Portarlington Library Adult Book Club

Portarlington Library’s Adult Book Club meets on the last Tuesday morning of every month, giving readers in the town a standing daytime slot to work through a chosen title together. The next meeting falls on 25 August 2026. It is a straightforward monthly discussion group, one of a handful of standing adult and children’s clubs the library runs through the month.

What to expect

The club reads one book a month, chosen in advance so members can finish it before the meeting, then spends the morning discussing plot, character and reaction over tea and coffee in the library’s meeting space. There is no fee and no requirement to have finished the book to sit in, though the discussion works best for members who have. Copies of the chosen title are generally available to borrow from the library in the weeks before each meeting, which makes it easy to join partway through the reading year. The morning slot sets it apart from the evening book clubs some other Laois libraries run, and it suits readers who prefer a daytime meeting over an after-work one. It sits alongside a busy weekly programme at Portarlington Library that includes a knitting group, a puzzle club and a baby book club, part of a countywide push to keep library branches functioning as genuine community meeting places through the week rather than only spaces for browsing shelves.

Getting there

Portarlington Library is at 2 Main Street, in the Cooltederry area of the town centre, a short walk from Portarlington train station on the Dublin-Portlaoise-Limerick line.

While you’re in Portarlington

The town’s Huguenot heritage and canal-side walks along the Barrow are close by. There is more to see in Portarlington and across Co. Laois.

Good to know

• Date: last Tuesday of the month, next 25 August 2026
• Time: 11:00am
• Venue: Portarlington Library, 2 Main Street, Portarlington, Co. Laois
• Price: free, new members welcome
• Contact: 057 8643751 or portarlingtonlibrary@laoiscoco.ie