We have reached the third week of workshops in the Bookmarks programme, and things are really beginning to take shape. Pupils have developed their ideas for their adventure stories and have now begun creating their own 10-page concertina style books. The students and teachers of Scoil Cholmcille Ballybrack and Marist N.S. Ballybrack have been in touch to let us know what they have been up to over the last few weeks.

We have been having a great time so far on the bookmarks project. We thoroughly enjoyed the introduction day at Trinity and have had three school based workshops with the artists Liz and Laura. The children have really enjoyed the freedom to explore their ideas in a fun way and have been showing great enthusiasm towards the writing process.
Stephen Russell, 6th class teacher
Scoil Cholmcille SNS

I loved going to Trinity to meet the author and to see the Book of Kells. The two artists from The Ark are really nice and help us with our ideas. I am really looking forward to seeing my book in the display at Trinity College and hope lots of people will want to read it.
Eoin Cullen, 6th class pupil
Scoil cholmcille SNS



We really enjoy working with Laura and Liz. We do a lot of things with the two artists. The first time Laura and Liz came to our school they showed us some of the books that other children did. We thought they were brilliant and hoped our books turned out the same.
Then we talked about our books and how we were going to make them. We talked all about the settings, characters, twists and tuns in the book. This was really exciting because it gave us a chance to share our ideas and think of more things to put into our stories.
We really like having Laura and Liz in our classroom. They are really nice and helpful. They give us loads of ideas and help us to make our stories really good.
We are really excited about making our own book and hope they turn out good. We cannot wait until Laura and Lisa come into our class again.
6th class pupils from Marist Primary School




Be sure to keep checking back for more updates about these exciting workshops.

Bookmarks, a joint project of The Ark and Trinity Access Programmes, is now well under way. The participating schools Marist NS (Crumlin), Our Lady of Lourdes NS (Goldenbridge) and Scoil Cholmcille (Ballybrack) have already enjoyed a visit to Trinity College where they saw the Book of Kells, and Laura de Búrca and Liz Smith, the Ark artists for Bookmarks, have been busy attending the schools each week, guiding the children through their own adventure stories. Liz and Laura have written a blog telling us all about what’s been happening in these illustration, story-writing and bookbinding workshops.


We are both delighted to be working on Bookmarks again. The books produced will be 10 page concertina style fabric-bound wonders! The Book of Kells with its rich illustrations and animal motifs was great inspiration and we are encouraging the workshop participants to incorporate these elements into their adventure stories.

The brainstorming sessions were very exciting and the children generated original and imaginative ideas for their stories. Examples of some great initial ideas were: A story set in a magical jungle; a car with hedgehogs for wheels; a human rocket and an octopus and his friends, living under the sea; a dog whose bark breaks things and a tunnel where you can only hear your own thoughts! We used descriptive language exercises, which emphasised exploring all the senses.

Over the next few weeks the illustration techniques the children learn will be skill based. One of which is a simple form of stamp making using craft foam and cardboard. Another involves folding paper to create symmetrical cutouts, using beautiful hand-made papers. Both of these techniques create strong, graphic silhouettes, which give their books a professional finish.
Liz & Laura

On Thursday 12 February the opening night of the world premiere theatre production of The Giant Blue Hand took place here at The Ark. We hosted a special night to celebrate and lots of children even brought their lucky parents along to see it!

Cast member Patrick Gibson (13) attends the opening night with his father, Richard.

The audience was taken on a journey by the Time family, they met the wicked Giant Blue Hand, and even saw Aunt Farticus’s prized pink Wellingtons!

Our theatre was filled to capacity for the performance and the audience response on the evening was excellent.

The production runs until Sunday 22 March but tickets are selling fast, so ring our box office on 01.6707788 to book your seats. You can also book from this website; just click the book online button at the bottom of this page.

Previews of the world premiere theatre production The Giant Blue Hand written by Marina Carr , directed by Selina Cartmell and produced by Muireann Ahern take place in The Ark today and tomorrow, ahead of the opening night on Thursday 12 February.



Over the next six weeks children aged 7+ and their families can enjoy this story of magic and adventure featuring colourful characters like Aunt Farticus Fume in her pink wellingtons (as above) and Queen Dalia the Empress of Dreamers!

The cast includes Catherine Walker, Don Wycherley, Cindy Cummings, Robert Donnelly, Patrick Gibson, Jack Gleeson and David Martin.

Tickets are available from our box office on 01.6707788 or in person at 11a Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. You can also book from this website; just click the book online button at the bottom of this page.

We hope you’ll be able to join us for this exciting adventure where “children must be braver than adults if they are ever to recover those they love…”

We were in for such a treat in The Ark on Saturday as four of Ireland’s leading songstresses, Maighread and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Moya Brennan performed their Lullaby Concert for Temple Bar Trad Fest. It was a historic moment as these renowned Irish singers performed together for the first time during this sell out show. The audience were treated to a mix of traditional and newer songs in both Irish and English, including songs that had been written for them by their parents as well as songs they wrote for their own children. It was a special moment as the singers sang Two Sisters, commenting on how they themselves felt like four sisters on the stage together, being life long friends, and thought the song should be called Four Sisters instead. The audience were also invited to sing along and dance as the four singers guided them through the verses of another lullaby. The performance was such a success that the audience cried out for an encore, and were delighted when the performers were happy to comply and came back out to sing one more song.

The second concert of the day was also a huge success, when we were wowed by the talents of the young performers in Fionnuar, winners of the Siansa Gael Linn 2008 competition. These young musicians played an array of instruments, from bodhráns and guitars, to concertina, melodian and even the Uillean Pipes! We hope to hear much from this talented group in the future.

Bookmarks, a joint project of The Ark and Trinity Access Programme, was launched on Friday 30 January. Three classes from Marist NS (Crumlin), Our Lady of Lourdes NS (Goldenbridge) and Scoil Cholmcille (Ballybrack) will be spending the next six weeks working with two Ark artists, Laura de Búrca and Liz Smith, creating and illustrating adventure stories and finally binding it all together to make their very own book!

On Friday the participating classes gathered in Trinity College for an exciting morning. Laura and Liz explained the workshops to the school groups and described all the exciting things that lie ahead. Then the classes met with Aubrey Flegg, a famous Irish children’s author, who told them where he gets his inspiration from and where they might find inspiration for their own stories. Finally, the children experienced a tour of The Book of Kells. They saw all the beautiful illustrations of animals and decorative letters as well as learning lots of interesting facts about the book.

The day provided plenty of ideas for the school groups involved and we can’t wait to see the finished work! A public exhibition of the finished books will take place in the Long Room of Trinity College from Tuesday 24 to Tuesday 31 March.

In the meantime, we hope to bring you news from The Ark artists and the budding authors on this page over the next few weeks...