Joyce.”

Dublin City Librarian, Mairead Owens, says, “every year we choose a book that we hope will capture the imaginations of the people of Dublin, of all ages and walks of life, and I know that NORA will prove a rewarding reading experience for all who engage with One Dublin One Book 2022. For the centenary of the publication of Ulysses, it’s important for us to honour the contemporary writers Joyce has inspired, as well as the woman who inspired him. With the help of our many wonderful partners, we have created a programme of events this April that we hope will encourage many discussions and conversations.”

Hundreds of copies of NORA have been purchased by Dublin City Libraries and are available to borrow from all public libraries nationwide, and on e-book and e-audio format through the free BorrowBox library app. The new One Dublin One Book edition of NORA is also available to buy from all good book shops. The National Council for the Blind Ireland have created a Braille version of the book. NORA is available in fully accessible digital formats (EPUB, BRF (Braille Ready File), DAISY and Word) from the NCBI Bookshare Ireland platform.

Source: Dublin City Council

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