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SUMMARY:Cape Clear Storytelling Festival 2026
DESCRIPTION:Cape Clear Storytelling Festival is one of Ireland’s most distinctive and best-loved festivals.\nThe international festival celebrates one of the world’s oldest art forms and brings storytellers and listeners together for an enriching experience in the unique setting on Ireland’s southernmost inhabited island.\nThe event is one of the most renowned festivals in the world’s storytelling calendar, and 2026 marks its 32nd year.\nEach year, it brings together some of the world’s most accomplished tellers, giving visitors to Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way the opportunity to meet the best Irish exponents of storytelling art in an intimate and dramatic island environment.\nCape Clear is situated 8 miles off the coast of Baltimore in West Cork. The stunning scenery and local folklore make this the perfect setting for this long-running and much-loved storytelling festival.\nThe Cape-Clear-International-Storytelling-Festival-Programme-2026. Book at capeclearstorytelling.com ( https://capeclearstorytelling.com )\n \n2026 Tellers\nAmy Douglas | England\n\nAward-winning author and storyteller, Amy Douglas has been integral to the modern British storytelling landscape as performer, promoter and advocate for the past three decades. A founder member of the international Festival at the Edge, she served two years as a Director for the Society for Storytelling and is now part of Step Up, running commissions and mentoring to support wordsmiths take the next step in the careers.\nHer three folk tale collections have all received Storytelling World Awards.  After winning Young Storyteller of the Year at 16, Amy Douglas apprenticed to world-renowned traditional Scots Traveller storyteller and ballad-singer, Duncan Williamson, and now holds many of his stories and ballads in trust.\nA storyteller of integrity, wit and subtle humour, she currently runs BLAST! storytelling performances and the first online storytelling talk show of its kind, Taking the Tradition On. Amy has 30 years of experience telling stories to all ages, from one-off performances, to leading projects spanning several years.\n\n\n\nAideen McBride |  Ireland\n\nAideen McBride was born in County Carlow. She heard her first stories from her father, Jack Sheehan as a child. She has been telling stories professionally since 1995: in libraries, schools, nursing homes and at festivals both through the medium of  English and as Gaeilge.\nAideen also gives workshops to all ages in oral storytelling, story-making (sometimes connected to creative writing), and storytelling in education.\nShe has worked on a number of story collections: Memories from the Grassy Margins (2006) with Traveller Women from Carlow Town;  International Tales – a collections of stories from refugees and asylum seekers working with SPIRASI in Dublin; Carlow Stories (2014) collected through the libraries in County Carlow. Publications include: Carlow Folk Tales (History Press 2014); Tipperary Folk Tales (History Press 2016); and Scéalta ón mBíobla do Pháistí (FAS 2020).\n\n \n\n\nPeter Chand | England\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWith a deep understanding of story and narrative Peter Chand he is a powerful and dynamic storyteller who sees storytelling as a means of connecting, entertaining and as a call to social action.\nHe has shared his tales across Britain and has also performed in Norway, France, USA, Lithuania, Austria, Canada, and Singapore amongst other countries.\nPeter is also a trainer of high repute, leading workshops with teachers, librarians, budding storytellers, university students, business leaders, health professionals, and anyone trying to find their voice and gain confidence when performing in public.\nHe is one of Europe’s most renowned storytellers and is constantly in demand for his tales of life, love, and the supernatural. From a Punjabi background, he regularly visits family in India to collect and translate traditional folktales which he shares with audiences of all ages.\nPeter is proud to have been recently awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Wolverhampton for his Storytelling activities and for championing storytellers from a global majority heritage.\n \n“This is like an audience with Paulo Coelho! Storytelling is divine”. Kemi B. Litera London\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSarah Liisa Wilkinson | Finland\n\nSarah Liisa Wilkinson is a storyteller who delights audiences with her always engaging, energetic and playful performance style. She has a particular interest in the folktales and myths of Finland and other Nordic lands, but loves to tell tales from all around the world.\nDrawing on her English-Finnish heritage, Sarah creates performances full of vivid imagery, humour and emotional depth, bringing ancient stories thrillingly to life for contemporary audiences.\nShe has told stories to people in the UK and internationally in theatres, festivals, clubs, pubs, churches, boats, front rooms and all-night sleepovers, including appearances at venues and festivals such as the British Library, Kings Place and Oxford Storytelling Festival.\nShe regularly works and performs with performance-storytelling pioneers, The Crick Crack Club, and is part of multi-disciplined storytelling and music group, The Embers Collective.\n \nKevin Doherty | Ireland\nKevin Doherty has been writing and performing his music for almost forty years. Starting out in Country and Bluegrass bands in Donegal, Kevin provided original compositions to accompany the classics of those genres. From this grounding he was taken up by the members of the fledgling group Four Men and a Dog. And became lead singer and songwriter. ‘The Dogs’ still travel the globe performing to audiences that now bridge several generation gaps!\nKevin has also released four solo albums and two collaborative projects. His songs have been covered by many artists including legends ‘The Band’ in the States and Mary Black in Ireland. Kevin has worked on projects with the Smithsonian in Washington DC and Poetry Ireland and the Abbey Theatre in Ireland. He had more recently stepped back from music to an extent as he completed a PhD on childhood memory in the poetry of Seamus Heaney but there will be new music to come in 2026.\n\n \n \n\n\n\nDiarmuid Ó Drisceoil | Ireland\n\n\n\n\nDiarmuid Ó Drisceoil is a writer, storyteller and TV personality with a family connection to Cape Clear. Raised in a bilingual home speaking both Irish and English, Diarmuid developed a love of stories from an early age through the storytelling traditions of his family and community. He is the author of several  books on Cork’s local and commercial history, the latest being Blúirí Oileánda- Island Pieces (2026), a book on Cape Clear’s social history.\n\nDiarmuid is known for combining and adapting stories to create unique tales, often drawing on Irish tradition as well as folklore from other countries. For many years, he was a regular much-loved performer at the Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival, while also serving on the festival committee supporting its development over the years. In recent years, Diarmuid has continued to perform through festivals, live events and radio appearances. He is also involved with The Gab, the Cork-based storytelling collective, where he has also performed to sold-out audiences.\n\nThis year Diarmuid returns to Cape Clear with a collection of island-connected stories.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKate Corkery | Ireland\n\n\n\n\n Image: Anita Murphy\nKate Corkery is an Irish storyteller with an international reputation for her work in storytelling. Born and educated in Cork, she has performed across Ireland, the UK, Europe and internationally, sharing Irish myths, legends and folktales with audiences of all ages. Her background includes acting, singing and language teaching, as well as years spent teaching and travelling in East Africa.\nKate runs the ‘Around the Fire’ storytelling club for adults at the Irish Cultural Centre in London and regularly performs at storytelling festivals and events. She is one half of the storyteller/musician duo Spud & Yam and has developed and led storytelling workshops and festivals. Her work was recognised with Best Storyteller at the Fringe Report Awards in 2009.\nKate is a proud member of Aos Scéal Éireann and the author of Cork Folktales. She has recently performed as a featured teller at The Moth & Butterfly International Festival of Storytelling & Improvisation in Galway.\nThis year on Cape Clear, Kate will present Cork Folktales, sharing favourite stories from the collection and reflecting on the importance of gathering, preserving and passing on our storytelling heritage.\n\n\n\n\nGer Wolfe | Ireland\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\nRooted in the depths of traditional and contemporary folk music,Ger Wolfe continues to be a gentle and consistent voice on the Irish homegrown music scene. Celebrating 3 decades of touring and recording this year, Ger takes to the road with songs from his vast repertoire including his latest offering “Songs from Freeman’s Ballyvourney Collection”, his tenth full album to date\nA multi-instrumentalist, accomplished singer-songwriter and no stranger to the old songs, Ger has recorded 12 songs from the vast collection made by A.Martin Freeman in 1913-14: one of our most important collections of traditional song, contaning gems of song like the well-known Aisling Geal  and brought back to the people of Múscraí Gaeltacht by Seán Ó’ Riada in the 1960’s.\nCome and join Ger at the Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival this September 5th for a lunchtime performance, Cuir Cluas Ort Fein, along with storyteller Paddy O’ Brian and the wonderful Aideen Mc Bride.\n“Ger Wolfe is the Dylan Thomas of Cork in the singular sincerity and purity of his words” (Seán Mac Carthy)\n‘Creating carefully crafted vignettes of song for all who come to listen’ (Irish Times)\n“Ger has an utterly original approach to his craft…his songs have a lyrical, timeless quality, pandering to neither fad nor fashion…a rare and unique creative talent” (Paul Dromey)\n\n\n\n\nHow to book\nFor the full programme and booking links, click here ( https://capeclearstorytelling.com/programme/ ). Tickets must be purchased in advance.\nThe ferry from Baltimore will be scheduled to bring guests over in plenty of time for the events.\nPlease book your ferry ticket in advance – contact Cape Clear Ferries. ( https://westcorkislands.com/how-to-get-here/ )\nBear in mind that there is no cash point on the island, and not all businesses take cards.\n \n
URL:https://westcorkislands.com/events/cape-clear-storytelling-festival/
ORGANIZER;CN=Cape Clear Storytelling Festival:MAILTO:
CATEGORIES:Cape Clear,Culture,Festival,Summer on the Islands Festival,What's on
LOCATION:Cape Clear
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