Thanks to Cork City Council’s Nighttime Economy, we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary at Elizabeth Fort. The event is now sold out but please join the waiting list https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-gab-storytelling-celebrates-10-years-tickets-1990430456075 and you will be notified if a ticket becomes available.
The May Gab Mixtape in Callanan’s kicked off bang on time with Diarmuid O Drisceoil at the helm as FAT. The first teller, Deirdre O’Mahony, took us back to her teenage job as the relief milker for the summer on her family’s dairy farm. A fraught introduction to the milking parlour with her Dad as her boss. She was saving up to go to Dingle at the end of the summer but as well as money she was rewarded with a memorable bovine shower.
Next Liam O’Shaughnessy with a traditional tale about a princess who wonders about the 12 empty bedrooms in the castle, the 12 rusting swords and the 12 idle horses in the stable. Turns out her 12 brothers were living the goose life by day and having the craic as her brothers at nighttime. A great folk tale told in Liam’s inimitable style.
Daniel Galvin had to fight a man recently for a story, we’d love to have seen the other fella. He went on to tell us his mad take on the arrival of mobile saunas to Ireland, a phenomenon in the community that ended in a 3 day siege highlighting the contrast between an old and new Ireland.
Sorcha de Róiste brought us to the break with two beautiful sean nos songs “Raghadsa is mo Cheaití” from West Kerry followed by “Casam araon na Géanna Romhainn” from Cúil Aodha.
Despite it being 4 deep at the bar, Rob and Eileen had everyone watered in no time and we were back to the show in no time. Sorcha treated us to a Muskerry song rediscovered by Sean O Riada, “Aisling Gheal” followed by the beautiful “An Chúilfhionn”.
Colm Ryan was up next with an action packed chase of Carlos by his father the King. Carlos had an unusual talent but It wasn’t until he met Maria that his talent failed him. And thanks to Maria’s brother Pablo they all nearly lived happily ever after.
In her Cork colours, Anna O’Sullivan, enthralled us with her remembering her first trip to Croke Park as a youngster with her little brother Denis, her dad and her uncle Noel. A pilgrimage that has been repeated many times since but the first time is always very special.
The FAT, Diarmuid finished the stories for the night with his unusual discovery from the 1926 census and putative great grandfather Dan Sheehan, an “iar-snámhaí”, who may have swam all the way to America and came home with a small fortune.
As Diarmuid reminded us, we had a night of stories and songs, no special effects, no props, no lighting, no sound system, just the human voice and a wonderfully attentive audience. We all went home the better for the night.
Thanks as always to Rob and Eileen in Callanans, Max for these photos that get better and better each time, Deirdre for putting it all together, Paul on the door, all of the tellers and singers but most of all the listeners for their wonderful attention and encouragement.
More photos available on our Facebook page
Full house, packed by 8.10 not a seat to be had, standing room only.
Vince Kiely started the night as Fear an Tí reminding us of his long relationship with the Gab since the very early days. Brendan O’Sullivan was up first with a spooky tale about Fr Quill’s grave and a plot to unearth his resting soul. An hilarious story of childhood devilment where ultimately twas Mam and Dad who had the last laugh.
Ivay Nyggard had travelled from Norway by way of Tipperary and brought us a Norwegian creation story of the cow Audhumla who licked the ice to reveal the first of the Norse Gods. The big, fat udder will remain long in the memory! A flavour of Scandinavian culture.
From Norse cows to lambs on the Burren, our next story was from a new teller, Pauline O’Grady Noonan. We followed the happy farm life of Shorty the lamb all the way from her precarious birth to her eventual freedom. A simple rural story of Pauline’s childhood full of love, empathy and lambs.
Rob McKahey is a legend on the Cork music scene from his years as the drummer of punk rock band STUMP. Rob has hung up his drumsticks in favour of a guitar these days but when he does perform we know we are in for a treat. He played 4 songs in the first half; ‘I prefer girls to boys’, an ode to the male ego being dented in favour of the fairer sex. Then we had an alternative version of ‘The Banks’ penned by Rob’s late band member the legend Mick Lynch. Instead of sporting and playing we met bodily fluids, tampons and nappies. Rob treated us to a slice of his childhood on the northside growing up in Blackpool with ‘Scutting’ before bringing us into the break with the cold and violent ‘ Delia’s Gone’.
It was 3 deep at the bar where Rob was ably assisted by Ruby and we got back into to second half of the night with Judith Coffey opening with two poems-one about the sadness of a lost shoe and the other an ode to chapter in a woman’s life where all sense goes out the window-the dreaded menopause.
We had a complete change of pace then with Sharon O’Neill who introduced us to Mis – beast, woman, mountain, lover, queen-each of her roles was beautifully crafted by Sharon’s telling. From the opening line to the last, she had the audience enthralled with this complex character from Irish mythology. We’ll be using the term ‘tricking stick’ again I’m sure. An unexpected love story that brought us towards the end of the evening.
From ancient love to modern, next up to finish the night of stories was Vince. We met a man with a ponytail, a woman with manicured hair and an unlikely coupling. A departure from Vince’s usual style we learned the importance of perfection, imperfection and how one can often be disguised as the other. Rob sang us out with an ode to his beautiful wife Judith, penned during lockdown ‘Smile Judith Smile’. ‘The Man who Couldn’t Cry’ by Loudon Wainwright III. A man whose tear ducts dried up until they didn’t-a story of pain, jail, rain and dehydration and death…Another brilliant performance from Rob to see us out into the April night.
Thanks a million to Rob in Callanans, Ruby for helping out, Deirdre for putting it all together, the performers and most of all the listeners for being an amazing audience. Our next Mixtape is Tues 19 May, doors 8pm for an 8.30pm start and it’s already shaping up to be a great one!
More photos available on our Facebook page.
Thanks a million to Liam O’Shaughnessy for his review of our recent weekend workshop and performance with Daniel Morden
Fadó Fadó, way way back many years ago, Daniel Morden was a featured storyteller at the 2012 edition of the Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival. It was the first time I sat in awed silence in a packed roomful of strangers, listening to a master storyteller transport us through time and space. It really was an experience I will never forget. Daniel’s tales that weekend lit a fire within me, and that passion for storytelling continues to burn brightly. And I’m not the only one! Though we didn’t know each other at the time, several current members of the Gab were in attendance that weekend. The connection between the Gab and Daniel Morden is a deep and profound one. When Mary and Deirdre announced that they would be welcoming Daniel to Blarney for a weekend concert and workshop, well, I was only delighted.
The festivities began as good stories often do, on a Friday night. The Church of the Resurrection Blarney, which was to be our home for the weekend, was bustling with quiet anticipation as I arrived and the seats began to fill. The gorgeous church, with soft lighting and playful shadows, shifted and settled into something warmer and more alive as the crowds grew and anticipation built. The echoes of the empty space were replaced by the murmurings of quiet conversations, the rustling of large winter coats, and before long the ambient playing of Stevie O’Brien as the remaining crowds took their seats.
BAT Deirdre O’Mahony set out the plan for the evening, with a series of stories from Daniel, interspersed with music from piper Stevie O’Brien and fiddler Fanny Leenhardt, and singing from mezzosoprano Gráinne Stafford.
Through the course of the evening, Daniel told four stories, each distinct, each opening a different door for our imaginations to walk through. He began with the tale of the Green man. As we learned the following day, this is the kind of story which Daniel loves to tell: something ancient and earthy, rooted deep in the Celtic folklore tradition. It’s a story which has it all, magic, gambling, quests, love and loss. It was a tour-de-force performance from Daniel, leaving very little doubt as to why he’s considered one of the finest storytellers working in the English language today. After a musical interlude, Daniel changed pace and regaled us with a traditional story from Armenia. This tale was much darker, but with the barriers between the crowd and the world of the stories already completely melted after the tale of the Green man, we lapped up this story of conflict and betrayal.
After the intermission, Daniel told two more tales. He hadn’t planned to tell these stories, but he was struck with inspiration from the musicians. First, we heard Daniel’s version, of his father’s version, of one of Aesop’s fables. Set in an old graveyard at night featuring a grieving widow and a lonely watchman, it was a tale of sorrow and loss followed by new love and hope. For his final story of the evening, Daniel transported us to ancient Greece, where Zeus and Poseidon, disguised as poor humans, visited a town which was violating the ancient laws of hospitality. It was a tale with deep themes, moments of laughter, and some incredible imagery.I overheard more than one person afterwards wondering about the real place behind it—modern-day Phrygia—and whether that lake still exists, where the oak and linden trees grow together, intertwined.
Daniel’s performance was magnificent, but the weekend was only beginning!
The Saturday workshop began with the 15 of us sitting in a semi-circle around Daniel, proudly sporting our name tags, and wondering what we were in for. The event was billed as designed for those with little or no prior experience with folk tales, but that promise did little to quell the nerves! We started with a question, what is a story? It sounds simple, but it led to quite an interesting discussion. Next Daniel told us a lovely short story about a man who couldn’t tell a story, and we spent the morning working through it—breaking it into plot points, themes, and vivid images that could anchor it in memory. These exercises were incredibly helpful and practical, and I’m sure many of us workshop attendees will be using them throughout our own storytelling journeys.
After lunch we split into two groups, with Daniel telling each half a different tale. Then, in pairs, we practiced the techniques from the morning on this new story with our partner. We then got the chance to tell the story as a duo to a pair who hadn’t heard the story yet! It was a very enjoyable exercise (and might I say Pauline and I formed a magnificent storytelling duo). To close out Saturday, and gently lead us into Sunday, we turned to the challenge of bringing folktales to life from text. Have you ever read a story on the page and found it falls a little flat, especially when you’ve heard it told aloud? And even when the written version works, how do you take it off the page and make it your own?
Before we called it a day, we were given a written account of an old folk tale. It was a hastily written, poorly translated, sorry-state of a story. But that was exactly the point. In that form, the story is boring, dull and lifeless. But come Sunday morning, Daniel performed his magnificent version of the story, and then guided us through how he took the tale from text to performance. Non-linear storytelling, embellishment of characters and imagery all play a role, but our word of the weekend was most definitely “paralinguistics”.
After Daniel’s example, it was time for us to follow suit. We had each brought a folktale to the event, and now was our time to bring it to life. Taking some time to apply all of the tools and techniques we learned over the weekend to our stories, we finished the day in the best possible way, by telling stories to each other.
Storytelling isn’t just about performance; it’s about community, about passing things on, about keeping something alive. We had a fantastic weekend engaging with the tradition, guided by one of its modern masters.
And I’ve no doubt that, for years to come, we’ll still be telling stories about the weekend Daniel Mordan came to Blarney…
– Liam O’Shaughnessy
We’re just coming back to earth after a wonderful weekend of stories with Daniel Morden in Blarney. But fear not, we’re raring to go again for the Mixtape next Tuesday. Hope to see you there …
April Mixtape: Tuesday 21 March 8.30pm Callanan’s George’s Quay
Doors open at 8pm, storytelling starts at 8.30pm. Be early if you want a seat!
Performance – Friday 10 April 8pm
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-gab-presents-daniel-morden-tickets-1984116863951
SOLD OUT Workshop – Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 April 10am – 4pm (includes performance)
Please contact thegabstorytelling@gmail.com for waiting list
Storytelling Performance – Friday 10 April 8pm
For over three decades, Daniel Morden has been transporting audiences around the globe through the ancient art of storytelling. Whether navigating a timeless Greek myth or thrilling adventure, Daniel commands the stage with rare, magnetic intensity. Witness a true master of the craft at work and join us for an evening of laughter, wonder and storytelling at its best.
Music on the night will be from Gab regulars mezzosoprano Gráinne Stafford, piper Stevie O’Brien and fiddler Fanny Leenhardt. Hailing from Kells, Co. Meath, Stevie O’Brien, has been playing the uilleann pipes and various whistles since he was a youngster. Gráinne Stafford from Enniscorthy in Wexford has performed with Opera Ireland, the National Chamber Choir, East Cork Choral Society and Cork Operatic Society. Fanny Leenhardt was born in the South East of France. She is passionate about traditional Irish music (and bread!) and is an exceptional fiddle player. All three now live in Cork, this special Gab event brings them together for the first time.
STORYTELLING WORKSHOP – Day 1 – Saturday 11 April
Step into the timeless world of traditional storytelling in this storytelling workshop. Designed for those with little or no prior experience with folk tales, the session introduces the art of telling traditional stories drawn from folklore, myth and oral traditions. Participants will explore how stories are shaped, remembered, and shared aloud.
You’ll learn techniques for choosing a story, defining its structure, and telling it in your own natural voice—without scripts or pressure to perform. The emphasis is on confidence, enjoyment, and connection rather than perfection. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have developed your own storytelling style and gained practical tools to continue telling stories in everyday and community settings. Participants should bring along a traditional story to work with. (The Gab will help you find one if needs be)
STORYTELLING WORKSHOP – Day 2 – Sunday 12 April
Building on day one, Daniel continues with the traditional tale. Myths, legends and folktales are sometimes enthralling, but all too often they can be confusing or even offensive. Daniel will explain strategies that he has developed to adapt old stories so that they are relevant to contemporary audiences.
Performance
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-gab-presents-daniel-morden-tickets-1984116863951
Workshop & performance
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/storytelling-workshop-with-daniel-morden-tickets-1984118540967
We’re a small bit behind schedule with photos and summaries of our recent Gabs but we’re getting back on track. Photos by the wonderful Max Bell are now available on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.944495297914060&type=3
Our November Gab Mixtape in Callanan’s to a capacity crowd brought us many treasures. We had bees, boars and the beds of Diarmuid and Gráinne. We had polkas, poetry, parking fines, polo and poitín. We had rocks that wouldn’t shift, lakes that wouldn’t drain and favours that could never be repaid. We felt a sense of an ending, the beginning of new love lifting a stone and learned the importance of heeding a mother’s intuition.
Julie Crowley was the first storyteller of the night bringing us on a young man’s reluctant journey to several dances(he’d have rathered be at home farming), through fledgling relationships cut short by his father’s shaming of him but ultimately ending in his father’s words of wisdom. A simple love story with a message for us all in choosing a partner in life who can share the load.
Up next was Conor O Buachalla. Condensing any stories from the Tóraíocht into a version that listeners can connect with is never easy but Conor didn’t shy away from it, bringing us the highs and lows of Diarmuid and Gráinne and their ill fated love affair. As with all tales involving the Fianna we had beds, boars and of course plenty brutality.
Up next was Vince Kiely who brought us to the far East with a story was set in India. Our hero was a poitín maker called Patsy O’Halloran who took the Queen’s Shilling and went with the British army to India. Patsy dealt in favors, he didn’t deal in money. By the time his service in India was up, every single person in India owed him a favour. Patsy’s efforts in trying to keep a polo game from being cancelled were successful and another few favours were owed to him in return!
Then we had Fanny and John up next. Gone for a Day, a self composed song of John’s inspired by his wife’s absence and an albatross was followed by a few tunes led by Fanny who played a series of Mazorkas on the fiddle, accompanied by John.
First we had a Mazorka from the French tradition, Mazorka Des croissants followed by The Origins of the world. Fanny’s own husband composed the next number, The ballad of Judith Hoad, inspired by a documentary about a woman living off the land in Donegal. We then heard ‘Christmas in Spiddal’ and ‘Twelve to the bar’ by Liam O’Flanagan.
After the break, Fear an tí Liam O’Shaughnessy created an air of mystery when introducing the next teller – himself! The boy who wanted to live forever met different characters on his quest and eventually ended up in inside a Mountain, living the life of his dreams until he got sick of it and he wanted to go home. The sound effects of the duck on a lead slurping the lake were evocative and hilarious. A traditional tale to start us back after the break.
Newcomer to the Gab Anna O’Sullivan was next up. She told a story that started with a harmless bit of dodgy parking on Patrick St and culminated in the guards arriving at the door of her parent’s house. A romp of a story charting the highs and lows of an adult parent child relationship. The moral was clear – pay your parking fines and remember that a mother’s intuition is never wrong.
Then to finish off the night, we had Diarmuid O Drisceoil with a beautiful story from Cape Clear. The images of men digging the grave of their friend and neighbour, the straight lines cut by their shovels, and the ‘perfect angle of repose’ of the dug out earth were brought poetically to life in Diarmuid’s telling. A moving story to bring our evening of stories to a close before Fanny and John played us out.
John Neville had us all buzzing along with his old ‘Honey Bee’, a beautiful love song between a bee and a flower before Fanny introduced a set of polkas. The first two composed by Séamus Creagh – Connie in the Pool, and the Gortnatubrid Polka. We then heard the P&O polka by Christy Leahy. Our Final polka of the night was ‘The Frenzy Polka by Cormac Begley. A gorgeous array of music to send us out into the November night.
Thanks a million to Rob and Eileen in Callanan’s for letting us take over, Paul Walsh on the door, Deirdre O’Mahony for putting it all together, all the tellers and musicians for the entertainment and most of all the listeners who turned up and played their part in making the magic.
It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks for the Gab with two more sold-out shows in Coughlans and making lots more plans for our 10th year in existence. We can’t wait to get back into Callanan’s on Tuesday night, it feels like last year since we were there!
Looking ahead to March, we have our regular Sketchbook in Blarney, an extra Sketchbook in Maureen’s and then the launch of Féile Fearann Rí to top off the month. And Daniel Morden comes to Blarney in April, exciting times ahead!
SAVE THE DATE!
April Workshop with Daniel Morden: Friday 10 – Sunday 12 April in Church of the Resurrection Blarney
We are delighted to be bringing one of the best storytellers in the English speaking world to Blarney in April. Daniel Morden has been a professional teller of traditional tales since the 80s. On the evening of Friday 10 April, Daniel will lead a storytelling performance in the COI Blarney. Followed by a 2 day workshop on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April in the same location. See https://danielmorden.org/
A personal post by Mary Walsh
Ten years ago, I started the Gab because I loved listening to stories, I couldn’t find enough storytelling events and I wanted to hear more. Often at the Gab, strangers come in as individuals and create a little community. I always wondered: Why does listening to stories make us feel so good? Why does it connect us so deeply?
Today, as I grow Ginkgo Collective with Robert Hawkes, I’m hoping to find the scientific “why” behind that magic.
The Gab has never been a solo project for me. It’s built on the hard work of the storytellers and some incredible people who understood the power of a shared space. My cousin Deirdre O’Mahony has been my co-conspirator since before the very beginning; she’s been the steady hand sharing and shaping the vision from day one.
Sharon O’Neill was a massive support from those early days, and even though she’s moved off the committee, she remains one of the Gab’s most able analysts at the Sketchbook. We don’t see them often enough now but Clair O’Sullivan and Judith Coffey shaped the Gab constitution and helped create beautiful shared storytelling spaces in the early years. We cannot forget Max Bell, who captures the essence of the Gab in every photo and video.
And then there’s Julie Crowley, who was the one to first introduce us all to the world of storytelling. I’m delighted to say we’ve finally co-opted her onto the committee to manage the books. It is and has always been, a committee of storytellers who put storytelling first and can also get the work done.
Through the lens of Polyvagal Theory, I realise that what we do at the Gab isn’t just entertainment, it’s a collective exercise in ventral vagal co-regulation. When we listen to a storyteller’s voice, we create an image of their story in our minds and our nervous systems begin to align. Our heart rates soften and our brains receive a biological signal that says: “You are safe. You belong here.” It’s the same feeling you get when listening to a choir; there is a physical reset that happens when we are in rhythm with one another.
This is exactly what we are bringing to our first Ginkgo event, The Science of Rhythm & Regulation. I know our facilitators, Brendan McKiernan and Anna Mitchell, personally. Brendan brings the clinical depth of Polyvagal Theory, and Anna brings the magic of a professional conductor. I know the day will be full of the same joy and connection you’d expect at a Gab storytelling event, with the added bonus of understanding the biology behind it.
Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love spreadsheets and checklists, they’re the tools of my event management trade. But it’s also about the art of the gathering. Whether I’m arranging the room for a Gab event or planning a workshop on neuroscience, my goal is to create a space for co-regulation to come to life.
I want you to leave a Ginkgo or a Gab event feeling lighter than when you walked in. I want you to have that “aha” moment of a new insight, but I also want you to have had a genuine laugh along the way. Because when we feel good, we learn better. And when we connect, we thrive.
The Gab Presents in Coughlan’s, Douglas St.
Friday 6 February 2026 8:00 pm
Tickets: €24.50 including booking & venue fees
https://tickets.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/11191185/The-Gab-Presents:-Storytelling/Fri-06-Feb-2026
With one sold out night in January, we’re delighted to return to Coughlan’s in February, see https://www.coughlans.ie/whats-on/the-gab-presents-storytelling-11191185 for full details
Other upcoming Gab dates:
February Sketchbook: Tuesday 3 November 8.30pm Blarney Castle Hotel
Regular Sketchbook in Blarney where we take a deep dive into stories and telling. Please RSVP if you want to tell a story, take a role or attend and dont forget €5
February Mixtape: Tuesday 17 February 8.30pm Callanan’s George’s Quay
Doors open at 8pm, storytelling starts at 8.30pm.
SAVE THE DATE!
April Workshop with Daniel Morden: Friday 10 – Sunday 12 April in Church of the Resurrection Blarney
We are delighted to be bringing one of the best storytellers in the English speaking world to Blarney in April. Daniel Morden has been a professional teller of traditional tales since 1989. On the evening of Friday 10 April, Daniel will lead a storytelling performance in the COI Blarney. Followed by a 2 day workshop on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April in the same location. See https://danielmorden.org/
More info coming soon. Please email thegabstorytelling@gmail.com to reserve a space
The Gab 