Daily Archives: April 5, 2025

Former Kildare teacher writes new book for teenagers

Patrick Devaney, a writer from Virginia, County Cavan, with deep Leitrim roots, has spent years crafting engaging stories for young readers.
Devaney is a former Math and English teacher in Naas Vocational School and later at Maynooth Post Primary.
The married father of one, who has written poems about Kildare in the past, retired from teaching in 2002.
Devaney has written numerous books for teenagers, blending adventure, friendship, and personal growth. His latest novel, The Orion Disc, is no exception—a captivating tale of magic, resilience, and the power of standing up for oneself.
The novel follows Mickser, a timid teenager who struggles with relentless school bullies. His life takes an unexpected turn when his grandfather gives him an ancient disc, a mystical artifact containing spells designed to subtly undermine troublemakers. As Mickser begins to harness its power, he embarks on a daring journey with his granddad to Hag’s Mountain to obtain the disc’s most powerful enchantment—the ‘Fire Spell.’
“It’s a mixture of magic and realism. When it’s dealing with the school situation, it’s very realistic,” says Devaney, whose own childhood experiences and teaching background heavily influence his writing.
“I attended the Presentation Brothers Primary School in Carrick in 1947 or 1948,” he recalls. “At that time, John McGahern was attending the Brothers’ secondary school, and I saw him outside the school on a few occasions.”
His ties to Carrick-on-Shannon remain a significant part of his memories. “I lived with the Heerins in their home on the Leitrim Road. I have happy memories of my year in Carrick, and Brother Bernard in the primary school was a wonderful teacher.”
Beyond the classroom, Devaney’s time in Carrick was shaped by friendships and the town’s sporting traditions. “Two very good friends from Summerhill in Carrick were Conor and Carmel Rafter. Conor competed in the annual regatta, and Carmel was an excellent swimmer. During my stay in New York from 1958 to 1969, I met Conor on a number of occasions.”
These personal experiences subtly inform The Orion Disc, lending authenticity to Mickser’s journey. Alongside his newfound magical abilities, Mickser finds an ally in Yaku, a courageous African boy, and a growing connection with his classmate, Cynthie. While the novel is infused with fantasy, it also explores the universal challenges of adolescence—navigating friendships, overcoming fears, and finding self-confidence.
Having written numerous books for teenagers, Devaney continues to inspire young readers with stories that reflect real-life struggles and triumphs. Now retired and living in Virginia, County Cavan, with his wife of 53 years, Cheryl, he remains dedicated to storytelling. The Orion Disc is available now on Kindle and is a must-read for anyone who enjoys adventure, personal growth, and the magic of self-belief.
READ MORE David McSavage brings new stand-up show to Leitrim

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

Provision of books to 100pc school children ordered

LAHORE – The School Education Department (SED) has asked school heads to provide books to 100 per cent students and submit records of distribution of free textbooks. The SED also sought a data regarding books provided to the headmasters concerned; how many children were provided with new books, and how many old books were distributed from the book bank. The School Education Department also ordered to upload data to the online app. The SED sources told APP that provision of books to 100 per cent children should be ensured. School heads would download the app from Google and upload the data of books. Action would be taken against heads who would not provide data within a week. It should be noted that the new session in schools would start from April 7, 2025.

Black Journos’ Books on Naval Library’s ‘No’ List

Can’t Bury the Truth, Authors Say in Response

Homepage photo credit: Black Enterprise

Somerset author releases new Doctor Who spin-off book

Yeovil based author Cherry Cobb is a prolific writer of children’s books and has just released two exciting new time travelling adventures. Cherry has just published the sequel to her first book Will’s War , it is called Will’s War: A Glitch in Time and she has also released a new adventure in the Doctor…

‘Ghosts of Cumbria’ book published by YouTube star and paranormal investigator

Louis Dee of Workington runs a YouTube channel where he and his team visit haunted locations across the world. 

His adventures have gained some interest online, and his viewers regularly tune in to see if he discovers anything paranormal in the places he visits. 

Louis’s love of all things macabre has inspired him to write three books. 

The first book, The Ward, was released last summer and tells the fictional story of three young people who start a paranormal You Tube channel. 

The trio visits an abandoned asylum to create their latest video, where they are tormented by the spirit of Dr Silas Thorne. 

The book is inspired by Louis’s adventures exploring abandoned buildings. 

It was a top seller in the horror genre on Amazon, and he followed the book up with a sequel of the same trio travelling the world. 

This year, he has released his third book, titled Ghosts of Cumbria. 

Which is a nonfiction book exploring some of the dark history of Cumbria. 

Mr Dee said: “After writing my first book and publishing it through Amazon and Google, ‘The Ward’ last year I was surprised when it reached best seller in the horror genre on Amazon after the first two weeks, this made me write a second book where the lead characters went on to travel the world through big TV companies doing the most haunted locations in the world.

“This book was also successful. After a long year of me traveling and filming Paranornal investigations for my YouTube channel Paranormal Origins I wanted something that holds the historical value of the past and reporting on paranornal events that have happened there for example eye witness reports and peoples experiences at all these locations.”

UC Books to Prisoners holds book sale, raising money to ship books to Illinois prisons

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) — “I felt like this was something that I could do personally to make a difference,” Will Bartee said.Bartee is a senior at The University of Illinois. When he isn’t studying biology, you can find him volunteering with the UC Books to Prisoners.Saturday afternoon, Bartee and other volunteers helped run the bi-annual Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners Benefit Sale. “We get donations from everywhere!” shared Rachel Rasmussen, Organizer of the event. “We get them from schools, individuals, retiring professors…” she added.These gently used books are for Illinois prisons. “It just seems imperative to take all these used books that we have, and get them into the hands of the prisoners who want to read them!” Rasmussen said.This special book sale features thousands of books, from poetry, to education, to foreign languages. These shelves are filled with books that prisons don’t need, have duplicates of, or aren’t in the best condition. Each hardcover is marked at $2, and paperbacks are $1. With the money raised from the book sale, funds go towards shipping the books to Illinois prisons. Since beginning this project just over 20 years ago, the UC Books to Prisoners organization has shipped books to roughly 24,000 incarcerated individuals. “Over 95% of incarcerated people are coming home someday to their community…” Rasmussen explained. Who do we want to come home? Do we want people that just felt resentment because they’re bored to death? Or do we want people to have a chance to educate themselves? I think all of us, as citizens, can think about that.”The next sale will be held on November 1st at the Independent Media Center in Urbana.Copyright 2025. WAND TV. All rights reserved.