Meet our 2026 Festival Artists
Discover more about our local and visiting artists at Listowel International Storytelling Festival 2026
Nuala Hayes
Nuala is an actor, storyteller and author based in Dublin. She became aware of storytelling as a universal and still living art form in the 1990’s and has been sharing and collecting stories ever since. She tells stories from folklore, legend and mythology to adults and children of all ages and is committed to storytelling as an important part of education and child development. A former Chairperson of Storytellers of Ireland/ Aos Scéal Éireann , Nuala is a member of Poetry Ireland Writers in Schools Scheme. She was the founder and director of Dublin’s first Storytelling and Music Festival, Scéalta Shamhna, which ran for 10 years and which awakened the interest in live storytelling performance in the city and further afield.
Jim Brulé
Jim is a transformational storyteller, death doula, teacher, and mentor, drawing on a unique background spanning advanced degrees in clinical psychology and artificial intelligence. Since 2018, he has directed Transformational Storytelling, an online school accredited by the National Storytelling Network. This global community trains spiritual storytellers from diverse traditions to craft narratives that inspire healing and foster spiritual growth. Jim is the recipient of the 2025 Oracle Regional Service & Leadership Award (Northeast Region), and participated in setting the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous oral storytelling at the 2025 Marrakech International Storytelling Festival.
Karen Underwood
Singer, writer, storyteller, and public speaker Karen, originally from Chicago, Illinois, found her way to Cork in 1997. Since then, she has produced several shows, including ‘Singing Nina’, ‘The Story of Soul’, ‘Of Ladies Lost and Found’, ‘Generations’, ‘Soul in the City’, and ‘The Black American Songbook’, Karen’s interpretation of Black American music from the underground railroad to Cork. She has performed at venues across Ireland including Cork Opera House, The Everyman, The Olympia, The Gate, Vicar Street, Millennium Forum Theatre, The National Concert Hall and Marley Park as well as countless others. Known as Cork’s Jazz diva, Karen enjoyed 5 sellout shows at the Cork Opera House in October of 2024.
Omar Belaarej
Omar is a young and talented storyteller from Marrakech who amazes audiences with his skills. He brings old Moroccan tales to life, sharing stories filled with wisdom, morals, and cultural traditions. What makes his storytelling special is his ability to tell stories in different languages, including English, Arabic, and Tamazight, allowing him to connect with people from various backgrounds. His stories are rich with Morocco’s heritage and offer meaningful lessons for listeners of all ages. Omar’s storytelling crosses language barriers and shows the timeless value of stories. His energy and love for his cultural roots make him one of the most promising storytellers today.
Dawn Casey
Dawn is a storyteller and children’s author who draws inspiration from her travels, folktales, and her deep love of nature. 2024 saw three new books. RSPB Bird Tales with Bloomsbury, Bumblebee Garden with Floris, Nature Tales with Templar, and My Friend Tree – a veritable cornucopia of nature books. Dawn has a particular specialism in the retelling of folktales. Her collection The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales won a Golden Nautilus Award, and an accolade from the American Folklore Society. In previous incarnations Dawn worked in publishing and as a primary school teacher. Now, she retells folktales and writes original stories and picture books for a range of publishers.
Ronan Wilmot
Ronan, an Irish treasure in the arts, has graced both stage and screen (in some of your favourite Films and tv) with his profound presence and directorial acumen. A man of great integrity, known for his dynamic acting skills and directorial prowess, Ronan’s journey in the arts is nothing short of inspirational. His notable appearances include a diverse range of roles in theatre productions across Ireland and the UK, as well as in films and television series. Ronan’s directorial ventures have been equally commendable in Theatre, bringing powerful performances and compelling narratives to the forefront.
Maria Gillen
Maria Gillen is a 4 th generation traditional Irish Storyteller. She tells from the 5 deep wells of Irish storytelling – Myth & Legend, Stories of her Stones (from her landscape), Diaspora Stories, Bean Feasa (Wise Woman) Stories and Co-Created stories (as storytelling is a living art). She has told in Canada, America, Africa all over Europe and in her native Ireland. She tells mainly from the Irish tradition informed by stories from her Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother and from her collecting of stories as a Dramatherapist specialising in the healing story.
Ray O’Sullivan
Ray O’Sullivan is one of Kerry’s most captivating contemporary Seanchaís, a keeper of the old tradition who breathes new life into Ireland’s ancient art of storytelling. With a voice that can summon both laughter and shivers, Ray blends folklore, history, and a touch of the uncanny to transport audiences into worlds where fact and fable meet. A Killarney native, he has spent decades gathering local legends, unearthing forgotten tales, and weaving them into spellbinding performances. His award-winning work has earned him a Listowel Writers’ Week Storytelling Prize and the prestigious Eamon Kelly bursary Arts Award recognising his talent for creating rich characters, lyrical language, and stories that linger long after the final word.
Dr. Fiona Brennan
Fiona is a theatre historian & archivist. A native of Killorglin, she is a co-editor of The Art and Ideology of Terence MacSwiney Caught in the living flame, (Cork University Press, 2022) and is author of George Fitzmaurice “Wild in His Own Way”: Biography of an Abbey Playwright, (Carysfort Press, 2005). A graduate of UCC, her PhD thesis investigated the influences of European theatre and film on the work of the playwright George Fitzmaurice.
Frances Kennedy
Even though Frances now lives in Listowel, she is quick to point out that she is very much a Cork woman. The youngest of a family of eleven, songs and stories were always part of her home life. Neighbours called at night and her father would fill them up with all sorts of stories, so it was easy for Frances to fall into singing and telling the odd story. But it was in Listowel that Frances first started singing in public and everyone in Kerry had a story to tell, so she just joined in.
Sonny Egan
Sonny is a cultural icon in Kerry. He is not just a champion storyteller – four-time All-Ireland champion – he is a musician, a singer, a podcaster, and an actor. He has appeared at festivals and on stages throughout Ireland and during lockdown Sonny became a huge international hit appearing online to audiences from Newfoundland to New Zealand.
In 1983 a cash starved Crotta O’Neills Hurling Club approached Sonny for the use of his home as they went on the Wren to raised funds for the club. What began as a fundraising initiative turned into one of the longest running and most popular Rambling Houses in Kerry.
Paddy O’Brien
Born in Co. Kerry, Paddy is a natural storyteller in Irish and English who has appeared at Storytelling festivals all over Ireland. He has been a featured teller on many occasions at the world-famous Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival. Paddy can entertain any audience from age 3 to 103 with his fantastic stories, songs and verse – told in his own inimitable way.
Lorraine Carey
Lorraine writes poetry, haiku and non-fiction with work published in Magma, Spelt, Poetry Ireland Review, The Cormorant, The Stony Thursday Book, Ink Sweat & Tears and Orbis among others. Her craft explores ecocentrism and the transformative power of nature, creativity and ornithology. A native of Donegal, Lorraine lives in Fenit and works in mental health support. An Agility Award recipient, she was selected for The Freedom to Write Project in 2024 and is working on her second collection of poetry.
Yoshio Takahata
Yoshio is from Tokyo, Japan. He studied Irish folklore at UCD in 2010. Every summer he comes to Ireland (especially Connacht) to gather local tales. He attends NUI Galway Irish language courses at the International Summer School every summer.
Yoshio lives in Tokyo and twice a month he hosts a storytelling party at a cafe or gallery. He tells stories while playing the Irish harp.
Daisy Kearney
Limerick native Daisy is acclaimed, both at home and abroad, as a gifted Seanchaí. Her talent for storytelling was nurtured while growing up as her parents’ home was frequented as a rambling house and it was here that she picked up many of the stories in her vast repertoire. She won 3 All Ireland titles in storytelling at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. Daisy travelled to various countries on Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann concert tours and is also a long-term member of the Carrickerry Wrenboys with whom she has won 8 All Ireland titles.
Simone Schuemmelfeder
Simone is a storyteller and writer from Germany. Born in the small town of Beverungen, close to the Fairy Tale Road in Germany which connects the locations of many tales the Brothers Grimm collected, Simone grew up surrounded by stories. When she moved to Ireland, she founded the storytelling theatre StoryGate together with Irish teller and puppeteer Michael Phelan.
Reidun
Reidun, originally from Belgium, has played Irish Harp since 1989, and cross-strung chromatic harp since 1999. She studied the classical harp at the “Academie Royale de Musique” in Liege, Belgium, and at the “Musikhochschule Aachen” (Music College), combined with studies in musical education. Her repertoire spans a variety of styles, from Irish to classical, jazz and modern love songs. She has played in several folk/trad bands, such as “Amorroma/Les Tisserands” (Belgium), and AeNicht or “Fasire” (Germany).
Eileen Sheehan
Winner of the Brendan Kennelly Poetry Award, Eileen was Bealtaine Writer in Residence at Kerry Writers’ Museum. Her work explores the joys and foibles of human life and relationships viewed through the prisms of memory, dream, mythology and folklore. Her most recent collection is The Narrow Way of Souls (Salmon Poetry).
James Fogarty
James, a native of Moyvane, Co. Kerry, is an award-winning storyteller who appears regularly at Rambling Houses and storytelling events throughout Munster. He won the 2024 Mick McCarthy Storytelling Competition at the Sean McCarthy Memorial Festival in Finuge.
Paddy Doyle
Paddy is an award-winning poet, writer and storyteller, whose work has been widely published. He has collaborated with musicians, film-makers and dancers, and performs at festivals all over Ireland, including Electric Picnic. A dynamic performer, he seamlessly blends ancient myths with tales of coming of age in small Irish towns rudely awakening to punk-rock, hip-hop and techno.
Niall Cuddy
Niall is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist who has captivated audiences for two decades, first as guitarist and singer with psych-synth rockers ilya K and in more recent years as a solo artist (VITA, Niall Cuddy). He has released three solo albums as well as the critically acclaimed Anaesthesia Ad Infinitum with ilya K. Cuddy gigs extensively across Ireland and throughout Europe, creating a memorable experience that leaves a lasting impression on all who witness his live show.
Owen McMahon
Owen is a prominent local historian, storyteller, and producer linked to the legendary Listowel Drama Group, which was originally founded in 1944 by his late father, the renowned writer and playwright Bryan MacMahon. He has been actively involved in the group’s staging of local classics, serving as a producer and director for various regional productions. Owen has dedicated much of his life to preserving and recounting the rich theatrical and literary history of North Kerry.
John McGrath
Born in County Mayo, John is a poet, writer and publisher who now lives in North Kerry. He is a founder-member of the Seanchaí Writers’ Group in Listowel, was a member of the Listowel Writers’ Week committee for 15 years and is co-founder of The Ballydonoghue Bardic Festival. John has published three collections of poetry through Moybella Press which he founded – Blue Sky Day, (2007), Closing the Circle (2015) and After Closing (2021).
Mike Gallagher
Mike, a native of Achill Island, is a poet known for his published and translated works, including haiku and songs. He has won several awards, including the Michael Hartnett Viva Voce and the Desmond O’Grady International Poetry Contest. His collection, Stick on Stone, was published by Revival Press. Mike spent 40 years in London and retired to North Kerry in 1999.
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REVIEWS
What people are saying about us
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Popped in here to escape the rain and get a cup of tea and cake. Very reasonable prices and great service. Then noticed the little hare jumping around on the wall when I used the toilets! Looked very intriguing and prompted us all to buy tickets to the museum. Wow! So worth it as the exhibits and the way it was presented was lovely, really unusual. So informative and so different to other museums. Really good value for money and a real highlight to the town.
Great Service (Trip Advisor Review)
– March, 2023
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Most impressive is how ingrained in both The Creative & local communities The Seanchaí is, from the workshops, coffee mornings & plain old drop ins, To Book launches, poetry recitals, projects & engagements with the local schools. The Seanchaí is a much loved and universally treasured cultural icon. By the inhabitants of Listowel, most of Co. Kerry and West Limerick.
Mark Ollerhead (Google Review)
– March, 2023
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We had requested the 30-minute tour, but happily lingered for an hour longer than we had planned. As we exited, we looked at each other and laughed out loud at our good fortune. We could have so easily missed this experience that left us feeling moved, intrigued and a bit more educated about the Kerry writers. In our delight, we failed to tip our guide but I will be going to your donations page to make a modest pledge in gratitude for our host whose name we did not record to memory.
Jane Braswell (Google Review)
– March, 2023
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Our visit to the Kerry Writers Museum was a very memorable experience from beginning to end. Cara, who was working at the centre that day, was very welcoming and most helpful. The exhibition of the Kerry writers was imaginative and most engaging. The seanchai relating the background stories each writer was magic! A wonderful experience all round.
Cara (Google Review)
– May, 2021
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This museum has been developed with great care and meticulous attention to detail. The audio elements are matched perfectly to the installations which are beautifully presented. The option to activate the audio guides in each room without resorting to the use of handheld devices worked very well. This is a must see/hear for anyone with an interest in Irish writing. There is also a little coffee shop and gifts on sale.
Beautifully Curated (Trip Advisor Review)
– July, 2019