The traditional art of storytelling is alive and well and will be celebrated from this Thursday to Sunday (September 15 to 18) at the Listowel International Storytelling Festival.

Performance, workshops, spoken word, music sessions and children’s events radiate out from the Kingdom’s cultural capital, as the best of Kerry’s storytelling talent merge with invited global guests, offering locals and visitors an opportunity to celebrate and discover oral traditions and cultural diversity.

An initiative of Kerry Writers’ Museum, this year’s programme features the cream of storytellers from the island of Ireland and beyond, including Cork storytellers Maria Gillen and Paddy Regan; Liz Weir from Antrim; Joe Brennan from Wexford, and Maria Credali from the UK. Musical guests include singer/songwriters Ger Wolfe, Cormac O Caoimh and Hank Wedel. They will be joined over the weekend by local storytellers Frances Kennedy, Sonny Egan, Sean Lyons and Godfrey Coppinger; poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice; legendary singer/songwriter Mickey MacConnell and emerging singer/songwriter Lorraine Nash.

“It has been a tough few years where our festival has had to find ways to stretch and change as the world circumstances demanded," Festival Artistic Director, Maria Gillen, said.

"We are so proud that we managed to keep going through the COVID crisis, bringing our festival online in 2020 and having a smaller live festival in 2021. We are near the end of the tunnel now and are ready to celebrate as the Listowel International Storytelling Festival 2022 gets underway. Come join our tribe, meet old friends and new on the Story Road – all are welcome, and we can’t wait to see you.”

Kerry Writers’ Museum would like to acknowledge the generous support received from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media; Kerry County Council and Fáilte Ireland, without which the festival would not take place.

To view the full festival programme and book your tickets visit www.kerrywritersmuseum.com/storytelling-festival.