Town library welcomes storyteller

County Tyrone is an area redolent with tradition and Forde’s work reflects this.

Declan’s poems, songs and stories all emanate from the ceili-house tradition, when friends and neighbours would visit and spend an evening gathered around the hearth swapping local news and telling tales.

His stories celebrate the life and times of the people from the Sperrin Mountains in Tyrone, where he lives with his wife and four children.

Declan Forde writes, illustrates and has performed his original stories, songs and poems at festivals all over Ireland.

He has taught Creative Writing and Irish Art history in West Virginia as part of the legendary Irish Week in Elkins, and also in Pendleton, Oregon, and has spun tales in the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London. He has also broadcast his work on RTÉ, BBC, Downtown Radio and the Sony Award winning community radio station, Strule FM.

Bernie McCann, Area Manager with Libraries NI, explains:

“This is an open invitation for everyone to enjoy a free evening’s entertainment of Christmas stories and songs with renowned Tyrone storyteller Declan Forde in Dungannon Library on Thursday 6th December at 7.00pm.”

Everyone is welcome and admission is free but places are limited so booking is essential.

Contact Dungannon Library (Market Square) on telephone: 028 8772 2952 or email: [email protected]

For more information on Declan, visit his website at www.declanforde.co.uk

For details of all events being held in Northern Ireland libraries, go to www.librariesni.org.uk