In an attic space of An Chultúrlann at the heart of Belfast's Gaeltacht Quarter, an imaginary world of nice-as-ninepence Ninjas and delectable dinosaurs – with the odd Gingerbread Girl thrown in for good measure – is busy being born.
For it's here, amidst storyboards and boxes of still-to-be-shipped books, that husand-and-wife publishing team Caitríona Nic Sheáin and Andy Whitson have created children's publishing powerhouse An tSnáthaid Mhór.
From traditional Irish mythology picture books to the wildly popular Rita series and on to television screens via Cúla4, Caitríona and Andy now sit at the heart of West Belfast's vibrant Irish-language community.
Ahead of the next West Belfast Small Business Roundtable on Tuesday 31 March, the couple spoke to the Andersonstown News about their journey to the apex of the irish publishing world.
Andy cut his creative teeth back in the early eighties painting heavy metal album covers on the backs of friends’ denim jackets in a shed at the bottom of his back garden in Riverdale. After a period as drummer for Gaeilge reggae group Bréag, he was invited to contribute to the Bob Curran's classic Field Guide to Irish Fairies, and hasn't looked back since.
Shaws Road Gaeltacht native Caitríona has spent three decades teaching in Irish medium schools before she swapped the classroom for An tSnáthaid Mhór's workshop-cum-office atop An Chultúrlann on the Falls. With Andy, who also taught at Glenveagh Special School, she creates children's characters which are not only beloved but also teach vital life lessons to the young reader.
Their real leap forward came with Rita, created with prolific Gaeilge author Máire Zepf. "We felt Irish-speaking children lacked a recurring character they could grow up with in their own language," says Andy. "In each book, Rita has a big idea that plays out in her imagination; by the end, she realises it might not have been so wise after all."
Máire Zepf writes the text of the stories and then dispatches Andy off to bring the stories to life with illustrations. "She would let me go away and just have free rein at the illustration," adds Andy.
Success on the page led to a TV adaptation or Rita with TG4, where the couple learned the ropes of screen production. In parallel, they created six short, digitally available classroom workshops based on the Rita books – filmed in Ulster Irish and eagerly adopted by schools.
Their greatest success came last year with their first bilingual book, Cailín Sinséir Bhéal Feirste/The Belfast Gingerbread Girl. Set in St George's Market and visiting many famed Belfast landmarks, Cailín Sinséir was written by Irish-speaking New York librarian Marianne McShane and translated by Laureate na nÓg Áine Ni Ghlinn. The book has become a hit in schools, libraries and Irish gift shops - including in Carrickfergus! Explains Andy: "It has opened doors for people who maybe were very adverse to Irish but are now embracing it with likes of these books." Caitíóna is proud to stress the compelling quality of the work: "The story is put beautifully on the page."
An tSnáthaid Mhór's groundbreaking approach to Irish language publishing for children owes much to the teaching background of the two principals. But Caitríóna pays tribute also to her upbringing on the Shaws Road.
"Bhí oideachas agus nuálacht lárnach in obair mo thuismitheoirí agus sna daoine thart fá dtaobh domh is mé ag fás aníos," ar sise. "D'fhoghlaim mé cuid mhór ní hámhain fá oideachas ach cur chun cinn pobail ach fosta baineann sé le nuálacht agus a bheith chun tosaigh ar rudaí agus cur chuige dearfach, deimneach, agus 'ná habiar é, déan é" agus is féidir a dhéanamh."
Andy and Catríona will address the next West Belfast Small Business Roundtable (bilingually) on Tuesday 31 March in An Chultúrlann from 8am-9am — their podcast interview with Máirtín Ó Muilleoir can be seen above. Tickets are available from Eventbrite.
Wrangler jackets welcome!
