Lough Gur Storytelling

The Lough Gur story telling competition has been running for the past decade and has become part of the annual story telling festival held each year in October. This year, we’ll have two storytelling workshops in advance of the competition to be held in the Honeyfitz on Saturday September 11^th at 11am and 2pm. You’ll have the opportunity to learn some tricks and tips to tell your story in an entertaining and informative way. Pat Speight from Cork, a well known and experienced story teller will facilitate the workshops. Book early on 087 285 2022. Cost €7 per child.

Brian Blackwell winner of Junior storytelling Competition Photo taken by Ita West

Lough Gur storytelling competition in the Honeyfitz theatre, Lough Gur

The 16^th annual storytelling festival was launched on Saturday Oct 16^th last to a full house in the Honeyfitz Theatre in Lough Gur with the national school childrens’ competition.

The story telling competition has been running for the past decade and has become part of the annual story telling festival held each year in October.

This free event competition is open to all national schools in the locality and this year 12 schools entered, with twice as many performances as the previous year. The objective being to ‘keep the noble art of storytelling alive’ and cultivate an appreciation for storytelling amongst school children. The two categories, senior and junior were well represented and there were a number of duets on the night.

The overall winners and runners up were presented with an engraved glass trophy, sponsored by Cube Printing, proud sponsors of the storytelling competition. This year, an additional two awards were made, to the most theatrical and most creative stories in each category. The schools of the winning stories also received a framed certificate.

‘’We wanted to add a little bit extra to the night and acknowledge the wonderful stories and spread the awards…we’d love to award each child with a prize, they were just fantastic, so we ensured that each student received a certificate of participation’’ said Tom Flynn chairman of Lough Gur Development, the local community group responsible for organising the event.

Overall winner in the junior category was awarded to Brian Blackwell of Knockainey national school with his story entitled ‘Little spotted calf’ and Brian was dressed appropriately as a spotted calf complete with furry tail and painted face. Runner up in the junior category went to Ella O’Rourke a student of Croom national school with her story called ‘Super Sid and the silly sausage dog’. Ella was also awarded a certificate for the most creative story.

The senior category was won by Brian O’Keeffe from Kilfinane national school with his hilarious story entitled ‘The boy who wanted the willies’. Runner up went to John Madden from Caherline national school with his story ‘Hermes The Mischief maker and Apollo the music maker’. Lloyd O’Dea also from Caherline school received an award for the most theatrical story with ‘My life’ and Lloyd was suitable attired as an old man complete with baler twine keeping the flaps of his coat closed, his coat, incidentally, Lloyds dad told us, was ‘over 70 years old, belonging to a neighbour’. The most creative story in the senior category went to Megan Bateman for her story called ‘My first day at school’.

The other students in the junior category were: Amy Thompson and Lorcan Ryans from Herbertstown national school with a story, ‘Fionn and the Giant’ which they performed as a duet. Zena Clery Ryan from Fedamore school with her story ‘Silly Suzy Goose’, Daniel Frape and Ali Carew from Lough Gur school performed a duet, with ‘The Pot of Gold’. In the senior category Anna O’Riordan and Clara Terren-Hogan from Knockainey school told their story as a duet, the story entitled ‘The wrong Cat’. Alan Dwane from Cloverfield with his story ‘The fool and the feather mattress’, James Kirby from Lough Gur national school had a story entitled ‘ The big nosed teacher’, James Hanly from Herbertstown told ‘The midnight dance’. Michaela Keane and Aine Crowley from Martinstown performed a duet with their story ‘Grainne O’Malley’. Tim Lyons from Croom with ‘Fiddly dee, Fiddly doh’, Bethany Pym from Hospital with her story ‘ Hudden & Dudden & Donald O’Neary’. Sinead Treacy from Caherelly school with ‘The three little Pigs’.

Brian O'Keeffe photo taken by Ita West

The senior category was won by Brian O’Keeffe from Kilfinane national school with his hilarious story entitled ‘The boy who wanted the willies’.