When Catherine Bacik made a chance encounter with Swords Castle several years ago little did she know it would lead to something completely unexpected, it became her first published children’s book.
The Castle by the Stop Light: The Shepherd Boy and His Flute focuses on Michael who steps inside an ancient castle and discovers a remarkable tale that brings together two lives separated by time. Through Sean, a young shepherd boy from long ago, and the castle itself, the storyteller that binds their worlds, Michael learns that the most ordinary places can become extraordinary when viewed through the eyes of imagination.
“I first saw the castle while standing at a bus stop on a cold, rainy night in Swords,” said Catherine who is a children’s author and photographer from Virginia in the United States. “Across the road was an illuminated stone wall sitting right beside an ordinary modern stop light. As an American who certainly wasn’t accustomed to finding castles beside traffic lights, I was completely captivated. I returned to Ireland the following year and made Swords Castle one of my first stops. I spent time photographing and exploring it, wondering about all the stories those old stone walls might hold”, she explained further.
Written for children ages 4–10 and the families who read with them, it invites readers to look beyond the ordinary and discover the stories waiting all around them.
“Since publishing the book, one of my goals has been to bring the story back to the community where it began. I thought the journey from a rainy Swords bus stop to a published children’s book might be a story of interest to your readers. In November 2025, I also had the wonderful opportunity to share my story with Kieran Carrick in a featured segment on Mornings with Kieran on Spirit Radio Ireland,” Catherine added. Whether writing stories, capturing photographs, or speaking about the creative process, Catherine hopes to remind others that there are remarkable stories waiting to be found all around us—if we simply take the time to look.
The Castle by the Stop Light: The Shepherd Boy and His Flute, is currently available on Amazon.com.
