2 nóiméad le… Sadhbh Devlin

This is a bilingual post. Scroll down to read in English.

Tá Rua beag ríméadach go bhfuil an deireadh seachtaine ann. Níl uaidh ach a scíth a ligean ar an tolg agus breathnú ar an teilifís, ach tá pleananna eile ag Mamaí! Is scéal álainn é seo faoi am a chaitheamh amuigh faoin spéir, is cuma cén sórt aimsir atá ann, agus ansin do scíth a ligean le do mhuintir tar éis an spraoi ar fad. Is scéal lán croí agus lán grinn é seo, atá scríofa ag Sadhbh Devlin agus maisithe go hálainn ag Brian Fitzgerald, agus bainfidh idir óg agus aosta taitneamh as. Labhair muid le Sadhbh le níos mó a fháil amach faoi.

Cé as ar tháinig an smaoineamh le haghaidh Amuigh Faoin Spéir?

Thaitin sé go mór le mo thuistí dul ar ‘Shiúlóidí Dúlra’ nuair a bhí mé ag fás aníos. Gach Domhnach, beag beann ar shoineann ná ar dhoineann, thógaidís mé féin agus mo shiblíní ar shiúlóid, amach as an teach chuig áiteanna iargúlta amuigh faoin spéir. Shiúladh muid ar feadh na mílte agus na mílte trí fhoraoisí agus thar pháirceanna. Nuair a shroicheadh muid an baile chaitheadh mo thuistí díreach isteach san fholcadán muid agus ansin, shuíodh muid le chéile, glan agus snasta inár bpitseámaí, ar an tolg lenár suipéar a ithe. Tá cuimhní geala agam ar na siúlóidí sin le mo mhuintir ach, go dtí go raibh mé fásta agus ag tabhairt mo pháistí óga féin ar shiúlóidí dúlra, níor thuig mé an t-éacht ollmhór a bhí déanta ag mo thuistí an ceathrar againn a tharraingt amach as an teach gach seachtain! Tá cumhacht osnádúrtha ag páistí óga a bheith ag gearán agus ag geonaíl nuair atá tú ag iarraidh iad a eagrú le dul amach – go háirithe sa lá atá inniu ann nuair atá sé níos deacra ná riamh iad a mhealladh ó na scáileáin. Uaireanta, bíonn fonn ort géilleadh dóibh agus fanacht sa bhaile – ach, i mo thaithí féin, ní bhíonn aiféala ar éinne riamh tar éis dóibh dul ar shiúlóid. Is saghas óid é an leabhar seo do na cuimhní sin agus don sásamh atá le brath againn go léir tar éis eachtra mhór Amuigh Faoin Spéir!

Tá cúpla leabhar scríofa anois agat. Cad é an rud is ansa leat faoina bheith ag scríobh pictiúrleabhair do pháistí?

Táim dúnta i ngrá le pictiúrleabhair mar fhoirm ealaíne. Is breá liom gach rud fúthu! Is breá liom an dúshlán a bhaineann le scéal saibhir a insint laistigh de spás gairid agus an bealach a n-oibríonn an téacs agus na híomhánna le chéile leis na sonraí éagsúla go léir a chur in iúl. An chuid is fearr liom den phróiseas ná nuair a thosnaíonn an maisitheoir ag obair ar na híomhánna agus go dtagann na focail chun beochta ar an leathanach. Tá draíocht ag baint leis!

Do theaghlaigh ar mhian leo taitneamh a bhaint as Amuigh Faoin Spéir, bhuel, amuigh faoin spéir, tá Scéal Trail ar Chnoc Chill Iníon Léinín. Inis dúinn faoi sin. 

Tá! Táim ar bís go bhfuil an Scéal Trail ar fáil do chách agus é crochta san áit a spreag maisitheoir Brian Fitzgerald le cuid mhór de na léaráidí sa leabhar a chruthú. Táim an-bhuíoch de Leabharlanna dlr as an scéal seo a roghnú don togra. Tá an leabhar iomlán (mar aon le haistriúchán Béarla) ar fáil le léamh ar phainéil mhóra atá crochta timpeall ar an gclós súgartha ar Chnoc Cill Iníon Léinín. Deis iontach é píosa beag léitheoireachta a dhéanamh agus tú amuigh ar eachtra mhór. Is féidir leat scéal Amuigh Faoin Spéir a bheith agat san fhíorshaol ansin – bí ag faire amach do ninjaí agus arrachtaí uafásacha! 

Beidh Scéal Trail Amuigh Faoin Spéir dlr ann as seo go ceann sé mhí (ar a laghad!)

Tá tú ag plé le cúrsaí litríochta agus cultúrtha trí mheán na Gaeilge le fada, bíodh sin mar údar agus mar láithreoir teilifíse, trí do chuid oibre le heagraíochtaí neamhbhrabúis agus ansin do thréimhse mar scríbhneoir cónaithe in DCU in 2022. Céard atá romhat anois, nó an bhfuil togra ar leith ba mhaith leat a bheith bainteach leis amach anseo?

Is maith liom a bheith gnóthach, ceart go leor (!), ach níl mé go hiontach ag déanamh pleananna fadtéarmacha dom féin. Leath den am, bím ag léimt ó thogra go togra agus ag coimeád leathshúil amach don chéad rud eile a thabharfaidh spreagadh dom. Is breá liom a bheith ag obair le pobail éagsúla trí leabharlanna, féilte, scoileanna agus tograí éagsúla ealaíne, mar sin, tá súil agam leanúint ar aghaidh leis an obair sin. Táim díreach tar éis leabhar nua a chríochnú atá beagán níos faide ná na cinn atá scríofa agam go dtí seo agus atá éagsúil ó thaobh stíle freisin. Táim ar bís na léaráidí a fheiceáil amach anseo. Le tamall beag anuas, táim ag baint triail as cúpla rud a scríobh do dhaoine fásta agus an plean don samhradh ná é sin a fhorbairt. Is maith liom dúshlán nua a bheith agam i gcónaí!

Míle buíochas le Sadhbh agus Futa Fata as ucht a gcuid ama agus comhoibriú ar an alt seo.

Tá Amuigh Faoin Spéir foilsithe ag Futa Fata.

***

Amuigh Faoin Spéir, the latest picturebook by author Sadhbh Devlin and illustrator Brian Fitzgerald, explores a day in the life of little Rua. Delighted the weekend is here, all he wants to do is relax on the couch at the TV, but Mum has a different idea. What follows is a joyful celebration of spending time adventuring in the outdoors, whatever the weather may be, then relaxing with the family on the couch after all the fun! With humour running throughout, and beautiful illustrations of the natural world, this is a wonderful, inspiring book for children and their families to enjoy. We caught up with author Sadhbh to find out a little more.

Where did the idea for Amuigh Faoin Spéir come from?

My parents were big fans of a ‘nature walk’ when I was growing up. Every Sunday, rain, hail or shine, my siblings and I would be marched out of the house and off the beaten track where we would ramble through fields and forests for miles and miles. When we got home it was straight into the bath for a scrub and then we’d sit, all clean and shiny in our PJs, on the sofa together to have our supper. I have fond memories of those family walks, but I only realised when I grew up and was taking small children of my own on family walks, what a huge undertaking it must have been for my parents to get all four of us out the door every week. Small children are capable of super-human levels of whining and complaining when you’re trying to get out the door – especially nowadays when it’s harder than ever to drag them away from screens. Sometimes it’s tempting to give in and stay home – but, in my experience, you never regret a walk. This book is a bit of an ode to those childhood memories and the feeling of satisfaction we all get after a walk in the great outdoors!

You have a few to your name now. What is your favourite thing about writing picturebooks for children?

I’m completely obsessed with picturebooks as an artform. I love everything about them! I enjoy the challenge of telling a rich story within a short space and how the text and the illustrations work together to convey many layers of meaning. One of my favourite parts of the process is when the illustrator begins work on the images and suddenly the words come alive on the page. It is absolutely magical!

For families who want to enjoy Amuigh Faoin Spéir in the outdoors, there is a Scéal Trail up at Killiney Hill! Can you tell us about this?

Yes! I am so excited that Amuigh Faoin Spéir is available to everyone in the place that inspired illustrator Brian Fitzgerald to create many of the images in the book and so grateful to dlr Libraries for choosing our book for the project. The entire book (along with a translation to English) has been printed on big panels that are hung around the playground on Killiney Hill. It’s a wonderful opportunity to do a little reading while you’re out on an adventure. You can then re-create the story of Amuigh Faoin Spéir in real life – just watch out for ninjas and monstrous monsters! 

The dlr Amuigh Faoin Spéir Scéal Trail will be in place for the next six months (at least!)

You have a long history of working in the literary and cultural sectors through the Irish language, from author and TV presenter, to working with non-profits and being the 2022 Irish Language Writer in Residence for DCU. What is next on the horizon for you, or is there a project you would love to see happen in the near future?

I like to keep busy alright (!), but I’m not great at making long-term plans for myself. Half of the time I’m flying by the seat of my pants, hopping from one project to another and keeping an eye out for the next thing that will inspire me. I love working with different communities through libraries, festivals, schools, and various other creative projects, so I hope to continue to work in that area. I have just finished a new book that has a longer format than the books I have written to date and is different in style too. I can’t wait to see what the illustrations will look like. Recently, I have been experimenting with some work for grown-ups and my plans for the summer are to develop that further. I always like to have a new challenge!

Thank you so much to Sadhbh and to Futa Fata for their time and collaboration on this piece. 

Amuigh Faoin Spéir is published by Futa Fata.