A new children’s book, due to be released this Christmas, will celebrate the unique heritage of Armagh City.
Lovingly crafted by local artist Jonathan Hackett, In the Heart of Armagh introduces young readers to the ‘beauty and magic’ of the Cathedral City we all love.
The book tells its story using fun and adventurous characters, alongside recognisable local landmarks, such as the Cathedrals, the Robinson Library and the Observatory and Planetarium.
When night falls over Armagh, gargoyles cause mischief across the city’s landmarks, leaving a trail of chaos that only the angels can put right before the city wakes the next morning.
A long-time dream project for Jonathan, pre-orders have recently opened and a limited print run is planned, with the book set to release on December 2, 2024. It was also be for sale at Jonathan’s Stall on Georgian Day.
Speaking to Armagh I, Jonathan says the story aims to “foster a sense of pride and connection for children in our community”.
He explained: “The idea for it had been in my head for a long time as I’d always envisioned doing a children’s book that was set in the town.
“Mostly because I have young children myself that would love to be able to have something like that that they could see and recognise locations in it and sort of foster a bit of a sense of belonging and a connection to their own hometown”
Much of Jonathan’s work is derived from his hometown of Armagh, and he counts paintings of many different Armagh landmarks and businesses among his portfolio.
Last Christmas, he produced Armagh-themed Christmas cards in a bid to raise money for the Armagh Food Bank, creating the designs out of a range of well-known local hotspots.
Jonathan describes his latest work as a “love letter” to Armagh.
He said: “There are little references to different parts of Armagh’s history, the likes of the bust of Richard Robinson in the Robinson Library, there’s also a little reference to the Green Lady of Vicar’s Hill.
“As it grew and developed it become not just something that I hoped would have an effect on children to get them engaged in books, but also for the person reading the book with the children that they’ll find these little things throughout that they’ll be able to recognise.
“There’s around 13 to 14 different locations in the city that appear throughout the book and a lot of it was just down to trying to shine that light on the city and show it as this special, very unique and beautiful place,” he added.
The book, which is aimed at early stage readers from 2 to 7/8, focuses on six characters – three gargoyles and three angels – and the adventures they get up to.
The characters were inspired by the angel and gargoyle sculptures that can be found around Armagh, and Jonathan recounts the interest his children took in them.
“We would point them out to them and we could see the children’s imaginations thinking about if they were alive, which kind of fostered the idea of, imagine if they did come alive at night and they would go around the city and have different adventures,” said Jonathan.
“It’s got very bright and colourful characters to engage younger children, but there’s still a relative amount of reading so early reading groups will be able to develop their reading skills through it.”
For Jonathan, the book has been a long road but he is glad that it has finally seen the light of day.
He recounted: “I remember talking to people about the idea at Georgian Day last year and even before that I always knew it was an idea I wanted to pursue.
“Because of the nature of it being a bigger project than anything that I had previously undertaken, there was a bit of intimidation in that sense to tackle something that was going to require the level of work that would go into the book.
“Writing a children’s book in particular was something that was new territory for me, but once I sat down and got into the writing process of it and spent the best part of a few months fine tuning the story, the writing on it ended up coming out a lot better than what I expected.
“That pushed me into upping the game in terms of bringing the story to life visually, so I began the illustration process around five months ago and it’s been a project of staying up late at night while balancing two young kids, a child that will be joining us next month, a day job and general life!
“It’s a labour of love because when you’re passionate about the thing you’re doing, it makes the process an awful lot easier. It was a mountain of a task to but finally see it realised and to be able to bring it out into the world, is just an exceptionally exciting part of the project and the whole journey.”
You can find out more about In the Heart of Armagh, or pre-order your copy at Jonathan’s website here.
