OEIN DEBHAIRDUIN
Oein DeBhairduin is a creative soul with a passion for poetry, folk herbalism and preserving the beauty of Traveller tales, sayings, retellings and historic exchanges.
He works for the National Museum of Ireland as Curator (Traveller Culture Collections Officer) and seeks to pair community activism with cultural celebration, recalling old tales with fresh modern connections and, most of all, he wishes to rekindle the hearth fires of a shared kinship. Twiggy Woman, a collection of ghost stories, will be published by Skein Press in 2023.
Recent publications:
Why the Moon Travels (Skein Press, 2020) | Short stories (with Leanne McDonagh) for age 0–6
Recent awards:
Judges’ Special Award and Eilís Dillon Award at the 2021 KPMG Children’s Books Ireland
EVENTS
An Mala Lesko/ Hand telling
Join award-winning author Oein DeBhairduin as he explores a traditional Traveller story telling technique that relies on intuitive body wisdom and the fluency of the spaces in which tales are told. Will combine drawing, finger story telling and Irish Traveller folk tales. Followed by a signing of Why The Moon Travels.
1 p.m. | The Vault Café | €5 | 9+ years
Why the Moon Travels
Join award-winning author Oein DeBhairduin in the atmospheric setting of Pugin Hall in Lismore Castle as he reads from his book Why the Moon Travels (illustrated by Leanne McDonagh) and explores some traditional Traveller folk tales.
4 p.m. | Pugin Hall | €5 | 9+ years
