Of course, Ireland’s islands boast home-grown storytellers and writers too that connect this modern tradition of storytelling to the oral tradition which stretches back into history – people like Peig Sayers, Tomás Ó Criomhtháin and Muiris Ó Suilleabháin who hailed from the Blaskets. You can learn about their lives at the Blasket Centre.
And this tradition reaches to the future too with our islands helping yet more stories to unfold at gatherings like the Heinrich Böll Memorial Weekend on Achill in May; and the July Achill Summer School which hosts a workshop focused on the art of creative writing.
If the oral tradition fascinates you, check out Cape Clear’s September Storytelling Festival or the International Storytelling Workshop which runs in October.
The July Bard Summer School is another great option. It explores the contemporary meaning of myth through story, poetry and music on Clare Island, ancestral home of the Pirate Queen Granuaile.
Of course you may want to draw inspiration from these great writers by simply following in their footsteps. Visit Synge’s cottage, his favourite writing spot with spectacular views over the Atlantic. Or wander the deserted villages of the Blaskets and imagine the life that Peig wrote about. Whatever you pick, we hope it inspires your story to start unfolding...