Grumpy Gobs

Join Cork storyteller Maria Gillen for a fun-filled event in Bray Library, Eglinton Road.

Kindly Supported by Wicklow Arts Office.

Maria Gillen

Maria is a storyteller from Cork. She is a dramatherapist who is very interested in the wisdoms that old myths and legends can give us and their ability to be a healing influence. She has a strong interest in the Bean Feasa (Wise Woman) model of storytelling from her Native Ireland and comes from a long line of storytellers (Anne Gillen, Ellen Cahalane, Ann Conroy - mother, grandmother and great- grandmother).

She is an award winning Storyteller, having won The Sean McCarthy Storytelling Cup twice and the Butter Roads Storytelling Competition. In 2021 Maria won the Bealtaine Hero Award for building resilience stories through harvesting the wisdoms of yesteryear.

She is a well known Bean An Tí (Irish Session Host) on the Irish Storytelling Circuit. She loves listening to stories and will tell a story at the drop of a hat. She loves co-creating stories with anyone ‘from the cradle to the grave’. She believes deeply in the power of stories to build communities, heal prejudice and to build resilience. She is a member of IACAT (Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists). She is an award winning storyteller having won the longest running Story Competition in Ireland - Finuge - twice and the Butter Roads Storytelling Competition.

Photo Credit: Noel Sweeney