MEET OUR 2022 GUEST ARTISTS

Kerry Writers’ Museum is delighted to welcome Maria back as Artistic Director of our 2022 festival. In 2018 and 2019 Maria featured as an emerging storyteller in the annual Cape Clear Storytelling festival. Maria headlined our festival in 2020 and has been a featured teller in the States, Czech Republic, UK, Scotland and at a number of festivals in Ireland. Maria brought the famous Listowel Rambling House online during the Covid Pandemic, compiling an expanding play list of excellent Rambling House nights which you can find on here.

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.

Liz Weir MBE is a professional storyteller based in Cushendall, Co. Antrim. Liz works with all age groups promoting the traditional art for which Ireland is world famous. A children’s librarian by training, she now travels the world telling stories to adults and children, organising workshops on storytelling, and speaking at courses for parents, teachers and librarians. Her wealth of stories is drawn from both the oral and written traditions. She was the first winner of the International Story Bridge Award from the National Storytelling Network, USA, which cited her “exemplary work promoting the art of storytelling”. She was awarded an MBE for her services to the Arts and Education in January 2019.

Joe grew up immersed in stories of his home town of Wexford. He is the writer of successful children’s play The Witchin’ Well, which had two national tours and travelled to Bucharest. Whispering Waves, a theatrical storytelling performance, and Star Boy, a theatre show for children without words are other projects. He facilitates workshops in storytelling, creative writing and drama for all ages. Joe was the Children’s Curator at Kilkenny Arts Festival and Director of Ramelton Storytelling Festival. During Covid lockdown, when Joe featured on RTE Nationwide with his project telling stories to isolated elders by phone.

Even though Frances now lives in Listowel, Co. Kerry she is quick to point out that she is very much a Cork woman. The youngest of a large family, 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. Her mother, a great believer in ghosts would tell of strange lights seen and things going bump in the night, so it was easy for Frances to fall into singing and telling the odd story. It was in Listowel that Frances first started singing in public as everyone in Kerry has a story to tell, so she just joined in.

It was also in Listowel, of course, that Frances met John B. Keane, one of her idols. John B. encouraged Frances to tell a recitation or a yarn and before she knew it she was entertaining often.

Mickey is the youngest member of a musical family from Bellanaleck, Co. Fermanagh. He spent most of his working life as a journalist in Dublin with the Irish Press Group and The Irish Times. Despite the fact that he has been writing songs all his life – Only Our Rivers Run Free’ was written in 1965 – it was only when he moved to Kerry about 30 years ago that he seriously devoted himself to his music.

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 latest album ‘Joined Up Writing’ features many new songs and takes a wry look at life and politics, not just in Ireland but worldwide.

Deeply rooted in the literary tradition of North Kerry, Gabriel Fitzmaurice is a poet, broadcaster, writer, translator, singer and raconteur. He was born in 1952, in the village of Moyvane, Co Kerry where he still lives. For more than three decades, he taught and later served as principal at his local national school and is now happily retired. He has been called “poetry’s answer to John B Keane” (Books Ireland) and his poems have been described as “comparable to Burns for their insight and lyricism” (The Irish Times ). He is the author of more than forty books, including collections of poetry in English and Irish as well as several collections of verse for children.

Paddy Regan, raconteur and seanchaí, has been entertaining audiences for over 30 years. He tells stories about the “foibles, idiosyncrasies and peccadillos” of the human condition. With a gift for accent, characterisation and a keen eye for social behaviour, no one is safe from his energetic, fast paced, irreverent style. Paddy has appeared at all the major venues over the years and, more recently, is well known at the Willie Clancy, Courtmacsherry, Sneem and Writers’ Week festivals. His favourite venue is John B. Keanes. He has established close links with Listowel and has helped with our festival this year.
A Corkman, his only outstanding ambition is a Kerry passport. Some hope!!

Sonny Egan is a storyteller, singer, musician and impromptu dancer who hails from North Kerry. For years, Sonny’s home in Abbeydorney was open to locals and strangers dropping in for tea and a chat and soon developed into a rambling house. Sonny comes to us as 2022 All-Ireland Scéalaíocht competition winner at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in Mullingar and the 2022 Mick McCarthy storytelling competition in Finuge. Sonny is also the proud recipient of a Kerry’s Eye/Radio Kerry Local Hero Award.

Cormac launched his 6th album swim crawl walk run in May 2020. It was Album of the the Week on RTE Radio 1, BBC Ulster, Lyric FM, Play Irish and several other radio stations. It reached no.1 in the official IRMA Indie charts on the week of its release and was one of the top ten selling albums of 2020. His most recent single There must be a catch released in May 2022 was no. 2 in the RTE radio monthly chart and no. 8 in the most played tracks on all Irish radio stations.

Cormac’s intimate vocals, magical melodies and exquisite guitar playing has always attracted very favourable critical appeal, pointing to his unique style. Comparisons ranging from Prefab Sprout and The Go Betweens to Leonard Cohen and Paul Simon have been made of his work.

The independent release of her debut EP Wildflower in 2020 saw stunning newcomer and multi-instrumentalist, Lorraine Nash, quickly become one of the most played female artists on Irish radio. Lorraine has spent the last year working with long-time collaborator Pat Herring Ahern on her debut album due out later in 2022.

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 is an artist, zoologist and storyteller of growing renown. She is even, on occasion, a belly dancer….but that’s a whole other story….

Having immersed herself in the world of storytelling several years ago, Maria now takes traditional tales and makes them her own, 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. Prior to Covid, Maria was invited to tell as “up and coming artist to watch” on the main stage 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…

Originally from Co. Mayo but an adopted son of Kerry, Sean is a storyteller, public speaker and writer of humorous verse. He has published one novel, two collections of humourous poetry and numerous short stories. He has won the Percy French poetry prize for his humourous verse twice and has appeared at many festivals, including the inaugural Los Gatos/Listowel Writer’s Week. A retired teacher, Sean is a regular contributor to Radio Kerry and is past chair of Listowel Writers’ Week.