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community · Saturday 8 August 2026 · 11:00am 
Ciorcal Comhra at Abbeyleix Library
At Abbeyleix Library · Main Street, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois
At Abbeyleix Library · Main Street, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois
Abbeyleix Library runs a Ciorcal Comhra, an informal Irish-language conversation circle, every Saturday morning, giving speakers of every level a regular chance to use their Irish outside the classroom. The next session falls on 8 August 2026. Ciorcal comhra groups have spread across public libraries in Ireland in recent years as a low-pressure way to keep adult Irish speakers talking, and Abbeyleix’s version sits alongside a busy Saturday morning at the library that also includes a Junior Chess Club. There is no charge and no requirement to be fluent.
The format is conversation rather than instruction, participants sit together and talk in Irish about whatever comes up, with more confident speakers helping those who are rustier or still learning. It suits people who studied Irish at school and want to use it again as much as it suits fluent speakers looking for company. There is no teacher and no lesson plan, which keeps the pressure low compared with a formal class. It runs for about an hour each Saturday morning and fits into a wider push across Laois’s library branches, including Portlaoise, to run similar conversation circles on different days of the week, giving Irish speakers around the county more than one option if a particular time doesn’t suit.
Abbeyleix Library is on Main Street in the town centre, close to Market Square, with parking available on and around the main street.
Abbeyleix’s Georgian architecture and heritage bog gardens make it a pleasant town to spend the rest of a Saturday morning in. There is more to see in Abbeyleix and across Co. Laois.
Heading to Abbeyleix Library in Abbeyleix? Laois has plenty more to see. Read the Abbeyleix area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.