Last Tuesday 24 March, The Bookmarks programme concluded with an exciting awards ceremony and exhibition of all the children’s wonderful books in Trinity College’s Long Room. Over 6 weeks of workshops, children learnt new skills of story telling, illustrating, stamp making and book binding, designing some fantastic books along the way. Our brilliant Ark artists Liz and Laura helped the children develop their stories, which included tales of exciting new worlds and shape-shifting animals including a ‘Batterfly’ - a mix between a bat and a butterfly!

The children’s books were exhibited in Trinity College for a week, in the wonderful surroundings of the oldest and largest library in Ireland.





"The award ceremony in the Long Room in Trinity was an exciting event for the children who participated in Bookmarks. It was a chance to share their achievement with their friends and family and all involved along the way, it was great to see them showing their books off proudly and reading aloud to their families. There was a great air of excitement and fun due to the presence of the RTE film camera! I witnessed many children running clutching their books in the hope of getting the chance to display their work on telly! Liz and I are so proud of the work all the children put into their books and would like to say thank you again to the teachers and liaison officers and the TAP programme, but mostly to the children themselves for all the hours of productive enjoyment!"
Laura de Búrca - Ark artist

We would like to thank Liz and Laura for all their brilliant work throughout the programme, and congratulate the children for achieving such great success with their wonderful books.

The children from the participating schools of the Bookmarks programme had a real treat last week when they were all invited by Trinity Access Programmes to see The Secret of Kells, the animated story of the boy behind the Book of Kells. Ark artists Liz Smith and Laura de Búrca also came along, and told us how the children have been busy putting the finishing touches on their books in time for the exhibition, which will mark the end of the Bookmarks programme. This exhibition will run from Tuesday 24 – Tuesday 31 March at Trinity College.

The children are really excited about seeing their books on display and can’t wait for the Bookmarks Awards Ceremony, which will take place in the Long Room in Trinity College on Tuesday. Make sure you check back to find out how the awards went!

The Giant Blue Hand, written by Marina Carr, directed by Selina Cartmell and produced by Muireann Ahern, continues to excite, delight and capture the imaginations of audiences at The Ark.

We’re delighted to share some of the excellent audience responses with you:

From children:

‘It was brilliant! Marina Carr is a genius! This play is got to be one of the best plays I have ever seen. The lights were brilliant, the acting was brilliant, even the noises in the background were brilliant! The imagination to think up such a good play is amazing. I would be overjoyed if Marina Carr made a sequel.’ Austin

‘It’s a play that I’ll remember forever.’ Isobel

'I think that the setting was brilliant and also the actors were great. I would give it a certain ten out of ten. It’s a great play for adults and children alike.' Gina

‘The story is very funny and very good. Great costumes, great set, good music and funny people. I would highly recommend this play to everyone in Ireland.’ Padraic

Catherine Walker as Queen Dalia

‘The Giant Blue Hand is a spectacular drama written by Marina Carr. It has a fantastic cast and a brilliant storyline. This funny, scary and happy play has lovely costumes and a very inventive set design….It’s a lovely story and I would give it five stars’. Caoimhe


From teachers:

‘Fab show, the boys loved it. Teachers loved it too! I would highly recommend it to other teachers.’

‘Fantastic performance, Children were enthralled, Visually impressive, Great Value’

‘Really enjoyed performance, All students were entertained from beginning to end, Thank you.’

‘Brilliant show. Excellent performances.’


From public audiences:

‘Imaginative, Dazzling, Funny, Energetic’

‘Awesome (6 year old), Deadly (9 year old), Cool (6 year old).’

‘Amazing, Exciting, Unusual, Brilliant’

‘Wonderful Show’

‘Brilliant, Excellent, Magical, Different’

‘Excellent play, Really enjoyable’

‘I loved it!! Well done!!’


From the press:

‘an entrancing production… That desire to explore the dark folds of fantasy in a production brimming with imagination speaks directly and sincerely to kids. To grown-ups too for that matter.’ The Irish Times

‘funny and scary, sad and delightful, and weird and wonderful.’ Sunday Business Post

‘Carr’s fascination with fairytale and myth, clear in much of her back catalogue, pays off handsomely in The Giant Blue Hand. With her feeling for heightened emotion and that fantastic macabre sensibility much in evidence, what a pleasure to notice that she has a talent for making kids laugh too.’ The Phoenix



The Giant Blue Hand runs until Sunday 22 March