Read the latest blog from celebrated illustrator and Children's Laureate PJ Lynch...
A very hectic month for me starts with a big laureate event at the Glór Theatre in Ennis, Co Clare. I am delighted that my pal (and ex-Laureate) Eoin Colfer, has agreed to join me for the event, and we turn it into a lads’ road-trip.
I would be nervous to be facing 500 roaring Banner county kids, but Eoin is super-cool about it all and puts me at my ease. He has the audience in fits of laughter in no time and I do my best to keep up by scribbling out a few drawings. Huge fun!
The next event for me is the presentation of prizes at the Sightsavers Junior Painter Awards. Dylan Williams (8), from Ennis National School in Co Clare, scoops the top award with his wonderful painting that shows a musical city of the future.
And then comes the day I have been looking forward to for months. The launch of Patrick And The President written by by Ryan Tubridy and illustrated by me. Yes, that Ryan Tubridy!
I had read Ryan’s very well-received book about President Kennedy's visit to Ireland in 1963, JFK in Ireland; Four Days That Changed A President, so I knew that he was an excellent writer. He revisited the subject with this story of a little boy named Patrick who is desperate to meet JFK when he visits Wexford. It was right up my street as a project, and I was thrilled to be asked to illustrate it. Like Ryan, I have a deep interest in Irish and American history and this is one important point when the two intersect. The beauty of Ryan’s story is that it views these epic events from a child’s point of view.
It was a lot of fun working with Ryan on the book, I even got him to model as a journalist who observes the scene when JFK meets his Irish cousins and when Patrick hopes to meet the President. His character appears on the back cover of the book so now Ryan is “the hack on the back.”
We have two launches in Dublin to get the book off to a good start. Eason's Bookshop on O'Connell St and Dubray Books on Grafton St put on a great shows with lots of goodies, just like the tea party in the book. A particular swiss roll is crucial to the story, so there were a lot of swiss rolls on display.
It is great craic hanging out with Ryan and getting a glimpse of his celebrity lifestyle. He is recognised everywhere he goes and I am impressed at how unfailingly polite and friendly he is with anyone who comes to say “hello”.
Two days later we are joined by Deirdre McDermot and Conor Hackett from our publishers, Walker Books, for the flight to the USA where we have lined up some very exciting events for Patrick And The President.
The schedule is hectic but we all have a lot of laughs and we even squeeze in the odd cocktail to ease us on our merry way. Swiss rolls appear at every event we do, and Conor christens us the Swiss Rollers on tour.
It’s great to be back at the Irish Arts Centre in New York, I was there last year for the Rí Rá Festival, and Ryan and I have a great time talking to a full house about JFK and our book. The highlight of the trip, though, has to be our appearance at the JFK library in Boston.
It is a hugely impressive and prestigious venue. I try my best to sharpen my style with a tie borrowed from Ryan and my best Abraham Lincoln socks.
On stage Ryan is as charming and funny as you might expect, but when he warms to the story of the Kennedy family’s emmigration and their eventual success and all that it meant to the people of Ireland, he is clearly passionate and deeply sincere. Luckily, as the illustrator, I can lean on the paintings and drawings from the book being flashed up on the giant screen behind us. Mostly we strive to keep the flavour light, but it's hard not to be wistful about JFK and what might have been, given the contrast between Kennedy’s Camelot and President Trump’s glitzy new order.
Between interviews and bookstore events and readings at schools, we squeeze an awful lot in, but before we know it our mini US tour comes to an end.
It’s great to be back home in Ireland in time for St Patrick’s Day, and luckily for me I remembered to buy some mint flavoured Oreos for the kids.
Green Oreos? Only in America!
Ryan Tubridy and P J Lynch talk about Patrick and the President at the Mountains To Sea Festival, Dun Laoghaire, on Sunday March 26th at 4pm - details here.
