This storyteller is a keeper of our legends and lore

IRELAND is one of the few countries in Europe to have held on to its rich tradition of legends, customs and stories. We have perhaps the richest storehouse, in both documentary sources and memory, a heritage for which we are justly envied.

Eddie Lenihan is part of that tradition — a seanchaí who spreads his magical net far and wide, through storytelling sessions, books, lectures and broadcasts. He has collected and preserved the old folk tales. An instinctive children’s storyteller, as his reputation grew he was invited to participate in BBC broadcasts, at festivals, and even in the film, The Fairy Faith.

Lenihan never falters in preserving and protecting the old ways, even protesting the loss of our precious cultural heritage through over-development and relentless industrialisation.