Listowel Storytelling Festival

Listowel Storytelling Festival A celebration of the rich oral tradition of County Kerry and Ireland in the Kingdom's Cultural Capital.

02/09/2026

🌿 Poetry & Story in the Park | Words Beneath the Open Sky

Gather at Listowel Castle for an afternoon of poetry, stories and conversation in one of the town’s most historic settings.

Hosted by North Kerry poet and haiku master Mike Gallagher, Poetry & Story in the Park brings together acclaimed poet Eileen Sheehan and award-winning storyteller James Fogarty for a relaxed celebration of words shared aloud.

There’ll be space for local voices, shared memories and creative expression — and you’re equally welcome to take to the microphone or simply sit back and listen.

đź“… Sunday 20th September at 2 pm
đź“Ť Listowel Castle
🎟️ Free Event | Donations welcome

Come along, find a place beneath the open sky and enjoy an afternoon where poems and stories bring people together.

Part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum from 17–20 September 2026.

Explore the full festival programme: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/


01/09/2026

🎟️ Make a weekend of stories in Listowel

The €100 Festival Weekend Ticket gives you access to a rich weekend of storytelling, music, poetry, theatre and conversation at the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum.

With individual ticketed events adding up quickly, the weekend ticket can save festival-goers around €30 — leaving more room for a coffee between events, a walk through Listowel, and perhaps one more story to carry home.

Join us from 17th – 20th September for Past Voices, Future Stories.

Book your Festival Weekend Ticket now via the festival programme: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/




01/09/2026

🌍 Meet Our Festival Artists | Ronan Wilmot

Acclaimed Irish actor and director Ronan Wilmot has spent a lifetime telling stories on stage and screen.

His extensive career has taken him from some of Ireland’s leading theatres, including the Abbey and the Gate, to the Royal Shakespeare Company and stages across the UK. His screen work includes roles in In the Name of the Father, The Field, The Snapper and The Van.

Ronan also shares a special connection with Éamon Kelly and Maura O’Sullivan. In 1975, he was involved in presenting The Tailor & Ansty, the much-loved stage adaptation starring Éamon and Maura — part of a professional relationship stretching back more than fifty years.

That connection brings an added poignancy to Ronan’s appearance at this year’s Listowel International Storytelling Festival.

On Saturday 19th September, he joins theatre historian Dr Fiona Brennan, Éamon and Maura’s son Eoin Kelly, Nuala Hayes and Owen McMahon for Memories of Éamon & Maura Kelly — an afternoon of memories and conversation celebrating two remarkable lives in Irish theatre and storytelling.

đź“… Saturday 19th September at 2 pm
📍 Kerry Writers’ Museum
🎟️ Tickets €10

This event is part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum.

Discover more about Ronan and explore the festival programme: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/


01/09/2026

🎶 WOKEN BIRD | Music, Story & Verse

What happens when two creative journeys cross paths and find their way home?

WOKEN BIRD brings together multidisciplinary musician Niall Cuddy and poet, writer and storyteller Paddy Doyle for a distinctive performance combining lyric, music, story and verse.

Across 45 minutes, Niall and Paddy trace journeys that began in rural Ireland and carried them to cities including New York, Berlin and San Francisco, before returning to the places and traditions that first shaped them.

Contemporary, reflective and rooted in experience, WOKEN BIRD offers another way of thinking about storytelling — through words, music, memory and the paths that bring us home.

đź“… Saturday 19th September at 7 pm
đź“Ť The Kilmorna Collection
🎟️ Free Event

Part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum from 17–20 September 2026.

Explore the full festival programme: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/

01/09/2026

🌍 Meet Our Festival Artists | Daisy Kearney

Limerick native Daisy Kearney is an acclaimed seanchaí whose love of storytelling is rooted in Ireland’s rich oral tradition.

Known both at home and abroad as a gifted storyteller, Daisy carries stories forward in the way they have travelled for generations — through the spoken word, shared between storyteller and listener.

At this year’s Listowel International Storytelling Festival, Daisy joins a gathering of storytellers, musicians and performers for the Éamon Kelly Celebratory Concert, honouring one of Kerry’s great seanchaí on the 25th anniversary of his passing.

Join Daisy on Thursday 17th September at 8 pm at Kerry Writers’ Museum for an opening-night celebration of story, music and the enduring legacy of Éamon Kelly.

These events are part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum.

Discover more about Daisy and explore her festival events: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/

31/08/2026

đź“– Story & Poetry Swap | Share Your Words

Have a story to tell, a poem to share, or simply fancy listening to a few good voices?

Join poet John McGrath at Kerry Writers’ Museum for the first Story & Poetry Swap of the festival weekend — an informal gathering where the microphone is open and everyone is welcome.

Bring along a poem, a story, a piece of writing or something you’ve been meaning to share. You can take your turn at the mic or simply settle in and enjoy an afternoon of words, conversation and good company.

đź“… Friday 18th September at 2.30 pm
📍 Kerry Writers’ Museum
🎟️ Free Event

Part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum from 17–20 September 2026.

Explore the full festival programme: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/

28/08/2026

🌍 Meet Our Festival Artists | Mike Gallagher

Poet Mike Gallagher has played an important part in creating a space for poetry, music and shared creativity at Kerry Writers' Museum.

Originally from Achill Island and now a familiar voice in North Kerry's literary community, Mike's work includes poetry, haiku and song, with his writing widely published and translated.

But Mike's contribution goes far beyond his own writing. He is the founder of Poetry in the Park, the much-loved monthly gathering at Kerry Writers' Museum that brings together poets, writers, singers, musicians and storytellers in a relaxed and welcoming space where everyone is encouraged to take part.

For more than eight years, those gatherings have created a community around words and performance - reaching an extraordinary 100 sessions in 2025.

At this year's Listowel International Storytelling Festival, Mike brings that same spirit outdoors for Poetry & Story in the Park at Listowel Castle, joined by acclaimed poet Eileen Sheehan and award-winning storyteller James Fogarty.

🗓️ Sunday 20th September at 2 pm
đź“ŤListowel Castle
🎟️ Free Event - donations welcome

Come along, pull up a seat and enjoy an afternoon where poems, stories and voices are shared in one of Listowel's most historic settings.

This event is part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers' Museum.

Discover more about Mike and explore the festival programme.
https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-pr
ogramme-2026/





28/08/2026

📚 Seanchaí Writers’ Anthology | Book Launch

Join us for the launch of Seanchaí Writers 2026: Poems and Stories, a new collection bringing together the work of thirteen members of the Seanchaí Writers’ Group.

Across its pages are poems and stories shaped by memory, place, family, nature, imagination and lived experience — thirteen individual voices brought together through a shared love of writing and storytelling.

The anthology features work by Susan Browne, Barbara Derbyshire, Marcella Griffin, Joe Healy, Susan Hitching, Anna Horgan, Derek Keane, John McGrath, Tom Moloney, Tim Murphy, Brendan O’Shea, Lola Scollard and Margaret Sheehan.

Among the contributors is poet and writer John McGrath, a founder-member of the Seanchaí Writers’ Group.

Rooted in Listowel’s living literary tradition, the collection celebrates the voices, memories and imagination of a local writing community, and the importance of creating spaces where writers can develop their work, share it with others and encourage one another along the way.

The anthology will be officially launched by award-winning writer and former Listowel Writers’ Week chair Seán Lyons, author of A Stranger Walking the Roads and a familiar voice to many through his work with Radio Kerry.

Come along to celebrate the thirteen writers, discover their new collection and mark another chapter in the creative life of Kerry Writers’ Museum.

đź“… Saturday 19th September at 12 pm
📍 Kerry Writers’ Museum
🎟️ Free Event

Part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum from 17–20 September 2026.

Explore the full festival programme: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/

27/08/2026

🌍 Meet Our Festival Artists | Karen Underwood

From Chicago to Cork, Karen Underwood (Music) has built a remarkable career through music, storytelling and the sharing of lived experience.

A singer, writer, storyteller and public speaker, Karen grew up in Chicago before making Cork her home in 1997. Her work moves between jazz, soul, spoken word and story, bringing together music and personal experience with warmth, honesty and a powerful stage presence.

At this year’s Listowel International Storytelling Festival, Karen brings one of music’s most distinctive voices to the stage with The Music of Nina Simone.

On Saturday 19th September at 8.30 pm, Karen will perform at St John's Theatre & Arts Centre celebrating the songs and legacy of Nina Simone through an evening of jazz, soul and storytelling.

Karen’s appearance adds another strand to this year’s festival — a reminder that stories are carried not only through the spoken word, but through music, memory and song.

These events are part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum.

Discover more about Karen and explore the festival programme: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/

27/08/2026

🚶 The Storytellers Trail | Walk Through Literary Listowel

Step into the streets of Listowel and discover the stories woven through the town itself.

Join John Keane for The Storytellers Trail, a guided story walk through Listowel’s rich literary, theatrical and storytelling heritage. Along the way, you’ll visit the birthplaces of literary greats Bryan MacMahon and John B. Keane, hear about the sculptural work of Pat McAuliffe, and enjoy some of the colourful local history that has helped shape Listowel’s character.

This is a lovely chance to experience the town in a different way — through its writers, its people and the stories that still live in its streets and public spaces.

đź“… Saturday 19th September at 10 am
đź“Ť Departs from Listowel Castle
🎟️ Free Event

Part of the Listowel International Storytelling Festival, hosted by Kerry Writers’ Museum from 17–20 September 2026.

Explore the full festival programme: https://kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival-programme-2026/


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