We’re all familiar with the concept of a library where we go to borrow books. But what about toys? It’s a question that popped into the mind of Jill Kennon back in 2019. She was a regular visitor to her local library with her eldest daughter.
“I was pregnant with my second child, and I was a regular visitor to the book library. I still am. They had toys in the library, but you couldn’t borrow them. You could take books home, but you couldn’t take toys home.
“We got thinking, why can’t you borrow the toys? I went home and did some research and found out that toy libraries are a thing everywhere else in the world, just not here in Ireland.”
And so, Jill decided to start one herself. Carrickmacross Toy Library in Co Monaghan opened in September 2020. It was initially a ‘click and collect’ service on Friday mornings based in Carrickmacross Workhouse.
The team of volunteers quickly outgrew their smaller premises, and in 2023, the toy library moved to Carrickmacross Shopping Centre. Back in 2020, Carrickmacross Toy Library was Ireland’s first and only toy library.
Now there are four other toy libraries across the country in Banbridge, Co Down; Derry; Rosses Point, Co Sligo; and Clonmel, Co Tipperary.
The way it works in Carrickmacross is that members of the toy library can borrow up to four toys at a time for three weeks – after which period they can either renew their toys or return them and swap for new ones. An annual membership costs €35, a six-month membership costs €20 and a quarterly membership costs €12, explains Jill.
There are 1,000 toys to choose from and over 200 registered members in the toy library. “Most of our collection is still donations or stuff we find in charity shops,” Jill says. “We do purchase toys as well, because there’s certain toys that people just wouldn’t give away.”
An obvious reason that draws more and more families through the doors of the toy library is money. Toys are expensive, and borrowing them saves people the expense of buying brand new.
And nothing is more frustrating for parents than spending €50 on a new toy that is played with a grand total of twice before their baby loses interest.
“Think about the money people spend at Christmas and then at the end of January, the child has lost interest,” says Jill.
“There are certain people that think it’s a resource for people that can’t afford to buy toys. It isn’t the case, because we have gorgeous toys here and we’re for everybody. I think people are definitely seeing the benefits once they become aware of us, and when they join, they realise there are serious savings to be made.
Jill Kennon and her daughter, Francesca enjoying their time at the Carrickmacross Toy Library. Jill is the CEO and co-founder of the facility. \ Lorraine Teevan
“A big thing as well is toy rotation,” Jill continues. “The idea is that the more toys that the child has, the less the quality of play, because they’re overwhelmed. They have too much choice.
“Whereas if you take a toy away and the child hasn’t seen it, and then you reintroduce it a few weeks or a few months later, it’s like a new toy. It’s like they’re seeing it for the first time,” says Jill.
This is where space in the home also becomes a factor. Not every household has room for dozens of toys, and borrowing from a toy library means children can enjoy new ones – without the fear for parents of having to navigate rows of discarded toys strewn from room to room.
It is the sustainability of toy libraries that is perhaps the most compelling argument of all for Jill, and one of the main reasons why she kickstarted Carrickmacross Toy Library. Every year, the library calculates its environmental savings based on the number of loans facilitated. In 2024, Carrickmacross Toy Library issued 1,764 loans, a 12% year-on-year increase, with an estimated 0.9 tonnes of plastic saved from landfill as a result.
“We’re now able to drill down even further,” adds Jill, “because each toy now has a carbon calculation attached to it. With each particular loan, you can work out the amount of carbon by borrowing instead of buying the toy. For example, the Cozy Coupe car [plastic red and yellow ride-on cars, pictured above in the main photo] saves 7.8 kg of carbon per loan.”
Finally, Jill argues that toy libraries are great for teaching how to share and look after things well. And isn’t sharing the number one lesson that parents try to teach their kids?
“By telling children ‘this doesn’t belong to us, we’re going to take really good care of it, and then it’s time to give it back for someone else to enjoy, but we can take it out again in a few weeks’ time, they learn you don’t have to own everything.
“My daughters are six and eight-years-old now, but they still get a lot of value out of the toy library. They get really excited when they come in,” she says.
Jill Kennon CEO; co-founder, Martin Troy, assistant toy librarian; Laura McCormac, toy librarian of Carrickmacross Toy Library, Co Monaghan. \ Lorraine Teevan
Other services
Carrickmacross Toy Library operates on a not-for-profit basis and is a registered charity. It is run by six volunteers, including Jill, whose is a freelance PR and marketing consultant in her day job. As we approach 2026, Jill is excited about the growth of the toy library and the expansion of services.
“We’ve recently secured a corporate sponsorship to set up a school workshop,” she tells Irish Country Living. “We will go into schools locally and teach children about the life cycle of a toy. It’s fun, it’s their favourite thing for a while, but then what happens when they tire of it, or when it gets broken?”
Carrickmacross Toy Library is also digitised, Jill explains. “We have our website where you can go in and browse our toys. You can reserve your toy, send us an email or book on the system. We’ll have them ready for you to collect.”
If you drop by in-person, you can avail of ‘stay and play’ at the toy library. This is where people can come in and play with the toys, and then children can pick out which ones they like. “It’s a way for parents to socialise as well,” Jill explains. “On a wet day, miserable day, it’s a great thing to do that doesn’t depend on the weather.”
The library offers party rentals (where families can rent tableware, soft play sets and toys for large groups) along with gift vouchers, where you can purchase a membership.
Pop-up events, including a pre-loved children’s clothes swap and they have a cloth nappy bank where parents can learn to use reusable nappies and try them out, are also hosted by the library.
“We offer a welcoming, supportive, and non-judgemental space where families can experience the joy of play without the pressure to constantly buy more,” Jill concludes. “We show that quality time spent together is far more valuable than accumulating things that are costly – both financially and environmentally – and so often quickly outgrown.”
Carrickmacross has a free guide on ‘How to Start a Toy Library’ see cmxtoylibrary.ie. Find your nearest toy libraries at toylibrariesireland.org/find-my-nearest-toy-library.
We’re all familiar with the concept of a library where we go to borrow books. But what about toys? It’s a question that popped into the mind of Jill Kennon back in 2019. She was a regular visitor to her local library with her eldest daughter.
“I was pregnant with my second child, and I was a regular visitor to the book library. I still am. They had toys in the library, but you couldn’t borrow them. You could take books home, but you couldn’t take toys home.
“We got thinking, why can’t you borrow the toys? I went home and did some research and found out that toy libraries are a thing everywhere else in the world, just not here in Ireland.”
And so, Jill decided to start one herself. Carrickmacross Toy Library in Co Monaghan opened in September 2020. It was initially a ‘click and collect’ service on Friday mornings based in Carrickmacross Workhouse.
The team of volunteers quickly outgrew their smaller premises, and in 2023, the toy library moved to Carrickmacross Shopping Centre. Back in 2020, Carrickmacross Toy Library was Ireland’s first and only toy library.
Now there are four other toy libraries across the country in Banbridge, Co Down; Derry; Rosses Point, Co Sligo; and Clonmel, Co Tipperary.
The way it works in Carrickmacross is that members of the toy library can borrow up to four toys at a time for three weeks – after which period they can either renew their toys or return them and swap for new ones. An annual membership costs €35, a six-month membership costs €20 and a quarterly membership costs €12, explains Jill.
There are 1,000 toys to choose from and over 200 registered members in the toy library. “Most of our collection is still donations or stuff we find in charity shops,” Jill says. “We do purchase toys as well, because there’s certain toys that people just wouldn’t give away.”
An obvious reason that draws more and more families through the doors of the toy library is money. Toys are expensive, and borrowing them saves people the expense of buying brand new.
And nothing is more frustrating for parents than spending €50 on a new toy that is played with a grand total of twice before their baby loses interest.
“Think about the money people spend at Christmas and then at the end of January, the child has lost interest,” says Jill.
“There are certain people that think it’s a resource for people that can’t afford to buy toys. It isn’t the case, because we have gorgeous toys here and we’re for everybody. I think people are definitely seeing the benefits once they become aware of us, and when they join, they realise there are serious savings to be made.
Jill Kennon and her daughter, Francesca enjoying their time at the Carrickmacross Toy Library. Jill is the CEO and co-founder of the facility. \ Lorraine Teevan
“A big thing as well is toy rotation,” Jill continues. “The idea is that the more toys that the child has, the less the quality of play, because they’re overwhelmed. They have too much choice.
“Whereas if you take a toy away and the child hasn’t seen it, and then you reintroduce it a few weeks or a few months later, it’s like a new toy. It’s like they’re seeing it for the first time,” says Jill.
This is where space in the home also becomes a factor. Not every household has room for dozens of toys, and borrowing from a toy library means children can enjoy new ones – without the fear for parents of having to navigate rows of discarded toys strewn from room to room.
It is the sustainability of toy libraries that is perhaps the most compelling argument of all for Jill, and one of the main reasons why she kickstarted Carrickmacross Toy Library. Every year, the library calculates its environmental savings based on the number of loans facilitated. In 2024, Carrickmacross Toy Library issued 1,764 loans, a 12% year-on-year increase, with an estimated 0.9 tonnes of plastic saved from landfill as a result.
“We’re now able to drill down even further,” adds Jill, “because each toy now has a carbon calculation attached to it. With each particular loan, you can work out the amount of carbon by borrowing instead of buying the toy. For example, the Cozy Coupe car [plastic red and yellow ride-on cars, pictured above in the main photo] saves 7.8 kg of carbon per loan.”
Finally, Jill argues that toy libraries are great for teaching how to share and look after things well. And isn’t sharing the number one lesson that parents try to teach their kids?
“By telling children ‘this doesn’t belong to us, we’re going to take really good care of it, and then it’s time to give it back for someone else to enjoy, but we can take it out again in a few weeks’ time, they learn you don’t have to own everything.
“My daughters are six and eight-years-old now, but they still get a lot of value out of the toy library. They get really excited when they come in,” she says.
Jill Kennon CEO; co-founder, Martin Troy, assistant toy librarian; Laura McCormac, toy librarian of Carrickmacross Toy Library, Co Monaghan. \ Lorraine Teevan
Other services
Carrickmacross Toy Library operates on a not-for-profit basis and is a registered charity. It is run by six volunteers, including Jill, whose is a freelance PR and marketing consultant in her day job. As we approach 2026, Jill is excited about the growth of the toy library and the expansion of services.
“We’ve recently secured a corporate sponsorship to set up a school workshop,” she tells Irish Country Living. “We will go into schools locally and teach children about the life cycle of a toy. It’s fun, it’s their favourite thing for a while, but then what happens when they tire of it, or when it gets broken?”
Carrickmacross Toy Library is also digitised, Jill explains. “We have our website where you can go in and browse our toys. You can reserve your toy, send us an email or book on the system. We’ll have them ready for you to collect.”
If you drop by in-person, you can avail of ‘stay and play’ at the toy library. This is where people can come in and play with the toys, and then children can pick out which ones they like. “It’s a way for parents to socialise as well,” Jill explains. “On a wet day, miserable day, it’s a great thing to do that doesn’t depend on the weather.”
The library offers party rentals (where families can rent tableware, soft play sets and toys for large groups) along with gift vouchers, where you can purchase a membership.
Pop-up events, including a pre-loved children’s clothes swap and they have a cloth nappy bank where parents can learn to use reusable nappies and try them out, are also hosted by the library.
“We offer a welcoming, supportive, and non-judgemental space where families can experience the joy of play without the pressure to constantly buy more,” Jill concludes. “We show that quality time spent together is far more valuable than accumulating things that are costly – both financially and environmentally – and so often quickly outgrown.”
Carrickmacross has a free guide on ‘How to Start a Toy Library’ see cmxtoylibrary.ie. Find your nearest toy libraries at toylibrariesireland.org/find-my-nearest-toy-library.
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