Join us for a warm, welcoming gathering around a campfire with two gifted Traveller storytellers Chrissie Donoghue Ward and Owenie Ward.

Chrissie Donoghue Ward, the writer of The Fairy Queen, brings the magic of Traveller folklore to life with stories rooted in childhood wonder and cultural memory, accompanied by her daughter Elizabeth a creative spirit in her own right, who continues the lineage of storytelling with warmth and grace. Owenie Ward, poet and tradition-bearer, shares tales rich in rhythm, humour, and the lived heart of Traveller experience.

This isn’t a performance, it’s a sharing. A space for listening, remembering, and connecting. Others are warmly invited to add their own tales as the fire’s glow. Bring a blanket, a seat, and a story if you have one. All are welcome. Let the stories find you!

Canvas, Campfires & Culture is programme alongside Leanne McDonagh’s series Why the Moon Travels, currently on show as part of the exhibition IMMA Collection: Art as Agency. Why the Moon Travels is an important series of prints which illustrate the landmark book of the same title by Oein DeBharduin, published by Skein Press in 2020. The book is the first collection of folk tales about Travellers written and illustrated by Travellers – a haunting collection of twenty tales rooted in the oral tradition of the Irish Traveller community. The stories here are both ancient and contemporary, always rooted in a closer relationship with the natural world.