Samhain

Samhain is an ancient Irish festival and the origin of Halloween. In the Celtic calendar, it marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It has long been believed that, at this time, the boundary between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Many Irish traditions from Samhain have become globally recognised Halloween customs such as trick-or-treating and dressing in costume.

Join us on Friday, 31st October for a night of Samhain Storytelling with writer, educator and Traveller activist Oein DeBhairduin at the Embassy of Ireland. Actors Mary Kelly and Róisín Tyrrell will perform readings from DeBhairduin’s Twiggy Woman, a collection of ghostly folktales rooted in the oral tradition of the Irish Traveller community, with a Q+A with the author as well as Samhain treats.

Oein DeBhairduin

Oein DeBhairduin is a writer, activist and educator with a focus of preserving the beauty of tales, sayings, retellings and historic exchanges of the Traveller community. Oein is the author of the award-winning Why the moon travels and his other works include Weave, The Slug and the Snail and Twiggy Woman. Oein is the Traveller Culture Collections Development Officer with the National Musuem of Ireland and seeks to pair community activism with cultural celebration, recalling old tales with fresh modern connections.

Mary Kelly

Mary Kelly is a Berlin-based Irish actor, playwright, and theatre-maker whose work is deeply rooted in her Irish heritage. Mary graduated from The Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin, in 2002, and has been based in Berlin since 2011.

Róisín Tyrrell

Róisín Tyrrell is an Irish writer, actor, and musician based in Berlin with a background in devised and physical theatre. Róisín fronts post-punk band “The No Girls”, and is passionate about storytelling.

*illustration credit: Helena Grimes

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Host or Publisher Embassy of Ireland, Germany