Captain Cillian Learning Adventures Schools Programme 

Press release and launch coming soon January 2019

All star Accreditation for Captain Cillian

All Star Accreditation Awarded for Captain Cillian Learning Adventures in May 2018.
All Star Product for Children's Education Through Irish. Read more about this award on the Blog page.

Irish Grannies & Santa Support Bilingual High Seas Adventure Venture!

December 2017
​​Captain Cillian, the award winning bilingual (Irish / English) set of children's books that use fun adventure themes to disguise language, geography and marine life learning has become a big hit with both Irish Grandmothers & Santa Claus. 

Last Christmas, over 1,000 Grannies in Ireland shipped Captain Cillian gift packs to their grandchildren overseas and in the past two years Santa has placed Captain Cillian Gift Sets in over 7,000 Christmas Stockings across the globe.

This years Captain Cillian Christmas Gift Set (€25 including free postage at www.captaincillian.com) comes in a beautifully designed gift pack and includes each of the 4 books in the series to date, a selection of Captain Cillian stickers, a Captain Cillian fun reward wall-chart & book marks, with everything contained in a sturdy portable holder.  Uniquely, the gift can be personalised online by the sender (with a Galway Claddagh Christmas themed Captain Cillian post card) during the purchasing process, before being sent directly from the website to anywhere in the world.  

Both fun and educational, each Captain Cillian story takes children (from age 3 – 9) on a journey of discovery where they enjoy swashbuckling adventures while exploring the Wild Atlantic Way, discovering ocean facts and learning key words in the Irish language.  At the end of each adventure there is a quiz, puzzles and some creative playtime activities.

Written and designed by Galwegian husband and wife team Carina Ginty and John O’Connor, Captain Cillian books have been dispatched to 20 countries since they launched the series in 2015 including the UK, US, Australia, Asia, Dubai as well as several other European destinations.

The books are also available to buy on their own at 7 euro each in Dublin Airport and all good book shops in Ireland or Northern Ireland with O’Brien’s Press. It is an ideal gift for families at home and abroad who wish their children to stay connected with Ireland and the Irish language.
A library of book and promotional images is available to download at http://www.captaincillian.com/media-gallery.html 

Editors Notes:

The four Captain Cillian books in the series include Captain Cillian Pirates Ahead Adventure, Captain Cillian Hidden Caves Adventure, Captain Cillian Surfing Adventure and Captain Cillian Stormy Sea Adventure.  The first Captain Cillian book launched in October 2015 and further titles, a gift box and a personalised postcard service followed in 2016 and 2017. 

In 2017, the Marketing Institute of Ireland shortlisted Captain Cillian as one of the Top Five Irish Products in Ireland. Foras na Gaelige and LEO Galway awarded development grants to Captain Cillian in 2016 and 2017.

CAPTAIN CILLIAN SETS SAIL AGAIN WITH
A Pirate ADVENTURE​

December 2016​
​Captain Cillian, the bi-lingual sea faring adventurer, takes once again to the high seas of Ireland in the latest instalment in the series released today.

Captain Cillian Pirates Ahead Adventure (RRP 6.99) is the fourth title from the Captain Cillian stable that has sold over 4,000 books since launching a year ago, and is written and designed by husband and wife team Carina Ginty and John O’Connor.

Both fun and educational, each Captain Cillian story takes children (from age 3 – 9) on a journey of discovery where they enjoy swash buckling adventures while exploring the Wild Atlantic Way, discovering ocean facts and learning key words in the Irish language. At the end of each adventure there is a quiz, puzzles and some creative playtime activities. In the latest Captain Cillian Pirates Ahead Adventure, Captain Cillian ventures further afield and sails from Bundoran in County Donegal along the Northern Irish coastline encountering pirates, poison, cannon balls, bridges, giants and treasure.

Living and working in Galway, Carina and John were inspired to create the Captain Cillian characters after their sons Cillian and Breen were born. Author Carina germinated the idea for the books in 2008 when she was completing a PhD in GMIT examining the value of marine tourism in Ireland and how children are engaged from an early age with the sea.

Since launching the book series in October 2015, the Captain Cillian books have shipped not only nationwide but also worldwide to families based in the UK, US, Australia, Asia, Dubai as well as several other European destinations.

Self-published and distributed by O’Briens Press, the Captain Cillian franchise is available online at www.captaincillian.com and is available in many book shops nationwide.

               *** CAPTAIN CILLIAN GIFT BOX ***

Captain Cillian has a beautiful learning adventure gift set that can be ordered exclusively online at www.captaincillian.com and delivered directly anywhere in the world. It includes each of the 4 books in the series, a selection of Captain Cillian character stickers, a Captain Cillian fun reward wall-chart and book marks, with everything contained in a beautifully designed gift pack holder.

In addition every order will also contain a Captain Cillian GIft for You or Christmas Card that features a specially produced illustration of the Claddagh in Galway and can be personalised by the sender. Priced at €25 this gift set can be posted directly from the website, with free postage, to anywhere in the world. It is an ideal gift for families at home and abroad who wish their children to stay connected with Ireland and the Irish language.
                                                    ***
Other Captain Cillian books in the series include Captain Cillian Hidden Caves Adventure, Captain Cillian Surfing Adventure and Captain Cillian Stormy Sea Adventure. The series originally launched in October 2015.
A library of book and promotional images is available to download at http://www.captaincillian.com/media-gallery.html

                          

About the author and designer: 
  • Since 2004, Carina works for Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) as a lecturer teaching and learning development, and prior to this worked in marketing roles for technology companies. The combination of educational development and marketing skills has proved a good combination in creating Captain Cillian.

  • In 2009 and 2011 Carina was invited to write classroom lessons for teachers and pupils in primary and secondary schools in Ireland to support the famous round the world yacht race, which stopped over in Galway. Many of her lessons featured in the Irish Independent and over 20,000 children engaged in the ocean adventure schools programme. This experience motivated Carina to develop a children’s book series, based on a fun Irish seafaring character.

  • Carina grew up beside the sea in Salthill in Galway and each summer was spent on the beaches or at Blackrock diving tower in her teenage years. Her love of marine leisure led her into a PhD study that examined the economic impact of marine tourism in Ireland and early engagement with the sea. She loves travelling and developing educational resources.

  • John is a graphic designer with 20 years of experience creating vibrant communication tools. John is also a keen runner having clocked up over 12 marathons and lots of racing events. He runs the prom in Galway most days and loves bringing ideas to life through design. Carina explains, “together as a team and under the guidance of our two sons Cillian (7) and Breen (5) we created Captain Cillian™. After many cups of tea, consultations with advisors, long walks on the famous Salthill Prom, Captain Cillian’s ship finally set sail!