Liz Warren | Storyteller

            The second week of the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival was a busy one.   On Monday, Fionnuala (fin-oo-la) McKinley arrived from Warren Point in Co. Down, and Pat Ryan arrived from London.  They were both put up at the Carlton Sheerwater, a nice new hotel in Ballinasloe. I told at the Ballinasloe library and collected Simone Schümmelfeder who arrived from Germany and found her way to Danielle’s and took her back to my apartment in Athlone

            Tuesday immediately after my class ended at 11:00, I hopped in my Toyota Corolla and drove to the library in Portumna where Pat Ryan was telling.  He and Mary Dillon and I had lunch, and then drove to the tiny library in Eyrecourt, Co. Galway, for Pat’s next session.  This was the first time I’d heard Pat tell and I enjoyed it. He told folktales, led them in interactive stories, and showed them his beautiful book, Shakespeare’s Storybook, which relates the folktales behind several of the bard’s plays. He had them engaged the whole time, but especially when telling them about the innovative storytelling project he conducts with footballers (soccer players).  He’s met many of the most famous of them, including David Beckham, the only name I recognized.

          Then, we drove back to Ballinasloe to catch Fionnuala’s session for adults at the library at 3:15.  I’d never heard her before either and it was great to see her engage her audience with story and song, and get them to tell their own stories as well.  After her session, she and I had a coffee and visited and I learned more about her interest in applying storytelling in therapeutic situations.

I raced back to Athlone to check my email and pick up Simone and then we headed back to the Sheerwater for dinner with Danielle, Fionnuala and Pat.  Delicious food and satisfying conversation about the state of storytelling in Ireland and Europe.

    I really fell down this week in my picture taking.  I got so involved in listening or talking that I forgot.  These pictures are from Simone's and Fionnuala's websites.  Simone is at the beginning of the post.