Living Legends

A Cross-Border Cultural Exchange of Stories, Myth, and Landscape

Living Legends is the adventure of a lifetime! Kicking off in spring 2025, this project invites 24 young artists ages 14 - 17 from Limerick and Belfast to connect through creativity, storytelling, and folklore.

Over a number of months, these young people will take part in artist-led workshops, explore fascinating cultural sites, and meet new friends - as well as enjoy performances - and perform themselves - from the Festival in a Van stage.

Overnight residential storytelling exchanges will take place in:

    • Doolin, Co. Clare and Inis Mór, Co. Galway
    • Giants Causeway, Co. Antrim
    • Carlingford Adventure Centre, Co. Louth

Over the course of the spring and summer, both at home and on the residential exchanges, the young creatives will be working with some of Ireland's best artists, storytellers, and folklorists, including Rab Fulton, Órla McGovern, and Pat Ryan. Through music, spoken word, drama, and more, the young people will share, trade, reimagine, and remake their stories into something truly legendary.

Presented by Narrative4 in partnership with Festival in a Van and Northern Ireland Youth Forum

Funded by Creative Ireland’s Creative Youth on a Shared Island Fund

Lead artists

Rab Fulton is a Galway-based Scottish/Irish storyteller, author, and educator. As well as teaching a course on storytelling in NUI Galway, Rab writes and perform stories, poems and plays for children, teenagers and adults. Rab’s work as a storyteller has built up an international reputation for his vivid re-imagining of the myths, folk tales and urban legends of Ireland and Scotland.

Órla McGovern is a Storyteller, Writer, Performer and Facilitator living in Galway. She is an award-winning storyteller and has told at the Cape Clear Festival, Yarn Festival at Mermaid Arts World Storytelling Café, Electric Picnic, Artists House Cobh, and numerous others. She is the artistic director of ‘Moth & Butterfly’ a storytelling and improvisation collective based in the West.

Based in Belfast, Pat Ryan has worked as a storyteller, writer and teacher for over forty years.  His practice has developed through the influences of family and friends in America, Ireland and Britain where he has collected stories and studied storytelling all that time. Although Pat draws on traditional stories and storytelling content, the nature of his storytelling is conversational, informal, thoughtful, educational and, he hopes, always a joy.

About the Partners

Narrative 4 was established by Irish writer Colum McCann and is now operational in 12 countries. The programme is rooted in the practice of story exchange where trained facilitators work with young people to use their own stories to build empathy, shatter stereotypes and break down barriers.uses personal storytelling to build empathy between young people so they can improve their communities and the world together. Led by globally influential artists, educators, students and community advocates, we are a global educational organization that promotes the exchange of stories as a way to connect students to each other, to break down barriers, and shatter stereotypes.

Since 2020 Festival in a Van has democratised access to the arts by delivering high-quality inclusive performances around Ireland. A trad session in the town square, a classical concert on the green, music at your window, dramatic moments, or poets proclaiming in the garden: Festival in a Van tours nationwide, bringing the magic of live performance everywhere, to everyone. Our focus is on empowering and bringing together communities, employing local artists, and celebrating the creativity of every individual.

NI Youth Forum promotes the voices of young people; Speaking Truth to Power. By working together we speak more loudly and we will make sure those in position of power will hear your opinion. We are an independent; radical; youth led body.  Any young person between the ages of 11-25 years can get involved.

 

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