For the pupils at Clonmoney N.S, Newmarket-on-Fergus, the ‘back to school’ buzz reached fever pitch this month, as pro-golfer Leona Maguire paid a visit to launch their new ‘little library’ of books, gifted through the Books for Birdies initiative run by Children’s Books Ireland and sponsored by KPMG.
For every birdie recorded since June by Leona Maguire and subsequently by every player at the 2023 KPMG Women’s Irish Open, KPMG have donated one children’s book to local schools in the Dromoland area, reaching a grand total of 1,564 books following the conclusion of the tournament earlier this month.
These books, selected for their diverse characters and inclusive themes, with many featuring empowering stories of women in sport, will be delivered to twenty local and DEIS schools. In a gesture of thanks towards Dromoland and the wider community, KPMG added a further 436 books to the final total, with each school receiving a little library of 100 books.
Children's Books Ireland
KPMG has been a proud partner of Children’s Books Ireland since 2017, running a number of initiatives such as BOLD GIRLS, which promotes gender equality, and Free To Be Me, which encourages the celebration of diversity through children’s books, as well as sponsoring the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards since 2020. The Awards have been running for over thirty years and offer a total prize fund of €16,000 across six categories.
Growing up with two teachers as parents, the importance of books and reading were instilled in me from a very young age. I’m thrilled that my performance at the KPMG Women’s Open, and that of my co-competitors, will make such a lasting impact for the young readers I’ve met today in Clonmoney school, and in all of the schools that will benefit from this initiative.
We are very proud of Leona and her performance throughout this year’s KPMG Women’s Irish Open. KPMG is thrilled to give back to the Dromoland community through our partners at Children’s Books Ireland, and hope that these books inspire their readers for many years to come.
