Date: 30 Sept 2025
Diversity Inclusion Storysacks available from Donegal County Library Service
Donegal County Childcare Committee, in partnership with Donegal County Library, is delighted to announce that Diversity and Inclusion Story Sacks are now available to borrow from libraries across Donegal. The story sacks were funded by Donegal Children and Young People's Services Committee (CYPSC).
Story Sacks help bring the characters in books to life and make reading a fun and interactive group activity. Not only do the story sacks allow children the opportunity to develop their imagination and creativity while expanding their vocabulary, they also help them to develop their emotional intelligence and empathy so they can better understand the feelings of others.
The three themes that the story sacks focus on are as follows:
- Family Structure
- Ukrainian Culture
- Irish Language and Culture
The development of the resource was made possible by the expert guidance that was received from Bairbre Uí Chathail of Líonra Leitir Ceanainn, Adele McElhinney Regional Adult Literacy Coordinator with Donegal ETB and Sinéad Murray from Donegal Youth Service.
Louise Toner from Donegal County Childcare Committee said that “DCCC were delighted to be part of this project. It's so important that all children feel represented and visible in their communities and ELC settings. The Language and Inclusion resource packs will help ELC services explore how to enhance their learning materials and learning experiences around family structure and Ukrainian language. We're also delighted to be able to support Early Educators to explore introducing the use of some Irish words and phrases into their day-to-day practice through the use of the Irish Language resource pack.”
A local ELC visited Central Library on the day to make use of the story sacks straightaway. This was followed by a workshop by library staff with ELC teachers on how to best use the resource. Both these events were part of the National Public Library Open Day initiative which invited the public to 'Take a Closer Look' at their local library.
For more information on the story sacks and other resources available to families and ELCs please visit www.donegallibrary.ie or follow @DonegalCountyLibrary on Facebook and @DonegalLibrary on Twitter and Instagram.
