Good luck The Book!
NEWS THAT MICHAEL KELLEHER WAS RETIRING FROM BRAY LIBRARY AFTER 43 YEARS WAS MET WITH AN OUTPOURING OF FONDNESS AND GRATITUDE, WRITES
MICK ‘ The Book’ Kelleher has checked out his last book at Bray library, to an outpouring of warmth and well wishes from across the community.
Mick, pictured right, a native of Ennistymon in Co Clare, has worked at the Eglinton Road premises since early 1975. Generations of readers have enjoyed his renowned knowledge, helpful and friendly demeanour, and shared love of books.
Bray has also bid farewell to Mgr Enda Lloyd of Holy Redeemer parish, who is moving to another parish.
MICK ‘THE BOOK’ KELLEHER has been an institution in Bray for as long as many of the town’s library users can remember.
Last Saturday, he was inundated with cards, gifts and well wishes as he worked his last day. From morning to evening, visitors wore a path through the Eglinton Road doors to shake hands with the Co Clare man who found his place in Bray.
A massive outpouring of warmth for the beloved librarian came from cabinet ministers and celebrities, small children and elderly members, exam students, colleagues past and present, and book lovers from all walks of life. The phrase on everyone’s lips has been ‘ the library won’t be the same without him’.
‘It’s an extraordinary thing that people responded in such numbers,’ said an overwhelmed Michael. Not so extraordinary, really, given his more than 40 years as part of the very fabric of the place.
In 1974, bookish Michael Kelleher had left University College Galway early. ‘Maybe I was young, or ill-disciplined,’ he said.
He was looking for a job, and spotted library positions advertised in the newspapers, one in Kildare, the other in Bray.
He came to Bray for an interview the weekend President Childers died. It was a Friday in the middle of November. He met head librarian Eileen Murray, who saw that Michael was the right man for the job, and in February 1975, he started.
‘Eileen was very tolerant and a great librarian,’ said Michael. She was one of those to visit him in the past week, and congratulate him on his retirement.
He was living in Ranelagh at first, and after the occasional missed bus, Eileen persuaded him to move out to Bray.
‘It has always been an interesting place to work,’ said Michael, whose fondness for the work extends to the building, the books and the people. ‘It’s a fine structure, and self-contained with materials for adults, children, local history and reference.’
He has seen changes and developments, with improvements in 1988 and 2016, and computerisation of the catalogue from 1991.
The service has moved with the digital revolution, which hasn’t appeared to put a dent in membership or love of the printed word. ‘ Our footfall is higher than every,’ he said.
Bray Library has stood at Eglinton Road in the town’s centre since 1910 and remains a focal point.
The most recent refurbishment included what Michael thought was a very generous allocation for studying, and he mentioned that to county librarian Brendan Martin.
‘ The student area is a very important part of that library,’ Brendan replied.
Generations of Junior Cert and Leaving Cert students will testify to the invaluable help and encouragement they got in Bray, and in particular from Mick, during their studies.
Nothing would be beyond his ken, but history loomed large and is of particular interest to Michael.
‘ The variety of material is quite astonishing,’ said Mick, who continues to devour books and strive to learn even more. A legend that he is banned from pub quizzes is something he is reluctant to dispel, although anyone pitted against him would be glad if it turned out to be true.
He has not, however, read every book in the library, despite local myth, but he does know where to find them.
‘A friendly face is one of the most important things for librarians. I generally try to show that, and sometimes remind myself that if I’m having a bad day, it’s not the public’s fault.’
No borrower ever came and went without that friendly face, a chat about the books crossing the desk, reassurance for a child who may be a little late returning items, or invaluable advice for a research project.
‘If you’re working in an environment you enjoy and like, working in the area of books, it’s easily done,’ said Michael.
‘I like the world of books. My reading is good and wide. I like old, antiquarian books, dipping in and out of stock and so on.’
And now, as a member of the library, his passion for the written word continues. He is a member of a book club or two, and can hardly get in his own front door for books.
‘ They are part of my hinterland,’ he said.
The library, to which he will return as a member of the public, and all libraries, are ‘open, non-judgemental and democratic’, he said.
‘ They have a significant role in the community.’
He is always particularly pleased to see the use of the service by people who have relocated to Ireland from different countries.
‘Libraries are community hubs, sometimes places of shelter which are cool in the winter and warm in the summer,’ he said.
The reaction of the public to Michael’s retirement is something he has, very humbly, found
I PLAN TO ENJOY THE SCENERY OF BRAY AND PERHAPS CARRY OUT SOME RESEARCH, GET ENGAGED IN THE COMMUNITY AND DO SOME OF THE THINGS I HAVE SEE OTHER PEOPLE DO OVER THE YEARS
uplifting and life-enhancing.
‘It’s made me feel like I might have done a little bit, and it points out to me the importance of the library service in the community, and the importance of human contact. The resources are there and they have to be maintained.’
Michael also paid deep tribute to his colleagues past and present. ‘I couldn’t have worked with a finer collection of colleagues,’ he said. ‘We always had cordial and friendly relations all through the years.’
‘I plan now to enjoy the scenery of Bray, and perhaps carry out some local research and history projects, get engaged in the community and do some of the things myself I have seen other people do over the years.’ He may travel a little in Ireland, and will certainly enjoy his extensive collection of vinyl records, and everything the library has to offer.
‘I’m retiring from the world of books, yet still remain in the world of books; I’m retiring from a large community yet remain linked to that community.’