The village of Carlingford is set to be introduced to a global audience thanks to a new animated children’s series about Leprechauns which will be aimed at 4-7 year olds. The series will be called Carlichauns and the concept is the brainchild of kids TV & broadcast veteran Tim Patterson who has 40 years experience working for BBC, ITV, & global brands such as Disney & Nickelodeon.
Paw Patrol and Bob the Builder creator Keith Chapman is also involved in the project and he has been named as the executive producer of the project.
The series is currently being made and it is hoped the first episode will air in March. Carlingford has long been associated with leprechauns mainly sue to the self proclaimed ‘Leprechaun Whisperer’ Kevin Woods. Kevin, a Carlingford native, first came across the leprechauns in 1989 when local publican, PJ O’Hare, found what was believed to be a leprechaun suit and bones on a mountain beside the village.
Initially Kevin says he was sceptical of the find but that all changed when when he found more gold coins while helping a friend fix a stone wall. He went back to the spot where PJ had found the leprechaun suit and to his amazement he claims to have seen three leprechauns on the mountain.
The leprechaun told Kevin his name was Carraig and that he was the last of 236 leprechauns who lived in Ireland. He pleaded with Kevin to protect them and in 2009 the Carlingford native successfully lobbied the European Union to ensure that Leprechauns were made a protected species. For the past number of years Kevin has delighted children with his Leprechaun tours in Carlingford and he has appeared in numerous TV shows and newspapers due to his association with Leprechauns.
According to Kevin it was a chance visit to one of his Leprechaun tours in Carlingford which brought about the Carlichauns project which looks set to become the next big thing in children’s tv entertainment.
“A guy from the UK called Tim Patterson visited us up in Carlingford with his kids to take the tour and a short while later he emailed me and told me he was a kids TV producer and that he had a proposition for me. He loved the story of the leprechauns and he wanted to make a kids animated series with 26 episodes. That was about two years ago. We have got a lot of great people on board since then and we have raised a lot of money and we are now on the verge of releasing the series globally,” stated Kevin.
“We made a trailer last year for it and took it to Cannes to show all the buyers and there was huge interest so it’s all very exciting. One of our biggest coups was getting Keith Chapman involved as Executive Producer. He is the creator of Bob the Builder and Paw Patrol and everything he touches seems to turn to gold.
“I still find it hard to believe that all this is happening’ laughed Kevin. “This whole thing with the leprechauns started way back in 1989 and one of my main aims in doing it was to put Carlingford on the map. I will be long dead and gone but I forsee that this series will eventually see Carlingford become a place where kids from all over the world will flock to. It will become a magical place for them like Disneyland or Lapland. Everybody knows I love Carlingford and everything I do is to highlight the beauty and magic in our wonderful village. I am 81 years old now and this is a fantastic new chapter for me that I have embraced fully,” remarked Kevin.
“The big money in this type of venture is through licensing and merchandising. It’s been great getting to learn about the business side of things and speaking to lawyers and all that type of thing. We’ve already signed a deal with an Irish animation company who are currently busy making episodes and in the spring we will launch the Carlichauns to the world,” added a delighted Kevin.
