Tales from Viking Homelands
A unique opportunity to hear two master storytellers share their Viking heritage on the stage. Tom hails from the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland, and Hjörleifur stems from rural Iceland. The two long standing friends meet on Cape to gift us this wonderful set of Viking tales. Not to be missed.
Ticket Tip: You need to book a ticket for this event. There are limited tickets available on the door so book in advance online to avoid disappointment. Ticket holders get priority into events, but please arrive 15mins before the event, if you are late your spot may be given to another visitor. Please make sure to bring a copy of your ticket either on your phone or in paper.
Ferry Tip: You can also get the Saturday morning ferry leaving Baltimore at 10.45am, arriving around 11.30am. The venue is approximately a 15 minute walk to the other harbour over the hill. A map of the island and our venues will be located near the harbour and in our programme brochures. Please note that ferry seats are limited, book in advance to ensure you get yours! https://www.capeclearferries.com/timetables/
Date
- Aug 31 2024
- Expired!
Time
- 11:45 am - 1:15 pm
Cost
- 15.00€
Labels
- Child Concession
Location
- North Harbour, Cape Clear Island
Artists
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Gerry ClancyMCsGerry Clancy is a member of Storytellers of Ireland, and the Dublin based storytelling group “Story-O”. A regular contributor to Cork and Dublin Yarn Spinners. He was featured on the Dublin Yarnspinners CD “15 Years of Dublin Yarnspinners” which was released in 2011. Gerry is a visual artist and professional consultant for the arts industry.
As an artist his work has featured in a number of exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Gerry has also been a Co-Director Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival from 2012 to 2016.
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Tom MuirStorytellerTom Muir tells traditional stories from his native Orkney Islands. He has a great love for both folk tales and local traditions, and his humorous delight in the humanity of the stories is infectious. He tells tales of sea monsters, trows/fairies, mermaids, fin folk and selkie folk, as well as stories about witches, shipwrecks, ghosts and humorous goings on.
Tom was born on a small farm by the sea in Tankerness in the east of the Orkney Mainland in 1963, but his parents originally came from the North Isles of Westray and Sanday. As they were middle aged when he was born (the youngest of six), folklore and customs were still remembered in family stories, as were some folk tales. His love of traditional folk tales led him to republish the stories collected by Walter Traill Dennison (1825-94) in Sanday and the works of folklorist and local historian George Marwick (1836-1912) from Yesnaby on the west coast of the Orkney Mainland. He has also written a book containing as many supernatural folk tales from Orkney as he could find, ‘The Mermaid Bride and other Orkney Folk Tales’, first published in 1998 and later translated into Japanese and Icelandic. In 2014 The History Press published his book ‘Orkney Folk Tales’ as part of their county folk tale series. Tom has also published many other books on aspects of Orkney’s history, Nordic folk tales and the Icelandic Sagas.
Tom’s storytelling skill has seen him perform in many countries, from Newfoundland and Greenland in the north to Slovenia and Hong Kong in the south, as well as all over Scotland, Scandinavia and Europe. He has even been storyteller in residence at the Storholmen Viking Village in Sweden for several years. His proudest achievement is having restored Orkney’s folk tales to a place of prominence and to see them used in schools, while the Scottish Government website, ‘Scotland’s Stories’, which Tom wrote and told stories for, is now used to promote traditional tales in Scotland’s schools. Tom’s Orkney folk tales are now featured in English language books in secondary schools in both Germany and France. He is also a founder member and president of the Orcadian Story Trust, which runs the annual Orkney Storytelling Festival.
This will be Tom’s first time telling at the Cape Clear Festival and what a treat is in store!
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Hjörleifur StefánssonStorytellerHjörleifur Stefánsson is a storyteller and farmer from Iceland. Hjörleifur Stefánsson was born in western Iceland in the middle of the second hay harvest in August 1979. He is a farmer, innkeeper, carpenter and a fan of all things brewed. Hjörleifur grew up on a farm with his grandparents living a stone’s throw away on the next farm over.
He was served stories of old Iceland as well as poems and songs along with his porridge for years, his grandparents being storytellers by nature. He has collected and shared tales for years, both with his kids, audiences and his sheep. Giants, trolls, hidden people and ghosts are his companions as well as Icelanders of the past and their traditions of song and stories.
