Note: This event is from a previous year.
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Join four remarkable storytellers for this special lunchtime treat. Enter worlds of mystery and wonder with haunted lakes, wolf-like creatures, merfolk and the Tuatha Dé Danann. We are a nation of storytellers, so curl up and enjoy listening to four of the very best as they weave their magic. A rare treat for all the family!
A live, interactive event, delivered digitally.
PJ Lynch was born in Belfast and over his career as a multi award-winning illustrator he has illustrated over twenty books, including modern editions of classics such as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. Recent titles include Once Upon a Place, which was compiled by Eoin Colfer when Laureate na nÓg, and The Boy who Fell off the Mayflower, the first book PJ both wrote and illustrated. His latest book is The Haunted Lake. PJ has been awarded the Christopher Medal three times, and he also won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal on two occasions, first for The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski, and again for When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest. He was appointed the fourth Laureate na nÓg in May 2016, and held the position until 2018.
Kieran Fanning is a primary school teacher who has written six novels for children. The Black Lotus, an action/adventure about time-travelling ninjas was published in the UK, the US and Germany, and was nominated for many awards. Irish Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends is his most recent book. It is a collection of retellings of some of Ireland’s oldest stories, from the myths of the Tuatha Dé Danann, to the legends of Cúchulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill, right up to more modern folk tales.
Marianne McShane grew up on the shores of Belfast Lough in Bangor, Co Down. As a child, she loved getting lost in the magical worlds of folktales. So it was no surprise that when she grew up she became a children’s librarian and a storyteller. When she discovered the story of Líban, she was inspired to write her first book, Rónán and the Mermaid, illustrated by Jordi Solano.
Lindsay J Sedgwick is an award-winning screenwriter and creator of the ground-breaking series Punky, the first mainstream animation series worldwide in which the central character has additional needs (Down’s syndrome). Lindsay has written for film and television and animation, games and apps. As well as delivering master classes and courses throughout Ireland for over two decades, she has worked with a wide range of production companies in Ireland and in the UK as screenwriter, creator and creative consultant. Her short film Barzakh tells the story of an Afghan youth arriving as a refugee into the direct provision system In Ireland. Wulfie: Stage Fright is her debut novel for children.
In famed author-illustrator P.J. Lynch’s gorgeous tale, he creates two worlds—underwater and above—to tell an epic and haunting love story. Jacob and his father are the only people who fish Lake Spetzia, which was formed when the river was dammed and their town was flooded. The villagers say the lake is haunted, but Jacob and his father don’t want to leave, because Jacob’s mother is buried in the cemetery below the water. As Jacob grows up, a village girl named Ellen falls in love with him, and he with her. But before they are married, Jacob disappears—lured underwater by the ghosts who inhabit the sunken village. Years go by, with Jacob held captive by the watery spirits and Ellen never giving up hope that she will find him, until a fateful night when Jacob sees the light of Ellen’s boat floating above. Can he break free and reach the surface? Masterful illustrations alive with achingly expressive characters and eerie underwater light bring readers into acclaimed creator P.J. Lynch’s rich world of love, loss, and hope.
A complete collection of much loved Irish fairy tales, myths and legends, bound into a beautiful new edition. Enjoy the rich mythical history of Ireland from the arrival of the Tuatha De Danann on the island and their great battles with the Fomorians right up to the modern day fairytales of Irish storytelling. Including the Ulster Cycle, and the Fenian Cycle, the book features heroes such as Cuchulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill, and many traditional favourites such as The Children of Lir.
An Irish storyteller revisits the little-known legend of the Mermaid Saint in a haunting, beautifully illustrated tale of kindness, music, and longing. Long ago, on the eastern coast of Ireland, a monk from the Abbey of Bangor was collecting driftwood along the wave-tossed shore when he found a boy washed up amid a circle of seals. At first the boy, wrapped in a shawl of woven seagrass, could barely move or speak. But when he regained his strength, he recalled being brought ashore by a lady with long golden hair who sang him to safety and gave him a silver ring. The monks knew the legend of a mermaid who had wandered the coast for three hundred years. Could it possibly have been her? Inspired by a story told in medieval chronicles of Irish history about a wondrous happening in the year 558, debut author Marianne McShane weaves a captivating tale, while Jordi Solano captures the legend’s spare but welcoming abbey on the rocky shore — a setting that makes you believe that if you listen hard enough, you too can hear the mermaid’s song.
Wulfie is just like a puppy – fluffy and adorable. But unlike a puppy, he talks. And he’s purple. His favourite food is smelly socks. He can be small as a snail or big as a bear. He’s sweet and loyal and he’s Libby’s new best friend. Libby longs to star in the school play, and with Wulfie’s help she just might get a chance to outshine her big bad brother, Rex.
Book your crew in for some wonder… And they’ll all read happily ever after!
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