Twelve-year-old Moate student pens book for charity

It's all about buying Irish and supporting local this Christmas and you can't get much more local than 'The Full Irish Christmas' - a newly published book by 12-year-old Moate Community School student and Ballycumber native Niamh Murray. Two years ago Niamh wrote a story 'The Full Irish Christmas', which sees children travel all over the world with Santa Claus, tasting foods from all the different countries as they help Santa out on his travels. Her teacher at the time, Ann Casey, was so impressed that she had Niamh's story published in the local newsletter 'The Village Voice' and this got Niamh thinking about making a book out of her story. Now a first year student in Moate CS, with the help of her parents Miriam and John, Niamh looked into creating a book to raise funds for Temple Street Children's Hospital. When she was six months old Niamh underwent a minor procedure at the hospital and attended outpatient clinics at the hospital, where she saw first hand the good work carried out by the staff. When she decided to try and publish her story she wanted the proceeds to go to the hospital. Earlier this year she contacted the fundraising office at Temple Street to explain her idea. And once she'd received the thumbs up from the hospital she then tracked down a sponsor in the form of Allphar Services. Keeping things local, Niamh then contacted Brosna Press and said this week they were delighted to be involved with the project. With the help of her art teacher Yvonne Fahy, Niamh then illustrated the book and was delighted to see her book taking shape at the printers and thanked Ciarán Guinan of Brosna Press for his help in putting the book together. Niamh said this week she has always loved English and has entered a number of competitions over the years, picking up prizes along the way. She said this week she loves writing, adding: "When I write stories I go completely off the block and write pages and pages." And when she was writing 'The Full Irish Christmas' most of the pupils in her class were finished while she was still perfecting her story. She added that once she gets an idea for a story she likes to plan it out before putting pen to paper. While Niamh was delighted with the proofs of the book she has seen, she won't see the finished product until tomorrow (Thursday) when she gets to pick the book up from the printers. Her parents Miriam and John are extremely proud of her, as her grandmothers Margaret Horan and Kitty Murray, while her younger brothers Ronan and Daragh are sure to enjoy seeing their big sister's book in print. Niamh's book 'The Full Irish Christmas' is on sale for €4 in a number of local shops throughout Westmeath and Offaly and this Saturday, December 3, she and her family and friends will be selling the book in Golden Island Shopping Centre from 12 noon until 4pm.