Spreading the gift of reading at St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny

Hundreds of free books were handed out to patients at St Luke’s Hospital last Friday as part of The Read Mór project, which is a Culture Night initiative.

The Arts Council, in collaboration with HSE Healthy Ireland, celebrated Culture Night 2023 in seven selected hospital sites across Ireland, including at St Luke’s General Hospital.

The Read Mór project is the gift of a book on Culture Night to those unable to attend the night’s events. This initiative, funded by the Arts Council, saw over 600 books from 29 Irish based authors gifted to patients and staff across the hospital. Once finished, patients are encouraged to share the joy of reading by passing on their book to a family member or friend.

Bodybuilding medal for Kilkenny's Dora!

The Hospital Group Healthy Ireland Project Manager and nominated staff for each hospital worked jointly with the HSE National Healthy Ireland Team in planning this event.

This meant that the patients in St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny had the opportunity to participate in Culture Night and escape to the furthest reaches of their imagination. This year the Arts Council was proud to partner up with HSE Healthy Ireland. Read Mór ensured that more people in more places could enjoy Culture Night.

The Read Mór ‘Book Doctors’ and their teams prescribed over 600 free books from their Library Trolleys as they visited the wards and public spaces in St Luke’s General Hospital Kilkenny. The Book Doctor’s made their rounds from 3-6pm.

Director of the Arts Council, Maureen Kennelly said:

“In a world filled with technological distractions, the joy of reading a physical book remains an invaluable resource. Read Mór is all about the public engaging with stories, ideas, and emotions that transport us to different realms of our imagination. This year, Read Mór will also help bring the magic of Culture Night to those who cannot join in with the night’s events in the usual way. We could not have done this without the enthusiastic support of so many writers and publishers. We are especially grateful to our partners in HSE Healthy Ireland for their support in making Read Mór happen in hospitals across Ireland this Culture Night.”