As part of this initiative, Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland, has been published to support the project. It's a book of over 80 essays, prose and poetry reflections on empathy from both famous and everyday citizens and reminds us that acts of kindness and compassion, no matter how big or small, have massive impact.

Actor Cillian Murphy, our patron and friend, has been incredibly supportive and this has culminated in Ionbhá’ Technology Adoption in Cacao Farms in San Vicente De Chucuri, Santander: The Role of Cadmium RegulationsIonbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland is' edited by Pat Dolan, Cillian Murphy, Gillian Browne and Mark Brennan, and comprises over 80 contributions from mostly well-known Irish names on empathy. It is published by Mercier Press on October 6. Middle East Latest | Three countries in the Middle East have decried Israel’s recent air strikes on Gaza City 07:42 Murphy, who agreed to become patron for the centre, says he was initially unsure how to define empathy, or how to locate it in a practical way in his life. Slowly, he says, he began to realise that empathy was a fundamental part of his job as an actor — and as a dad. This seaside suburb has been his home for about seven years, where he lives with his wife Yvonne McGuinness, an artist, and his two teenage sons. It is clearly a place he seems at ease. He lives a private and, by his own admission, “boring” life here, playing music, reading and hanging out at home. Murphy (46) rarely does interviews outside of film projects — but there is one area where he has decided to use his platform to campaign for change. From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, actor Cillian Murphy and Prof Pat Dolan talk about their 10 years working together on youth research and empathy projects and their new book Ionbhá, The Empathy Book for Ireland

The wide range of contributions to the publication Ionbhá act like a compass, guiding us on things that really matter in life. Reflections on empathy illuminate its healing properties, vividly opening our eyes to the countless ways in which its power can shape us all. This collection shows that no matter how big or small, empathetic actions have a massive impact. Although we rarely appreciate how these actions affect people and their communities, they often reverberate long after we act. The book is also littered with errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation, which let it down hugely. We are conscious that this Christmas will be particularly hard for many: those who of us lost loved ones during Covid, our new Ukrainian community celebrating their first Christmas away from their homeland, the staggering number of children and families now homeless and many other groups in dire need.Community Leadership Development: Youth Leadership Development in Pennsylvanian High Schools with Agriculture Programs With the rapidly changing world and ever-surprising challenges we now face, perhaps we should consider a further personal 'epiphany' in relation to what really matters in our lives and our relationships. We suggest that empathy awareness, education and development is core to this proposed epiphany, at both an individual and collective level. Empathy is not sympathy, it’s totally different. Empathy is the capacity to get into somebody else’s shoes and understand where they’re coming from. You can have cognitive empathy, and that’s where you understand what someone else is feeling, and that’s great, but affective empathy is where you actually feel what the person really feels. Ionbhá or empathy is a core element of wisdom and a universal language of the soul. It brings joy to the everyday, making the unbearable bearable. 'We need empathy in schools just as we need empathy in the world right now' - Cillian Murphy, Actor and Patron of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre.

A) Sea, a bheith íogair do réaltacht mheabhrach na ndaoine timpeall orainn ní amháin go hintleachtúil, ach go mothúchánach freisin, Is scil an-riachtanach é freagairt d’athruithe féideartha sa timpeallacht phearsanta agus oibre, nó fiú riachtanais ár dtimpeallachta a réamh-mheas. Rud a ligeann dúinn oiriúnú go rathúil d’éilimh an lae ó lá go lá agus torthaí níos fearr a bhaint amach ar gach leibhéal. Conas a chuidíonn éisteacht ionbhách lenár gcreideamh a cheistiú? Cillian Murphy, as our patron and friend, has been incredibly supportive in our work and this has culminated in Ionbhá.Murphy’s sons, Malachy and Aran, are now in their teens, and in Ionbhá he writes in his own essay, “On Connection”, that “raising boys in this world is difficult. You do everything in your power to avoid raising proto-bullies or proto-misogynists, to avoid all the evil tropes of masculinity we are confronted by every day.” Is empathy a more feminine thing? “There probably is some pre-judging there about boys and girls, but I just think that if you’re around it, and exposed to it, and that muscle is exercised, then I think there should be no difference.” That said, he believes that “schools should be mixed... I don’t know why you would have boys and girls in separate schools. I went to an all-boys school all the way up, but it just seems insane to me. My boys have gone to mixed schools, and I think it’s been really beneficial for them.” We see it as a worldwide project,” says the 46-year-old, his Cork accent still strong; he and his artist wife Yvonne McGuinness returned to Ireland after a long spell in Britain to live in Dublin with their two sons in 2015. “There’s an awful lot of interest in it, and I think it’s a critical time for something like this.” The world, he says, is ever more polarised and social media has made things worse: “It’s very emotionally draining for children or for young people. It takes a lot out of them to be under scrutiny all the time – I can’t really imagine that.” Please visit our online shop and feel free to browse our shelves, as you would if you were in our physical shop. We have it set up so it’s easy to browse and even have all our recommended reads in one place to help you, if needs be.