Peter’s debut book is a Christmas cracker

CAHERSIVEEN man Peter Grogan earned a reputation as someone with a flair for the imaginative during his time teaching at County Dublin’s Scoil an Duinnínigh – and now that imagination has been captured in the form of his very first book.

‘Seamróg: The Irish Reindeer’ is a children’s book that took a year or so to put together, but the idea behind it has its roots from a school play Peter wrote three years ago.

Without giving too much away, it features a brilliant, quick-thinking Irish couple who hatch a plan to save Christmas when they hear that Rudolf is under the weather. A team of Irish reindeer – Seamróg being one of them, of course – rises to the occasion.

It’s laced with Peter’s inimitable humour, with plenty zany happenings throughout, but the relationships between the characters offer lessons for all of us.

“The relationships in this book are very important,” he told The Kerryman, “including the relationship between the elderly couple who come up with a plan to save Christmas, and the relationships between the reindeer.” The book doesn’t shy away from tricky topics such as bullying, but it places a huge emphasis on kindness.

“It was very much a family affair,” Peter said. “The book is beautifully illustrated by Elias Bey and my daughter, Amanda, who did the entire design.

“My son, Simon, edited; and my wife, Eileen, typed and typed and typed.

“I left teaching in January and started out on what I thought might be a 40-page book – but the book is 135 pages.”

‘Seamróg’ is available to buy for €12.99 from O’Mahony’s, Tralee; Woulff book store, Listowel; the Green Chair, Sneem; and Quirke’s newsagents in Cahersiveen.

Photo by Christy Riordan. Peter Grogan with Lil O’Donoghue at the launch of his book, Seamróg, in Quirke’s newsagents, Cahersiveen.