I am delighted to give my time, and my memories of childhood holidays in Courtown, to support the great work done by the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), gallantly supported by An Post, in the launch of “Voices”: an anthology of simple but excellent stories for many of Ireland’s best-known writers, all of us corralled into shape by its editor, the renowned author Patricia Scanlan, who proudly hails from the same parish as myself as we are both Finglas natives. My late wife volunteered as a one-to-one literacy tutor in Ballymun. Therefore I know the dedicated work put in by such volunteers and also the stage fright and nerves that often needs to be overcome by the adults they worked with, who were starting out again on adventures with reading many years after leaving left school. “Voices” provides them with a series of short contemporary texts to act as stepping stones. It is a huge privilege for a writer to think that her or his story might be the first sustained piece of prose that someone who is the same age of themselves might read. Patricia has spent decades editing a series of short novellas by famous writers for just this purpose, in the acclaimed “Open Door” series published by New Island. It great to see her efforts, the efforts of New Island and the work of National Adult Literacy Agency continue with the release of his new anthology supported by An Post. Thanks also to the staff of Coolock Library where this film was made, and to my son for joyously getting married two years ago, because, if he had hadn’t, I would not finally have bought a suit that actually fits me and I’d still be borrowing clothes from my big brother, like I used to do back in our Courtown days.