I have been working away on a very lovely story by Ryan Tubridy about President Kennedy's visit to Ireland in the summer of 1963.
It is called "Patrick and the President" and will be published next October.
Here's the press release which has just gone out.
The Walker Books Group is delighted to
announce the world-rights acquisition of a captivating picture book about President John F. Kennedy’s return to
his ancestral home in Ireland
in 1963.
Written
by Ryan Tubridy, Ireland’s foremost radio and television broadcaster and host of Ireland’s premier Friday night chat show The Late, Late Show, and illustrated by
Kate Greenaway Medal-winner P.J. Lynch, Patrick and the President beautifully evokes a seminal moment in Ireland’s
history through the eyes of a young boy.
When
President John F. Kennedy returned to Ireland in 1963 and visited his
ancestral home, Dunganstown, he described the trip as the best four days
of his life. For a generation of people of Ireland it was a visit with lasting
impact, and many homes still display their JFK memorabilia with pride. In
this warmly told, big-hearted picture book, Ryan captures the feverish
excitement in the build-up to JFK’s visit and the emotional investment from
both parties – all evoked through the eyes of a young boy called Patrick who
wants to know, more than anything, what it would feel like to shake the President’s
hand.
Firmly rooted in historical fact, this feast of a book offers readers a
very pure, and personal, take on JFK’s visit to County Wexford.
P.J Lynch’s masterful watercolour paintings are brimming over with the style
and sensibility of 1960’s Ireland and bring vividly to life the character of Patrick,
his family, his school mates and, of course, this charismatic world leader – President John F. Kennedy.
“John F. Kennedy’s visit in
1963 was such a significant moment in Ireland’s history and culture,”
says Deirdre McDermott, Walker Books
picture book publisher. “It struck a deep emotional chord with many Irish
people. It feels to us that this story – Patrick’s story – was one that Ryan
was always meant to tell. And this era – these characters, these lives – were
always meant to be painted by P.J. We are very proud to be publishing Patrick and the President and we are equally
proud to welcome Ryan onto our list, especially as he has long since promoted
and encouraged children, of all ages, to be engaged with books.”
“What a labour of love!” adds Maria
Tunney, Senior Picture Book Editor. “Ryan perfectly embodies the hopes, the
spirit and the ambitions of a nation in the character of young Patrick.”
About
writing Patrick and the President, Ryan Tubridy says: “It has
always been a dream of mine to write a book for children, so this is a magical
moment for me. The fact that P.J. Lynch is illustrating the story makes it even
more special. The story of JFK's visit to Ireland is profound and colourful
and even more so through the eyes of my new fictional friend, Patrick, who gets
caught up in the excitement of the event. The sight of a child reading a book
is one of the most gratifying of them all. If children can enjoy this postcard
from the past and maybe want to learn more about Irish history, I think we’ll
have achieved something.”
On illustrating Patrick and the
President, P.J. says, “President John F. Kennedy has always held a
special place in the hearts and imaginations of the Irish people. I first
encountered his handsome profile on a silver half dollar, brought from America by a
visiting cousin; I was a little boy then and I knew nothing about his
extraordinary life and career. However, I knew he was special, and I knew
that he belonged to us, as well as to the people of America. It has been a great
pleasure for me to work on Ryan’s story, and to help recreate the magic of
those few days when President Kennedy visited Ireland and made a little boy’s
dream came true."
Ryan Tubridy is an
award-winning radio and television broadcaster with Ireland’s RTÉ. He currently
presents a weekday morning chat show, The
Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 and is also the host of The Late Late Show, Ireland's most
popular TV show and the world's longest running chat show on RTÉ One. In 2011,
Ryan began working with BBC Radio 2 and since then he has covered for Graham
Norton, Ken Bruce, Chris Evans’ Breakfast
Show and Simon Mayo’s Drivetime Show.
More recently, Tubridy has embarked on a career as a writer with his debut
title JFK in Ireland, a profile of US President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 visit to Ireland,
publishing in 2011 and his second title, The
Irish Are Coming released in 2013. Aside from broadcasting and writing,
Tubridy is intensely passionate about US politics. Having spent 18 months
researching President Kennedy's historic visit to Ireland in 1963, Ryan worked
on a documentary for RTÉ One –
a behind the scenes at this era-defining visit. In 2011, he acted as Master of
Ceremonies at the welcoming event for Barack and Michelle Obama. Ryan lives in Dublin with his family. 
P.J.
Lynch has won many awards
throughout his incredible career, including the Mother Goose Award, the
Christopher Medal in the US three times, the Irish Bisto Book of the Year award
and 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. His meticulous research
brings impeccable detail to the many books he has illustrated, including such
titles as A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Mysterious Traveller
by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham and The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John
Howland’s Good Fortune – the
first book that P.J. has both written and illustrated. Most recently, he created
the artwork for Once Upon A Place,
Irish Children’s Laureate Eoin Colfer’s anthology of stories and
poems. P.J. has been commissioned to design posters for Opera Ireland and the
Abbey Theatre, as well as designing stamps for An Post. He lives in Dublin with his wife and
their three children.
For Press Enquiries please contact
Sarah.Bennett@walker.co.uk / 0207 396
2426
