An evening of poetry, music and storytelling in Anita’s
Free - limited space so booking strongly recommended
Programme
6pm Kids Storytelling…. Hot chocolate & cookies and storyteller Ruth Marshall
7:30pm Poetry with Karen J McDonnell and John Tynan
8:15pm Music with Quarter Jazz
9:15pm Storytelling with Maria Gillen
Tapas and refreshments during the evening
Ruth Marshall is a storyteller, poet, crafter, and a lover of Nature. She has been bringing her storytelling magic into schools, libraries, yurts, woodlands, islands and castles for many years and is as happy to share stories with the very young, the very old - and everyone in between. Her storytelling, and talks on seasonal traditions, have been a regular part of Clare Museum’s education programme for many years.
Ruth is one of the storytellers featured in the 2023 Dial A Seanchaí project.
She is the author of: Clare Folk Tales; Limerick Folk Tales; Celebrating Irish Festivals (stories, crafts, and seasonal traditions, in harmony with Nature); and Hector and the Star Ladders.
Whether as spinner and knitter, or as storyteller, one way or another, Ruth is always spinning yarns. More www.ruthmarshallarts.weebly.com
Karen J McDonnell is published widely; recently in Vital Signs, Poems of Illness and Healing (Poetry Ireland), Romance Options, Love Poems for Today (Dedalus Press). Work was Best of the Net and Pushcart nominated. Her poem Driftwood was shortlisted for 2021 Irish Poem of the Year. Karen has received several writer's bursaries and has read at many festivals and on RTÉ's Poetry Programme and Sunday Miscellany. Her poetry collection This Little World is published by Doire Press and she's currently working on two new collections. More karenjmcdonnell.com
Maria Gillen
Storyteller - M.A. Dramatherapy
Maria is a:
Dramatherapist who is very interested in the wisdoms that old myths and legends can give us and their ability to be a healing influence.
Intersted in the Bean Feasa (Wise Woman) model of storytelling from her Native Ireland and comes from a long line of storytellers (Anne Gillen, Ellen Cahalane, Ann Conroy - mother, grandmother and great- grandmother).
She won the Bealtaine Hero Award 2021 - building resilience stories through harvesting the wisdoms of yesteryear.
She is an award-winning Storyteller, having won The Sean McCarthy Storytelling Cup twice and the Butter Roads Storytelling Competition.
J Michael Tynan (aka John Tynan) is your typically proud Corkman. He worked for 40 years at the Irish Examiner newspaper, as a sub-editor and equestrian correspondent.
He is the co-editor of the Blue Mondays 2021 Poetry Anthology and a contributor.
His poetry has been published in Ireland, England, the US and in the recent anthology 'Cork Words 3'
He is the co-writer of the winning entry in the 2019 Cork International Folk Festival Song Contest.
He has staged two solo exhibitions, featuring works combining his poetry and his photography.
His first short film, ‘Sorry’, premiered at Fastnet Film Festival, while his second short film, 'Leap of Faith', is on the festival circuit.
He has turned his attention to animation in recent months and is also mulling over a number of music projects.
The four piece jazz group, Quarter Jazz, was formed in Sept 2022, when Catherine Patience, vocalist, had expressed to drummer, Pranayam Aquino and clarinettist, Lucy Thomas of her desire to revive a lifelong desire to sing jazz. Pranayam and Lucy had just moved to Whitegate from Shanghai and were more than happy to embark on this journey with Catherine. Pianist, Rory Moloney, who Pranayam and Lucy had already started playing some jazz with in Killaloe, was invited to join Quarter Jazz in early 2023.
Their debut performance at the Mountshannon Arts Festival in the summer of 2023 was met with warmth, praise and excitement. Their program of jazz standards was a huge hit with the audience and a really special moment for this newly formed group. Quarter Jazz are on a journey to entertain, bring joy and share their love of the wonderful world of jazz.
