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Aoife Carroll children's book ‘Just Because’ was inspired by Aoife’s disabled nephew Cian and aims to show children that having a disability doesn’t define the person who has it. Aoife Carroll children's book ‘Just Because’ was inspired by Aoife’s disabled nephew Cian and aims to show children that having a disability doesn’t define the person who has it.

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Aoife Carroll children’s book ‘Just Because’ increases disability awareness amongst kids

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Aoife Carroll children’s book ‘Just Because’ was inspired by Aoife’s disabled nephew Cian and aims to show children that having a disability doesn’t define the person who has it.

Aoife Carroll children’s book ‘Just Because’ increases disability awareness amongst kids

By I Love Limerick Correspondent Tara Byrne

Aoife graduated from Limerick Institute of Technology in 2017 with a degree in Marketing and Management

Aoife graduated from Limerick Institute of Technology in 2017 with a degree in Marketing and Management


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A new educational children’s book titled ‘Just Because’ has just been published by author Aoife Carroll and increases disability awareness amongst children. She wrote and illustrated the book herself.

Aoife graduated from Limerick Institute of Technology in 2017 with a degree in Marketing and Management. She always wanted to combine her degree with her passion for illustration. She said, “At first I didn’t know how to go about it or even have the confidence to do so, but then I found the Art, Craft and Design course through Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board and since then I have never looked back. Both the staff and students at the Kilmallock road campus helped me to find confidence in myself as an artist and now I look forward to starting a career as an artist”.

The story is inspired by Aoife’s disabled nephew Cian and aims to show children that having a disability doesn’t define the person who has it. Aoife said, “The book is about my nephew Cian and the things he can and can’t do. It is a combination of both illustrations and photographs of Cian and a little story to go with it. The illustrations represent the things he can’t do and the photographs show that it doesn’t mean that there aren’t alternative options for him”.

“He is the most lovable little boy and I wanted to share his story in the hope that children of his age and younger will have more of an understanding of other children like Cian. Just because someone has a disability, it doesn’t mean that the disability should define the person. Cian loves attention and loves to play, but he can’t play or understand play the way other nine-year-olds can. I feel it is important for children to be able to interact with kids like Cian and to feel comfortable doing so. My hope is that this book will give children a better understanding of how there is always a way to interact with other children. You just need to be willing to learn and find that way,” she added.

Aoife describes writing and illustrating this book as an experience that was beyond exciting. She said, “I loved every second of it. It was something that I fell in love with from the beginning and something that I would love to keep doing. Illustrating is a real passion of mine and I can’t wait to get started on my next project”.

If you would like to buy a copy of ‘Just Because’ you can contact Aoife through her Instagram page @foxglovegroveart.

Aoife is currently finishing up the Art Craft Design Course at the Further Education and Training Centre, Kilmallock Road Campus. It was here where she gained a lot of the skills required for her book illustration through the use of a full adobe design suite and lots of drawing practice.

You can apply for the course by applying on the website or email [email protected]

For more information about the Art Craft Design Course go HERE 

For more stories about Further Education and Training go HERE

Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.