
MEET OUR 2022 GUEST ARTISTS

Maria Gillen
Artistic Director
In 2018 and 2019 Maria featured as an emerging storyteller in the annual Cape Clear Storytelling festival with ‘ Maria headlined our festival in 2020 and has been a Featured Teller in the States, Oloumouc, The UK, Scotland and at a number of festivals in Ireland. Maria has brought the famous Listowel Rambling House online during the Covid Pandemic, founding an expanding play list of excellent Rambling House nights which you can find on https://tinyurl.com/KWM-Playlists.
Maria has been exploring the Medicinal Story through her work as a Dramatherapist and Storyteller with the Cork Yarnspinners. She has collected many delightful tales and wisdoms from Cork based Community work.ba

Liz Weir MBE

Joe Brennan

Ger Wolfe
Releasing nine full albums of his highly original work on indie label ‘Raggedy Records’ “Word & Rhyme” (1998), followed by ‘Ragged Ground’ (2000), ‘Heaven Paints Her Holy Mantle Blue’ (2002) and ‘The Velvet Earth’ (2005). ‘No Bird Sang’ (2009), ‘Fréamh ; Root’ (2011) and ‘I Have Been Loved’ (2014), ‘Melody Bright and The Favourite Sparrow’ (a compilation) (2019) and “The Morning Star” (2020) Ger has toured extensively both solo and with his band ‘The New Skylarks’, mainly featuring Paul Frost (double bass), Edel Sullivan (violin) and Martin Leahy (Drums) over the last 20 years.

Frances Kennedy
It was in Listowel, of course, that Frances met John B. Keane, one of her idols and there were many great singing nights in his pub. John B. encouraged Frances to tell a recitation or a yarn and before she knew it she was entertaining often.

Mickey MacConnell
His first album ‘Peter Pan and Me’ was released in 1992 to critical acclaim and since then many of his songs have been recorded internationally by such artists as Christy Moore, The Wolfe Tones, Mary Black and The James Last Orchestra. His album ‘Joined Up Writing’ features many new songs and takes a wry look at life and politics, not just in Ireland but worldwide.

Gabriel Fitzmaurice

Godfrey Coppinger
Originally from California, Godfrey now lives in Listowel, with a leprechaun, a fancy dog, and a retired pirate. She tells stories regularly at the Kerry County Library and works with Fighting Words, a creative writing program that helps students of all ages develop their writing skills and explore their love of writing.

Paddy Regan
A Corkman, his only outstanding ambition is a Kerry passport. Some hope.!!

Sonny Egan

Cormac O'Caoimh
Cormac’s intimate vocals, magical melodies and exquisite guitar playing has always attracted very favourable appeal to critics quick to point to his unique style as well as comparisons to acts varying from the dreamy pop of The Go Betweens, Badly Drawn Boy, Elliott Smith and Prefab Sprout to the introspective and more folk-oriented Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen and Paul Simon.

Hank Wedel
Irish folk-singer legend Christy Moore recorded Hank’s song “Listen” and made it the title track of his best-selling 2009 album on Sony records. In 2012, Hank released a single entitled “Mighty Fine”. The track was his first ever digital release and it reached No. 4 on the Irish iTunes Singles Chart within two weeks of release. In the past, he has been involved with bands “Princes Street” and “Open Kitchen” and a long-standing Monday night residency at Charlie’s Bar with mandolinist Ray Barron attracts a large weekly loyal following.

Lorraine Nash
Lorraine’s vocal emanates from a soulful place, somewhere between Tracy Chapman and Gillian Welch, and is perfectly suited to a musical palate that evokes Americana and folk tones.
Over the past year Lorraine has performed at high profile events such as Indiependence Presents: Autumn Air, The Ruby Sessions, and Breaking Sound UK. She has also performed in renowned venues such Cork Opera House, Triskel Arts Centre and St. Luke’s.

Maria Credali
Having discovered and immersed herself in the world of storytelling several years ago, Maria now takes traditional tales and makes them her own, breathing life into characters and taking the listener on journeys of magic and myth. She has told at clubs across the Uk, including Word of Mouth, Matlock Storytellers and Stafford Knot, and she also tells as part of Lichfield Storytellers. Prior to Covid, Maria was invited to tell as up and coming artist to watch on the main stage artist at the East Anglian Storytelling Festival 2020.
Maria has a warm and engaging, humorous style which is well suited to sharing story secrets with her audiences. Her favourite stories are those that leave you feeling that all is well in the world…..perhaps those are just the sort of stories we need at the moment…