Surprise visitor to weekly Mayfield story time event

Children at Frank O’Connor Library in Mayfield enjoyed an unexpected visit from a very special guest in the lead-up to Christmas, at one of several festive events held there over the past month.

Weekly, themed story-time events for young children take place in the library every Friday from 11am to 11.30am, with parents and carers also welcome to attend. The events are free and no booking is required.

Santa Claus paid a surprise visit just as story time was coming to an end on Friday, December 20.

The children were first regaled by the story tellers with, ‘If You Ever Meet a Groovicorn’, by Rosie Greening, as well as festive stories, ‘Tales from the Nutcracker’ and ‘Jolly Jingly Christmas’.

Richard Forrest, executive librarian at Mayfield Library, said: “When these books were done, a singing session followed with old favourites, such as ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’, ‘When Santa Got Stuck up the Chimney’, and ‘Frosty the Snowman’.

“A snowball fight then ensued between storytellers and children, with suitably soft, artificial snowballs, which quickly came to an end when Santa himself arrived,” Mr Forrest said.

“Santa chatted leisurely with all the boys and girls, asking what they wished for, for Christmas, and whether they had stayed off the naughty list!” Santa then shared a story of his own with the rapt audience and presented a small token gift for each child, before departing to continue with his busy schedule.

This follows on from other festive events at the library, including a Christmas-books pop- up and a festive version of the Imagination Station art workshops, where participants made their own Christmas trees from foam cones, green crepe paper, and battery operated lights. The Mayfield Library hosts frequent events for children, including quizzes, talks, and competitions. To keep an eye out for events in 2025, you can follow Cork City Libraries on Facebook or X (Twitter), or check out the events calendar on the Cork City Libraries website.

The library reopened on Saturday, following four days off for Christmas, and will be closed today, but open on Tuesday, December 31. Mayfield Library and all other Cork City libraries will be closed on Wednesday, January 1, but normal opening hours will resume from Thursday, January 2.

While the library is closed, you can visit https://buff.ly/384srEg to renew your items or to use the online services.

You can also the Library app or the BorrowBox app to your device and with your library card and PIN, to get access to hundreds of digital e-books, e-magazines, and e-audiobooks.