THE GLENS STORYTELLING FESTIVAL
19th - 22nd October 2023
There's no stronger connection between people than storytelling...
Glens Storytelling Festival Events
MEET THE FEATURED STORYTELLERS
Colum Sands
Musician and Storyteller
Colum Sands is a universal storyteller who draws on a long Irish tradition of poetic musicality to weave songs for the world. A member of the internationally renowned Sands Family from County Down, Colum established his reputation as a songwriter with the release of his first solo album, Unapproved Road in 1981. Songs like Whatever you say, say nothing, and Almost every Circumstance were soon in the repertoire of artists from Billy Connolly to Maddy Prior and June Tabor.
Orla Mc Govern
Storyteller
Órla Mc Govern is an award-winning Storyteller, Performer, Writer and Facilitator based in Galway, Ireland. She performs and teaches around the world from arena stages, to cottages, from the Antrim Glens to the Finnish Forests.
Órla works regularly in theatre, film and television and is the Artistic Director of Moth & Butterfly, a Storytelling collective and festival. Her plays and short films have been produced globally and she has written two books of stories ‘Dublin Folk Tales For Children’ & ‘Wild Waves & Wishing Wells’. She’s a member of Interface Inagh, Theatre 57 and Storytellers of Ireland.
Francis McCarron
Storyteller
Francis has been involved in storytelling events in his native Co Monaghan for well over thirty years. He is a committee member of the Storytellers of Ireland and founded and curates the Drumlin Yarnspinners group. The stories Francis tells are drawn from Irish mythology, folklore, history and include a few that he has written himself. They are populated by heroes and villains, fairies and folklore, yarns about local Monaghan characters, saints, sinners and include border tales of smuggling and other goings on! Rhymes and riddles also feature and tales are told in an easy going and engaging style because “life’s too short for a long face!”
Kate Corkery
Storyteller
Kate Corkery is a captivating Irish storyteller who has performed in countless schools, libraries, theatres and festivals across the world, delighting audiences of all ages. As award winning storyteller- in- residence at The Irish Cultural Centre, London, Kate has run storytelling clubs, festivals, workshops and training courses. She is a founder member of ‘EVERYDAY MAGIC’- Storytelling for London Schools and one half of dynamic Afro Caribbean/Celtic duo ‘SPUD &YAM’ and a popular voice worldwide on SUPERGREATKIDSSTORIES podcast.
Kate loves to collect and share stories from Ireland and is author of ‘Cork Folk Tales’. Her highly acclaimed FATE commissioned show ‘Sweet Shop on the Shore’, set in her home town of Passage West, won outstanding storytelling performance at the BASE awards and has gone on to tour far and wide. Kate is thrilled to be bringing her stories to The Glens Storytelling Festival.
Lona Bartlett
Storyteller
Lona Bartlett is a professional storyteller, puppeteer and educator who has delighted audiences throughout the U.S. and internationally for over 30 years. Degrees in education and a small town upbringing in the Catskill Mountains provide inspiration for a long list of programs and presentations. No matter the genre, whether folktales, fairytales, puppets, or personal stories, Lona loves bringing excitement and insight to audiences at schools, libraries, conferences, festivals, corporate gatherings and special events.
Liz Weir
MBE
Storyteller
Liz Weir has been sharing her tales for over 40 years and has built up an international reputation, having been a featured teller at storytelling festivals around the world. As a former librarian, she is passionate about getting people to preserve and share their own stories.
THANKS TO OUR FUNDERS AND PARTNERS IN 2023
