Animated series aims to bring Irish leprechaun folklore to global audience

A new CG animated children’s series is aiming to take centuries of Irish folklore to a new global digital audience.

Aimed at four to seven-year-olds, the series will follow a group of Carlingford leprechauns, or Carlichauns, as they embark on adventures to grant wishes to children all over the world.

The Carlichauns concept is the brainchild of children’s TV veteran Tim Patterson, whose 42-year career spans the BBC, Disney and Nickelodeon, along with Kevin Woods, who has dedicated his life to preserving and celebrating the myths and legends of Carlingford and the Cooley Peninsula.

A location-based AR app will launch on St Patrick’s Day (Carlichauns Entertainment/PA)

Patterson and Woods are among the co-founders of Enterprise Ireland-backed Carlichauns Entertainment, alongside chief executive Niall Watters, chief financial officer Eoin McCormack, senior executive Steve Woods and business affairs executive Lisa Logan.

The company has also brought in former Irish ambassador to the US Dan Mulhall as a brand ambassador.

Ahead of the series hitting the screens, Carlichauns Entertainment is launching a free location-based AR app on St Patrick’s Day to introduce audiences to the Carlichauns characters.

The app has been developed by Irish AR specialists Imvizar.

The launch will take place in Carlingford; Merrion Square, Dublin; People’s Park, Dun Laoghaire; and Avondale in Wicklow.

App users completing the Carlichauns Adventure Trail in these locations will be in with a chance of winning a bar of gold.

Tim Patterson’s 42-year career spans the BBC, Disney and Nickelodeon (Carlichauns Entertainment/PA)

Patterson said in all his years working in children’s television it has been “rare to find a project with such strong potential”.

He said: “Carlichauns is a series which has real playground currency – it will be talked about by children at school and that is very powerful.

“We are standing on the shoulders of Kevin Woods and his Last Leprechauns Of Ireland brand which has been attracting thousands of people to Carlingford and Ireland for years.

“The Carlichauns characters are all very relatable with strong story arcs running throughout. The series brings messages of hope and kindness with a real sense of fun running throughout each episode.

“But the beauty of this project really is the sum of its parts. We want to be truly digital first and alongside the animated series we will have the app, gaming and a YouTube channel.

“Having these elements complementing each other energises the brand in a way that TV can’t do alone.”

Kevin Woods successfully applied to the EU to have leprechauns designated as a protected species (Carlichauns Entertainment/PA)

The former Nickelodeon UK director of programming believes Carlichauns has wide appeal far beyond Irish shores.

He said: “The US will be a major target for us but St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in over 150 countries around the world so there is global interest in Ireland and Irish folklore. The Irish diaspora is also spread across the UK, Europe and Australia to name just a few places.

“Our app launch takes place in five locations around Ireland on St Patrick’s Day but by next March we plan to take it to the US, Australia and across Europe.”

With a Leprechaun and Fairy Cavern in his home town of Carlingford, Woods has been entertaining visitors for years with his stories of myth and legend from the Cooley Peninsula.

Known as Ireland’s Last Leprechaun Whisperer, he is so passionate about preserving this part of centuries-old Irish folklore that he successfully applied to the EU to have leprechauns designated as a protected species.

Woods said: “My ambition has always been to truly market Carlingford and the Cooley Peninsula as a place of myth and legend to a worldwide audience.

“The Carlichauns series will be a new and exciting platform for bringing our stories to a new global audience and we have a super team in place to make this happen.

“My personal target is to make Carlingford the wish centre of the world for children everywhere and we are well on our way.”