A Connacht Storyteller: the folklore repertoire of Maam storyteller Mícheál Breathnach.
Micheál Breathnach (c. 1864-1943) was born in the village An Mám (Maam) in the Joyce Country, Co. Galway, around the year 1864. A highly skilled storyteller, Breathnach left a strong impression on the folklore collectors who recorded from him in the 1930s and 40s, including the American folklorist Stith Thompson (pictured) who visited the Maam valley in the summer of 1937 with Séamus Ó Duilearga, Director of the Irish Folklore Commission. Ó Duilearga had been introduced to Breathnach by Seán Mac Giollarnáth, district justice in Connemara from 1925 to 1950, and Ó Duilearga subsequently described the storyteller’s speech as follows: “Is blasta agus is snasta an chaint atá ag Mícheál Breathnach – tá druíocht na sean-aimsire ag baint le chuile rud dá ndubhairt sé” (Mícheál Breathnach’s speech is both elegant and precise: every word he uttered had in it the magic of old times”).This talk will examine Breathnach’s folklore repertoire as well as aspects of the storyteller’s biography and life experience which were recorded by Mac Giollarnáth, from 1932 until the storyteller’s death in 1943. As well as shedding light on previously unpublished folktales and seanchas (oral lore) from “Cartlann Sheáin Mhic Giollarnáth”, which now forms a part of the digitised archive “Cartlann Ghaeltacht Chonamara” (Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge), the talk will contextualise Breathnach’s narrative repertoire and reflect on his influence as a tradition bearer in his own locality.
Ailbhe Nic Giolla Chomhaill is a lecturer in the Department of Irish at the University of Galway. She holds a PhD in Modern Irish from the University of Galway. Her doctoral thesis on folklore and storytelling traditions of the Joyce Country, Co. Galway and Co. Mayo, was funded by the Irish Research Council. Her first monograph to date, An Chaora Ghlas agus Scéalta Eile as Seanadh Farracháin (Leabhar Breac 2016), is a study of international folktales collected in Seanadh Farracháin National School, Co. Galway, in 1937-38, under the auspices of The Schools’ Folklore Collection.
Date: Monday, 9 February 2026
Time: 20:00/8pm
Venue: Harbour Hotel, Galway