Lions Club children's book donated to Tullamore Hospital

Following on from last week's successful launch of a children's book inspired by a peatland conservation project undertaken by Tullamore Lions Club, members of the club presented copies of the book to the children's ward at the Midlands Regional Hospital in the town this week.

The book, titled 'The Lions, the Bees and the Bogs' was launched by Olympic boxer and Team Ireland athlete Gráinne Walsh, in Esker Arts Centre on Thursday of last week, as part of the Offaly Hullabaloo! Children's Arts Festival.

Copies of the book, which was written and beautifully illustrated by MIdlands' based children's author Dolores Keaveney, are currently being distributed to every primary school in Offaly as part of the Lions Club mission to spread the message of sustainability and encourage young people to become guardians of the environment in the future.

Tullamore Lions Club members, John Lyons and Michael Carroll, along with President Larry Fleming, were on hand at the Midland Regional Hospital in the town this week to present copies of the book to the staff of the children's ward. They were joined at the special presentation by members of the Friends of Tullamore Hospital.

The story of the 'The Birds, the Bees and the Bogs' was inspired by a bog conservation project currently being undertaken by Tullamore Lions Club on Clonbeal More Bog in Rath. In an effort to spread the message of the importance of peatland conservation, they asked children's author, Dolores Keaveney, to write a book for children capturing the essence of what the local club is trying to convey to future generations with their peatland conservation project.

The book, funding for the production of which was received from Offaly County Council and Creative Ireland, is currently available for sale at €9.99 per copy from bookshops in Tullamore.