Obligatory Post for Not Posting Enough – Children Save Dublin and other things

I know I haven’t posted in weeks and for that I apologise. But I honestly have been so busy since Children Save Dublin started in January that this is the first time I’ve had to write a new blog.

So as a lot of you will know by now, my book ‘Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent’ was chosen as the featured book in the first ever ‘Children Save Dublin’ reading campaign from Unesco. From January to March children in city were encouraged to read the book and engage with it through web games, discussion, acting, art and meeting me. There were so many highlights that I really wouldn’t be able to write them all down here!

I visited 25 schools, libraries and bookshops in Dublin and a further 10 around the country – nearly all in four weeks! I met hundreds of young readers, dozens of teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents. In that time, I answered countless questions, read from the book so much that I know certain passages by heart and signed a cramp-inducing number of books. I even got the pleasure of watching a play based on the first five chapters of the book! Read the rest of this entry »

The River Poddle

For anyone who’s read my book Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent, you’ll be aware of the importance of the River Poddle in the plot. In one major scene, Arthur, Ash and Will explore the river under the city of Dublin.

Here’s a great clip from an RTE documentary a few years ago that tells you all about the Poddle, as well as giving us a glimpse of the river itself. Watch it to the end to see the grate that features in the book, too!

 

EDIT

And here’s the actual programme that inspired me to write Arthur Quinn. When I saw the Poddle in this, I just knew there had to be some sort of monster hidden there! (The Poddle part starts from the 4 minute mark.)

Viking invasion coming to town

via The Irish Independent

The producers behind The Tudors and Camelot look set to shoot another historical fiction in Ireland called Vikings.
The TV series is expected to have a budget of about €28m. It will follow the exploits of the Viking warriors from the late 8th to mid-11th Century. Filming is likely to begin in Ireland next year.

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Viking Settlement found in Temple Bar

From RTE NEWS
Archaeologists have uncovered a Viking settlement, on what was once an island in Dublin’s Temple Bar.
The two Viking homes were found during excavations at Meeting House Square in advance of building work at the site. It is believed the settlement was built on an island in the River Poddle in the 10th or 11th century before it was destroyed by flood waters. A number of pottery artefacts from a later date have also been discovered during the dig, which began two weeks ago.
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