Drumlin Storytelling Festival returns to Monaghan for its third year
The Drumlin Storytelling Festival returns to Monaghan this September for its third edition, bringing together visiting and local storytellers for a programme celebrating Ireland’s oral storytelling tradition.
The festival is organised by Drumlin Yarnspinners, a monthly oral storytelling group based in Monaghan Town Library. Led by Monaghan storyteller Francis McCarron, who has been sharing stories throughout Ireland for more than 30 years, the group meets on the last Tuesday of each month for approximately two hours.
Over the past four years, the Yarnspinners have welcomed storytellers from across Ireland as well as international guests from Scotland, Germany, Turkey, Japan and Hawaii. The annual festival builds on those monthly gatherings, providing opportunities for audiences of different ages to experience storytelling in community, educational and cultural settings.
Stories for Schools and Care Communities
The festival programme begins on Friday, 18th September, with dedicated storytelling sessions for schools. Laura Sherry, Seosamh Ó Maolalaí and Finnish storyteller Riikka Palonen will lead sessions for children, introducing young audiences to different approaches to oral storytelling.
The organisers highlight listening to stories as a means of encouraging children to create their own mental images and engage imaginatively with narrative. The sessions are restricted to participating schools.
Elsewhere, storyteller Kate Corkery will visit participating nursing homes on the same day. Her sessions will use storytelling as a way of encouraging conversation, shared memories and social connection among residents.
Culture Night Crossroads
The festival will also cross over with Culture Night on Friday, 18th September with Meeting at the Crossroads, a free event beginning at 8pm at Greenan’s Cross Heritage Centre in Lecklevera, Co. Monaghan.
The setting provides the inspiration for the evening. Five roads converge at Greenan’s Cross, with the festival drawing on the crossroads as both a traditional meeting place and a recurring feature of storytelling and folklore.
Riikka Palonen will be the featured storyteller for the evening, bringing Finnish stories to a Monaghan audience. Her performance will explore what organisers describe as the distinctive Finnish “story road”, introducing listeners to storytelling traditions that may be less familiar to Irish audiences.
The event forms part of a wider festival programme designed to bring storytelling beyond conventional performance spaces and into schools, care settings and community venues.
The Drumlin Storytelling Festival takes place from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th September. For more information, visit: Drumlin Storytelling.