I agree with @david_prentice, give the hd44780 library by Bill Perry a try. If you get errors with that library, please post the code and errors. Bill, the author of the library, is very likely to see your post and will help you to get it working if we cannot.
Please read the forum guidelines to see how to properly post code and some information on making a good post.
Use the IDE autoformat tool (ctrl-t or Tools, Auto format) before posting code in code tags.
If you have errors, please include the entire error message. It is easy to do. There is a button (lower right of the IDE window) called "copy error message". Copy the error and paste into a post in code tags. Paraphrasing the error message leaves out important information.