Everyone loves a great storyteller…..They can transport us to unimaginable places and all we have to do is listen. Storytelling has been called an oral history, an art form, a powerful force for learning and an ancient craft but it is powerful whatever you call it.

A great storyteller has the ability to alter our emotions in a way that bonds us to their story. They enables us to engage, understand and digest information in a way that no other form of learning can and often with a laugh.

How do Storytellers do it? Is it a special gift to only a chose few? No, I suggest we all are storytellers by nature… However, some of trust our inner voices and use it and others do not unfortunately. We must give ourself permission to express how we see the world to let our stories come alive. Let our freaky storytelling flags fly people.

I read a quote once from Maya Angelou which said that “There’s no greater agony than bearing an untold story within you”.

It’s important to use storytelling as a means to teach, remember and mostly to entertain the next generation and help them develop a means to process this crazy world around them.

They say that the Irish are the best at storytelling. I can’t say for sure but I must admit they do have an edge in my book. Recently, I had the opportunity to spend time with some of my Marine Corps buddies on a bike-camping tour across the Alleghany Passage from Pittsburgh through to Cumberland MD. We biked during the day and camped in the evening till dinner.

After dinner we were welcomed to a warm campfire, Irish moonshine and cold beer each evening. On one such evening Eife a Philadelphian of Irish decent took the lead and spun several tales. His stories were delivered with an Irish brogue as thick as lamb stew, a smile as broad as the ocean from Philadelphia to County Cork and topped with the odd Gaelic song that sounded sweet but no one but he understood. A thing of beauty to witness.

The Irish are accomplished storytellers for sure… One might never know to look at them …but introduce yourself with a pint of Guinness and then hang on for the ride . Author Sue Murphy wrote the following about the Irish Storytellers:

1. They never stop talking

Start a chat with an old Irishman and you will come away with at least seven new tales.

2. They have an example for every event that has ever occurred, ever

“Oh my god, I remember the time something similar happened to my brother’s girlfriend’s mother’s friend…” Whatever the situation, whether it’s scalding yourself with hot water to a bombing in the Middle East, we Irish will know someone that something similar has happened to… every time.

3. Even our music tells stories. 15 more verses now!

No three verses and a chorus for us, no way! We like the big long ballads that tell a terrible story that inevitably involves someone falling in love, a death, perhaps a raid on a house, some poor young guy who’s been taking by police, a family starving, someone kicked off their land and various other heartbreaking scenarios. There is rarely a happy ending…

4. We’re pretty inspiring

Over the years, plenty of poets, writers and artists have come to our shores for inspiration and they have found an abundance of it, whether it is the busy streets of Dublin or the wild land in Galway, Ireland is a virtual treasure trove of inspiration. We only have to leave the country for five seconds before we start harping on about how beautiful certain parts of this country are!

5. We have amazing legends that we take as fact

Up until the age of about twelve, most of us actually believed that Cúchulainn did actually exist and guarded the gates for the King until he died after killing his precious guard dog. We won’t go near fairy forts, we believe in banshees and we have been warned to never walk around lighthouses more than three times. Ireland’s folklore and legends are some of the most famous in the world, all passed down by storytelling tradition.

6. We have, in our possession, the Blarney Stone

The legend goes that if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you will get the gift of the gab. Well, we own it. Explains everything.

7. It was our heritage

It’s hard to believe that barely one hundred years ago the education in this country was nowhere near the level it is at now; a substantial amount of the population were illiterate. Storytelling exists not only to tell a good story around the fire, but to pass on family’s history, heritage and stories. Some may be a little embellished than others…

I love to spin a tale now and then… I hope you have enjoyed those that I’ve given myself permission to share with you through this blog. If so …a pint of Guinness would be greatly appreciated to get me going for sure and then hang on for the ride. Thank you in advance.