Carniny and St Colmcille’s pupils welcome Irish Children’s Laureate to Ballymena ahead of World Book Day

Irish Children’s Laureate/Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde answering questions from children at St Colmcille's and  Carniny Primary School as part of the Whole Wild World North tour.

Ahead of World Book Day on Thursday, 5 March 2026, children from Carniny Primary School and St Colmcille’s Primary School welcomed Irish Children’s Laureate/Laureate na nÓg, Patricia Forde, along with a team of authors and illustrators to Carniny Primary School as part of the Whole Wild World North tour.

The visit brought together young readers and some of Ireland’s leading children’s writers and artists, offering pupils a rare opportunity to meet the creators behind the books they love.

The Whole Wild World tour first began in April 2024, when Patricia brought a bus full of Irish children’s authors and illustrators on a journey down the Wild Atlantic Way, travelling from Donegal all the way to Cork.

Children from Carniny and St Colmcille's Primary School recently welcomed Irish Children’s Laureate/Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde and Dave Rudden to Carniny Primary School as part of the Whole Wild World North tour.

Along the route, the bus stopped at schools, libraries and bookshops, working with young readers to imagine new worlds in words and pictures.

Speaking about the initiative, Patricia said:

“I want to bring together my two favourite groups of people – the children of Ireland, and the writers and illustrators we have in such abundance – to shape new stories, and share old ones. Simply put, we’re bringing books and their creators to an audience that doesn’t often get a chance to meet them.

“The spark for a new story is never very far away, and with the Whole Wild World Bus Tour, we’re hoping to bring it that little bit closer.”

The visit to Ballymena inspired storytelling ideas, reading, writing and artwork with a range of classes throughout the school, helping to spark creativity in the lead-up to World Book Day.

About Patricia Forde

Children from Carniny and St Colmcille's Primary School recently welcomed Irish Children’s Laureate/Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde and Dave Rudden to Cairniny Primary School as part of the Whole Wild World North tour.

Artwork by one Primary 4 child at Carniny Primary School created as part of a special Illustration workshop with author and illustrator Paul Howard as part of the Whole Wild World North tour.

On Monday 29 May 2023, Patricia Forde was announced as the seventh Laureate na nÓg (Ireland’s Children’s Literature Laureate). She will hold the title until 2026.

Originally from Galway, Patricia writes for all ages in both Irish and English and published her first children’s book in 1990. Her first novel for older readers, The Wordsmith, was published in 2014 to critical acclaim. It won a White Raven Award from the International Youth Library, was named an American Library Association Notable Book for Children in the United States, and was shortlisted for the Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year Awards in Ireland (now the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards).

In 2019, Bumpfizzle the Best on Planet Earth was selected as the Dublin UNESCO Citywide Read, leading to numerous workshops and talks with young people across the city.

Pupils took the opportunity to share their own story ideas with Dave Rudden and Irish Children’s Laureate/Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde at Carniny Primary School as part of the Whole Wild World North tour.

Primary 4 children at Carniny Primary School had a special Illustration workshop with author and illustrator Paul Howard as part of the Whole Wild World North tour.

Primary 4 children at Carniny Primary School celebrate their drawings which they created as part of a special Illustration workshop with author and illustrator Paul Howard as part of the Whole Wild World North tour.

In 2020, Patricia published a picture book in both English and Irish about Hy-Breasal — To the Island / An tOileán Thiar — with Little Island Books. The book was commissioned to celebrate Galway’s 2020 City of Culture designation and was given free to children throughout Galway. For Culture Night 2020, the story was adapted into a short video featuring illustrations by Nicola Bernardelli and an original score by Anna Mullarkey.

A former primary school teacher, Patricia has extensive experience in cultural leadership and arts management. She is a former Director of the Galway Arts Festival and co-founded the Baboró International Arts Festival for Children in Galway in the mid-1990s. She also writes for television and delivers screenwriting workshops to older children.

For more information on the Irish Children’s Laureate, visit: https://childrenslaureate.ie/