This post is too late to tell you about the Sketchbook workshop that happened in Blarney on Tues 6 Oct, sorry! But glad to be able to tell you we have a very exciting lineup for Callanan’s on Tues 20.
October Mixtape: Tuesday 20, 8.30pm Callanan’s George’s Quay, Cork City
Doors open at 8pm, storytelling starts at 8.30pm. Be early if you want a seat! It’s a free event but donations welcome.
See https://www.facebook.com/TheGabStorytelling for updates in the lead up to it.
Despite it being summer holidays it’s been a very few weeks but we’re thrilled to be resuming normal service in September with the Sketchbook in Blarney and the Mixtape in Callanan’s. Who doesn’t love a bit of routine!?!
September Sketchbook: Tuesday 8, 8.30pm Blarney Castle Hotel
At the Sketchbook, we take a deep dive into stories and telling. Please email thegabstorytelling@gmail.com if you want to attend, tell a story or take a role. Cover charge is €5
September Mixtape: Tuesday 15, 8.30pm Callanan’s George’s Quay
Doors open at 8pm, storytelling starts at 8.30pm. Be early if you want a seat! Check out https://www.facebook.com/TheGabStorytelling for updates in the lead up to it.
We recently celebrated the Gab’s 10th Birthday at Elizabeth fort, thanks to sponsorship by Cork City Council Nighttime Economy fund. We don’t know how he does it, but Max Bell’s photos get better every time, thanks so much Max (and Édith for the above photo which includes Max) for making us look beautiful! Thanks a million to Mervyn and Adam at Elizabeth Fort who set everything up for us in the beautiful garden at the fort and cleared all the chairs away while we ate pizza and had the craic. Thanks to Deirdre O’Mahony as Bean an tí who had the tough task of keeping more than 20 performers inline, she ensured a great flow and did an excellent job. Thanks to Paul Walsh who guided us through the fort. Thank you to the tellers, poets, singers and performers who kept us highly entertained for the night. And most of all, thanks to the listeners, ye were the best audience.
Mary Walsh was the first teller and told a short story about her brother Paul writing his news back in primary school. News so shocking to the teacher it resulted in a worried phone call to home but his mother, Bridie, was able to set the story straight.
The stalwart Gabber and storyteller, Sharon O’Neill delighted us with the audience participation in her story about a wonky donkey. There were whoops, cheers and plenty shouting from the crowd.
It was a beautiful warm, sunny evening in Elizabeth fort but Liam O’Shaughnessy charmed us with a short anecdote about rain and a Russia called Rudolf, the pun and punchline was just perfect.
Despite not many of us knowing the song, “Old Orange Flute”, Rob McKahey had us singing along to the chorus. What a treat to hear the a cappella folk song in Rob’s inimitable and humorous style.
Can you believe it was Julie Crowley who introduced Mary Walsh and Deirdre O’Mahony to storytelling when she brought them to the Cape Clear storytelling festival in 2012? It was lovely to hear Julie telling the story of how and when our love of storytelling began a few years before the Gab was born.
The man from Bonane, Brendan O’Sullivan, never disappoints and he gave us a cracker of a short story about Sr. Ignations on her deathbed, surrounded by her sisters. They decided to give her a drop of brandy in her milk to perk her up. It worked and provided her very memorable last words.
Not that you’d guess it but Pauline O’Grady-Noonan is a relative newbie to the Gab. We were in stitches with her story about a man with a male pet camel who brought him to Dublin for a match and caused fierce confusion reporting the crime.
Now a regular at Mixtapes and Sketchbooks, Pat Murray sang a very timely, funny and thought-provoking song, “I’d Go Anywhere to Fight For Oil to Lubricate the Red, White & Blue” by the American folk musician, Dana Lyons.
Lenka Forrest, long-time supporter of the Gab since the very early days, gave us a story with her unique Eastern European perspective on cooking a family meal in Ireland, hilarious!
The West Waterford duo, Sinead O’Neill and Liam Roche brought us down memory lane with a bopping rendition of a story they sang at their very first Gab in O’Mahony’s in Watergrasshill, “I wanna dance with somebody” by Whitney Heuston.
Rom Hyde had us roaring with laugher telling a story about Jack who had a surname that sounds the same as the vernacular word for excrement, Sh1t and the trouble it caused for him.
Pat Speight has been a guiding professional storytelling hand since the very first year of the Gab’s existence so it was wonderful to have him celebrating with us at our 10th birthday. His first story was about a farmer whose wife couldn’t cook and his second story was a tricker’s story about a man with a horse who swallowed his gold.
Caroline Foley composed a poem about the Gab to celebrate the Gab’s 10th birthday, especially highlighting the monthly workshop, the Sketchbook in the Blarney Castle hotel, where “they help us discover stories we never knew”. Thanks a million, Caroline!
Conor Ó Buachalla, who runs https://www.gormu.com/, small-group eco-adventures, delighted us with a tale of taking two Canadians and two locals on a tour in West cork. The locals were more than anyone could handle ending up with Conor and the Canadians having the experience of a lifetime.
Judith Coffey was at the very first night of the Gab in Coughlans in 2016 and charmed us with a bespoke poem for the Gab’s 10th birthday. She reminded us that nobody had a clue what was going to happen that first night, she thought it was going to be boring, imagine! And she beautifully reminded us of Gabbers we have lost over the last 10 years, thanks a million Judith! Judith finished with a signature dirty witty ditty, “Soft as putty”.
Colm Ryan gave us a life-affirming story about surviving a climb of Carrauntoohil in extreme conditions a few years ago. Despite the fine evening, we were all in that wind tunnel with Colm thanks to his evocative descriptions.
No stranger to the Gab, Terri Ryan introduced us to Willie Joe Dulux, a character from her youth and the craic they got up to as innocent youngsters in Mitchelstown.
Diarmuid O Drisceoil’s story could be considered an ecumenical matter, a few days after the resurrection, Jesus meets up with some of the lads, has a few pints with them, goes out in a boat on the sea of Galilee, hilarity ensues. Diarmuid’s actions and sound effects were spot on.
Paul O’Sullivan told a wonderful poignant story filled with unspoken kindness and community spirit about an old childhood neighbour George. Very fitting for the occasion.
Sinead and Liam rounded off the performances of the evening with a few songs, “From this valley” by the Civil Wars, “Carolina” by Taylor Swift and “Set fire to the 3rd bar” by Snow Patrol.
Thanks again for celebrating 10 years with us. Here’s to many, many more.
Thanks to Cork City Council’s Night time economy for sponsoring our Christmas Special in the Church of the Resurrection in Blarney late last year. Thanks to Reverend Abigail Sines for such a warm welcome to the church, to Max Bell as always for capturing the night perfectly in these photos, to all the helpers for setting up and returning the church to how we found it, to Paul Walsh for manning the door, to the tellers, musicians and singers for the festive entertainment and most of all to the listeners who made the night so special for all of us.
Deirdre O’Mahony welcomed everyone to the Church of the Resurrection as Bean a’ tí before introducing local Cathal Ó Loingsigh. He played the beautiful, slow and dreamy, Draíocht an ghab, a tune he composed especially for the Gab.
First storyteller, Brendan O’Sullivan took us to Bonane, Co. Kerry, Christmas night 1999. A haunting tribute of a story in memory of those who had gone before, especially Tade Lee, Brendan’s father’s uncle.
Next up was a classic folk tale told by Julie Crowley, the Man with no Luck, who met many strangers as he walked and he walked and he walked to find God to find out why he had no luck.
Even though his poor father was a lightning rod for trouble, Paul O’Sullivan never wanted for anything growing up in a family of five thanks to the kindness of neighbours. There were many adventures on the family farm from pulling ragworth and picking stones to the high jinks with Georgie Garrett’s donkey.
Did you know there was a Christmas miser before Scrooge? Sharon O’Neill gave us the story of Gabriel Grub, the sexton who dug the graves and rang the bells who saw other’s happiness as a personal insult. But one Christmas night, when Gabriel is taken away by goblins, he learns a thing or two.
The West Waterford duo, Sinead O’Neill and Liam Roche, took us to the break with Taylor Swift’s “Caroline” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.
Our genial BAT, Deirdre O’Mahony told us a story about how the divilment and mischief of her late father Timmy has inspired her modern day parenting and that scourge on advent households, the elf on the shelf.
Lenka Forrest took us to Eastern Europe in the last century and painted a gorgeous Christmas picture for us when Brezhnev was the Soviet leader and Reagan was seen as the bad guy where they feasted on carp fish on Christmas eve and baby Jesus brought the presents.
Diarmuid O Drisceoil gave us the sense of an ending with the story of a burial in Cape Clear, neighbours coming together to dig the grave and lay a local to rest, a glimpse into the passing of time in every sense.
Before we were sent off on on our festive way, Sinead and Liam sang out the night with a duet by Judy Collins and Ari Hest from their album, Silver Skies Blue, “Aberdeen” and the grand finale, “Oh Holy Night”.
More photos available on Facebook.
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
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/
