Exploring the Lore of Luck at Listowel International Storytelling Festival 2025
Luck has always had a special place in Irish life — from four-leaf clovers tucked into books, to horseshoes nailed above the door, to the familiar ritual of knocking on wood. Behind each of these customs lies a story, passed down through generations, shaping how we think about chance, fortune, and fate.
As part of this year’s Listowel International Storytelling Festival, local historian and educator Tom Dillon invites audiences to explore these traditions in Lucky Legends: Exploring Irish Folklore and Good Fortune. This interactive workshop at Kerry Writers’ Museum will delve into centuries of superstition, symbol, and story, asking what luck really means and how our ancestors tried to secure it.
Lucky Legends: Exploring Irish folklore and Good Fortune by historian Tom Dillon
Across the world, every culture has its charms to draw good luck and ward off misfortune. Here in Ireland, we have a particularly rich tradition of stories, superstitions, and symbols connected with luck.
From four-leaf clovers to hanging horseshoes above the door or saying a quick ‘touch wood’ to keep trouble at bay, the many luck rituals and customs add a deeper meaning to the world-famous ‘luck of the Irish’.
But do these old beliefs really have power, or are they simply echoes of the stories our ancestors told by the hearth?
This September, at the Listowel Storytelling Festival, I’ll be leading a workshop at the Kerry Writers’ Museum exploring this very theme: What is luck, does it exist, and how can we increase our own?
Is it something that strikes us out of the blue — or something we can nurture and call into our lives?
Together, we’ll wander through folklore and history, sharing tales of lucky charms and unlucky omens, and reflecting on how ideas of chance and fate still shape our lives today.
As a historian with a passion for folklore and genealogy, I’m fascinated by the many ways luck has influenced the lives of people in the past and how it continues to do so today.
I’ve had the joy of giving talks and tours at the Kerry Writers’ Museum in the past and it is always a privilege to be invited to return. The museum itself is steeped in the spirit of story — a perfect setting to explore the strange and sometimes mysterious ways people have tried to court fortune through the ages.
So whether you’re curious about the folklore of luck, the right way to hang a horseshoe, why we knock on wood, or simply hope to learn from the lore of our forebears to bring a little extra good luck into your life, I invite you to join me for this workshop. Who knows — by the end, you might leave with a lucky story of your own!
PHOTO: Tom Dillon at last year’s Listowel International Storytelling Festival with (left to right) Eileen Mulvihill, Cara Trant, Executive Director, Kerry Writers’ Museum, Tom Dillon and Paddy O’Regan. Photo Credit: Kerry Writers’ Museum.
Workshop Details
Join me for an interactive folklore session uncovering Ireland’s traditions of luck, fortune, and superstition — part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival 2025.
Date: Friday 19th September, 9.30am – 11.30am
Location: Kerry Writers’ Museum, Listowel
Tickets: €25 (limited to 15 participants)
Call 068 22212 or book online: kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-2025