IBBY IRELAND BIENNIAL REPORT 2006-2008.
IBBY Ireland is a non-profit voluntary body and membership is open to any organisation or
individual with an interest in and a commitment to the aims and mission of IBBY Ireland. The
organisation is governed by a constitution and guided by a committee.
Its aims are:
 To promote the exchange of relevant expertise and knowledge relating to children’s
books at a national and international level
 to encourage the development of networks linking Ireland and other countries in the area
of children’s books
 to act as an information resource in relation to children’s books for writers, publishers,
arts agencies, designers and illustrators, translators, librarians, parents/guardians, the
teaching profession and other educational interests, government and statutory bodies
 to promote information within Ireland concerning children’s books from other countries,
including those written in languages other than English or Irish
 to promote an understanding of cultural diversity in Irish society.
Patron
Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
iBbY Ireland Committee
President: Valerie Coghlan vcoghlan@cice.ie
Vice-President: Patricia Kennon
Treasurer: Deirdre Shortall
Secretary: Marian Keyes secretary@ibbyireland.ie
Committee Members:
Jorid Lindberg
Karen Kenny
Ciara Ní Bhroin
Gillian Colton
The committee meets approximately once per month.
Address
IBBY Ireland, 17 North Great Georges Street, Dublin 1, Ireland.
www.ibbyireland.ie
Institutional members pay a fee of €125 per annum. This includes a copy of Bookbird.
Individual members pay €30 per annum and may order Bookbird separately at a reduced fee.
IBBY Ireland receives a modest grant from the Arts Council which enables it to pay IBBY dues
and engage in some activities.
Members of IBBY Ireland work with many organizations to promote children’s reading and
publishing for children.
Member organizations represent colleges of education, public libraries, school libraries,
publishers, copyright licensing, children’s book organizations, teacher unions.
Individual members represent teachers at all levels, librarians, authors, illustrators.
Events and activities
An e-newsletter, ‘IBBY Info’, initiated in 2007, is circulated six times per annum and members are
contacted about events.
IBBY Ireland hosts a presentation reflecting international elements of children’s literature each
year at the Children’s Books Ireland annual summer conference. In 2008 Dr Nina Christensen,
Director Center for Børnelitteratur, Copenhagen was the speaker. In 2007 the speakers were
Binette Scchroeder and Jeffrey Garrett.
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IBBY Ireland has been represented at congresses in Basle, Cape Town, and Macau. Three IBBY
Ireland members will attend the 2008 Copenhagen conference.
IBBY Ireland members have attended and spoken at the USBBY conference in Tucson.
In 2008 IBBY Ireland is celebrating its 10th birthday. To mark this we held a celebration in Dublin’s
City Hall in February. The guest speaker was Martin Waddell, winner of the 2004 HCA Award for
writing.
Our website has been revamped and will be updated on a regular basis with IBBY news and we
have produced a new brochure outlining IBBY Ireland membership details and activities.
Also as part of our 10th birthday activities IBBY Ireland has twinned with the new IBBY section in
Zimbabwe and looks forward to a mutually fruitful relationship with our twinned section.
Other events planned for 2008 include a conference on 18th October with keynote speakers
Sandra Beckett, Irene Gammell and Tim Wynne Jones
The launch of a perpetual calendar illustrated by scenes from picturebooks from around the world
is planned for 2009.
IBBY Ireland has published two annotated guides to children’s books:
Susanna Coghlan, Mary Fitzpatrick & Lucy O’Dea: Changing Faces, Changing Places.
Susanna Coghlan & Liz Morris: Cross-currents. Copies of both publications have been distributed
free-of-charge to schools throughout Ireland. It is anticipate that a full-text copy of Cross-currents
will be available on the IBBY Ireland website by the end of 2008.
Schools and libraries mark ICBD on an individual basis. National Book Day is marked in March.
IBBY Ireland regularly nominates for the HCA Awards.
IBBY Ireland nominees for 2008 are:
Illustration: Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
Writing: Kate Thompson
IBBY Ireland nominated Irish language picturebook Cearc an Phrompa (published by Cló Migh
Eo) for the ‘Tour of Europe in 27 Picture Books’ to be held in Paris in November
IBBY Ireland regularly nominates for the IBBY Honour Book list.
2008 nominees are: Siobhán Parkinson, Oliver Jeffers and Eilís Ní Dhuibhne.
IBBY Honour books have twice been presented in Ireland.
Bookbird is currently edited in Ireland by Valerie Coghlan and Siobhán Parkinson. Due to this,
there is currently no Irish Bookbird correspondent.
IBBY Ireland members have contributed articles and postcards to Bookbird.