Major boost for two Mayo independent book stores

Books at One have announced 23 funding recipients of independently run bookstores for the second year of its Community Prize Fund initiative.

The Mayo stores included in the funding are Castle Books (Castlebar) and Pangur Bán Bookshop (Ballina).

Each selected store will receive a grant of up to €5,000 in support of developing new and engaging activities for the benefit of their local community.

This year’s recipients will see 23 stores from 14 counties, spread across the island of Ireland.

Among the entries and successful applicants are recently opened stores as well as those who also received funding in 2025, allowing them to expand and grow on last year’s activity, or embark on a new creative venture.

The fund was created in 2025 for Books at One via The One Foundation as a new avenue of support for both independent stores and their surrounding communities.

The aim was to further strengthen the importance of independent bookstores as creative venues for community engagement and connection across the country.

Now in its second year, the fund builds on a strong first outing. Last summer, 21 independent bookshops received grants to deliver projects that reimagined their stores as unique cultural and social places in their towns and cities.

From storytelling events, creative workshops and youth programmes, The Community Prize Fund helped support a wide variety of different projects, responding to the unique needs of each bookstore’s local community.