“Do Scéalaí Ceanadach le Scéalta Éireannacha!”
“Your Canadian Teller of Irish Tales!”
Brian Walsh is a professional storyteller, specializing in folk tales and mythic stories from Ireland and around the Celtic world. Irish stories form the core of his art as a storyteller, and his love for these tales from Irish mythology and folklore is contagious. Prose and poetry, humour and horror, romance and respect, are all drawn together in Brian’s faithful but accessible tellings of these amazing Irish stories. His wide ranging repertoire include signature mythic stories like “The Birth of Lugh”; “The Coming of the Sons of Mil”; “The Tale of the Two Bulls”; and “Niall and the Hag”.
Brian tells primarily for adult audiences (13+), and where appropriate he has been known to throw in a “cúpla focal as Gaeilge” (a few words in Irish). He is especially interested in the role of myth-telling as a vehicle for tradition, healing, wisdom, and building deeper relationships, all while having a bit of fun along the way.
Some of Brian’s storytelling highlights include participation in the Toronto International Storytelling Festival or related Storyfire events (2024, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014); the Niagara Irish Festival (2024); at the Irish immersion week for The North American Gaeltacht (2024); while guest lecturing for classes at University of Toronto’s Celtic Studies Department (2023, 2022, 2021, 2017, 2016, 2010, 2009) or on stage for the Celtic Studies Student Union (2024, 2023); the Parliament of World Religions Conference (2018); “Up Yer Celt: a StoryFusion Ceilidh” (2016); at Dundas Square for the Wheel’s Samhain Event (2012); and deep in the woods, around a campfire with friends.
He is a regular teller at Toronto’s 1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling, and as a proud member of the York Storytelling Guild, he also performs with them at several events every year.
Brian is also a Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO); a Spiritual Care Provider and Supervisor-Educator (CASC) in a hospital setting; as well as adjunct faculty at the University of Toronto. He finds that his work in these meaning-making professions and his work in storytelling are mutually supportive and deepening ways of exploring of the human condition.
Instagram: brianwalsh.ca
Email: [email protected]