Fingal Community Gaming
Fingal Community Gaming was established in 2023 with funding and support from the Chief Executive Innovation fund. The initiative focuses on table-top gaming events provided through Fingal Libraries targeted at children and young adults. Fingal Community Gaming is led by Librarian Marc McCluskey, supported by library assistants Esther Jordan, Megan Davidson, Hayley Douglas, and Tighearnan Noonan.
Fingal Community Gaming – What we’ve been up to
We are Fingal Community Gaming, a team of staff members in Fingal Libraries who organise and facilitate a range of Dungeons and Dragons events for young people in libraries all across the county. There is a massive interest in playing D&D, thanks to the TV phenomenon Stranger Things, the Dungeons and Dragons movie, and video games like Baldur’s Gate III.
D&D is an immersive roleplaying game where players follow the guidance of a ‘Dungeon Master’ (the game runner). The players create unique characters to play through a fantasy style adventure. Creativity, problem-solving, teamwork and ingenuity are core components in most D&D campaigns, and the game truly only has much limitation as the collective imaginations of the players. However, D&D has a complex rule system that can present a steep learning curve for new players, and that’s why we started Fingal Community Gaming, to provide a pathway for young people to get started playing the game.
Here’s an update on what we have been up to recently, and some plans we have for the future!
Cruinniú na nÓg June 15th, 2024 – A Fantasy Mapmaking workshop in Blanchardstown Library
Esther and Hayley in Blanchardstown Library ran a fantasy themed mapmaking workshop for Cruinniú na nÓg, Ireland’s annual day of celebrating creativity for everyone aged under 18. The workshop was fully booked, and all the participants designed incredible maps chock full of imagination and colour. The event was a huge success, and we hope to run more like it in the future!
Marc McCluskey on how Fingal Community Gaming has been going in Swords Library
I’ve been running DnD in Fingal Libraries since 2019 and my favourite part is the general sense of craziness that players have in the adventures. They always gravitate towards the least sensible & most chaotic course of action, whether they are children, young adults, or grown-ups.
I have two regular groups in Swords Library, who have all played together in long-running campaigns. When we started, many of them didn’t know their armour class from their saving throws but now, most of them know the rules better than I do.
The young adult group recently started a new quest to steal a magical portrait from a thieves' guild headquarters. In typical DnD fashion, they need the portrait to get the reward, to buy the diamonds that are required to resurrect their dead pilot, who will aid them on their interstellar quest to save their home planet from destruction at the hands of the Astral Elves. It's all very straightforward when you see it in black and white
UPCOMING – Figure painting workshop in Fingal Makerspace Blanchardstown
Tighearnan Noonan has organised a unique workshop designed to introduce young people to the craft of miniature painting. The event is in collaboration with the team from the annual tabletop gaming convention, Gaelcon! Here’s what Tighearnan had to say about it.
“Have you ever wanted to lead your armies into battle or guide them to defend Helm’s Deep. But how can you tell who is ally and foe?
Blanchardstown Library will be running a Miniature Painting workshop that will show you the basics of painting your loyal troops and how to make their colours pop out from the battlefield. The workshop will teach you how to base coat, layer to make details pop and shading to give your characters more depth.”
Donabate Library
Peer-led Summer Club Blanchardstown Library
D&D Summer Clubs are in full swing in Blanchardstown Library, with 2 of our 3 sessions off to a flying start. We have been adventuring in the Spelljammer world and the mix of space themes with traditional D&D has been great fun for facilitators and players alike. The Summer Clubs are special as we run four tables concurrently and this allows peer-led gaming in the library, giving our regular players a chance to DM a campaign (with a little bit of guidance from our seasoned DMs Esther and Hayley). Hayley and Tighearnan had great fun with the D&D newbies, and Esther commanded the more experienced players on another table. The Summer Clubs are incredibly popular, and we love running this style of events!
Contact us:
Get in touch with the Fingal Community Gaming team and ask to join our mailing list to hear about upcoming events across the Fingal Library Network!
Blanchardstown
Donabate
Swords