Tipperary ETB and Sue Ryder House in Nenagh collaborate on new book

RESIDENTS at Sue Ryder House in Nenagh launched a book of their own writings at a special event hosted by Tipperary Education and Training Board (ETB) in June.

The book, called 'Vision and Verse', came about after Sue Ryder House contacted Tipperary ETB to organise digital skills classes. The ‘Get to Know Your Smartphone’ class was widely enjoyed by residents, but it soon became apparent that the residents had much more to offer through their storytelling and singing.

It was decided to compile these stories into a book, which generated great excitement for each class. Nuala Gallagher, Tipperary ETB tutor, supported by resource worker Liz Duggan, thoroughly enjoyed encouraging the residents each week to create their pieces for the book.

Mary McDonnell, Manager of Sue Ryder House, facilitated the class which took place in the main lounge of the building. Each week, different people joined the class to engage or simply listen to the stories. The result of this engagement is the beautiful book of short stories and poetry, Vision and Verse. Although the course has finished, the residents still meet every Tuesday to share stories, be a listener, or just have a chat. This demonstrates how much everyone enjoyed the class.

To launch the book, a wonderful event was held at Sue Ryder House in June, where the contributors to the book had the opportunity to read some of their stories and poems with pride. Mary McDonnell also presented a birthday cake to resident Ellen O’Brien, who turned 101 the day before the launch of the book. It was a beautiful event, and Tipperary ETB was delighted to be part of it.