The Pooka Chase

The Pooka Chase comics are a series of bilingual comic books produced for Celtic Routes, an EU-funded programme that celebrates and builds upon Ireland and Wales’ shared Celtic heritage.

The six Pooka Chase stories take place in six counties across Wales and Ireland; Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow. The stories set in Wales can be read in English and in Welsh while the stories set in Ireland can be read in English and in Irish.

The comic books follow the adventures of young druid-in-training Seren, her warrior friend Rua and Rua’s niece and nephew, twins Brigid and Lug (and Lug’s pet crow, Dub-Dub!) as they all try to capture the mischievous pooka creatures who have escaped from the ancient Pooka Stone. Throughout these adventures, the pookas and our heroes visit some fascinating places in Ireland and Wales!

While each of the six comics can be enjoyed as a complete standalone short story, collecting all three stories set in Wales or all three stories set in Ireland will enable readers to complete a password that will allow them access to two bonus story pages available on the Celtic Routes website.

Story Summaries

Carmarthenshire
While on the run at Cenarth Falls, a pooka steals one of the Pooka Stone pieces from Seren’s staff and teleports away. The light-fingered pooka then takes a notebook from a very special shed in Laugharne. In what is now Gwenffrwd-Dinas Nature Reserve, our heroes catch up with the pooka at Twm Sion Cati’s secret hideout in the year 1600.

An angry local outlaw confronts the group on Dinas Hill, but will he help or hinder their quest to catch the thieving pooka?

 

Ceredigion
After a tricky pooka escapes their grasp at Carreg Bica on Llangrannog beach, our heroes go to modern day Aberystwyth to seek out some wisdom that might help them catch this particular shape-shifter.

How will they catch this clever pooka when they find it again at Cardigan Castle in the year 1176, just as preparations for the first ever Eisteddfod are underway?

 

Pembrokeshire
When a pooka eats some ancient stones on Foel Drygarn, they have a huge effect on the creature. Can our heroes stop the pooka from destroying Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber and the lifesaving Strumble Head Lighthouse?

When one of Seren’s spells goes wrong, the smallest of the group will end playing a big role in this adventure.

 

Waterford
Going from a mining cave in the 19th century on Trá na mBó beach to the depths of Ballyvoyle Tunnel in the modern day, our heroes suddenly find themselves chasing more than one pesky pooka on this adventure. They pursue on two wheels as the chase leads them to Reginald’s Tower and the Viking Triangle in Waterford City.

Will an aching Rua be able to keep his cool when a pooka mocks him with his own face?

 

Wexford
When Seren’s teleportation spell goes a little awry, our group of heroes are split up. Seren, Brigid and Dub-Dub the crow explore Johnstown Castle while Rua and Lug find themselves locked in the dungeon of Enniscorthy Castle.

How will the group reunite, and can they do so before a hungry pooka causes too much chaos at the Irish National Heritage Park?

 

Wicklow
After finding a sneaky pooka on Brittas Bay beach, Seren and the rest of our heroes travel back in time to chase another pooka. They arrive at The Piper’s Stones stone circle in the 6th century where the pooka does now make it easy for them. It leads them all the way to Glendalough where a strange man confronts the group.

Will this stranger let our heroes return the pooka to the Pooka Stone?

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Written and illustrated by Colum Kavanagh, the Pooka Chase comics were funded by Celtic Routes through the EU’s Ireland-Wales Programme. Visit www.celticroutes.info to learn more about the wonderful places and experiences that south-east Ireland and west Wales have to offer.