From humble beginnings in a straw shed in Kildare, following a horribly isolating pandemic, Jane Gormley began Craicly Stories - a community story project that brings folklore to life and neighbours together.
Starting with a small group of story-starved friends looking for an unusual party, the events started as a means to meet up with locals and have a bit of craic.
"I didn't know if it would be enjoyable or just really tragic and awkward," she laughs, "but thankfully it worked."
Before the pandemic, the now 45-year-old worked in recruitment and had no experience in storytelling or live performance. When she had children, though, she began to notice the rise of online communication and the loss of oral storytelling.
"Stories, for me, are the most comforting things in the world," she says, reflecting on why she looked for traditional solutions to modern problems.
"There were a couple of motivations around that time, after COVID, but I remember thinking: God, there's so much to be gained from the energy and expression and voice."
Not to mention the chance to poke around old houses.
Collaborating with Historic Houses of Ireland, the nights often take place in jaw-dropping venues ranging from historic houses and castles to straw sheds and hidden libraries.
"The three words we use a lot are: people, place, and purpose," she explains. "Ireland is full of so many beautiful places, but in rural Ireland, some of these places feel lonely. They're emptying, but they're magnificent.
"When we started in the straw shed - when I say straw shed, it's literally a shed with a bit of straw - everyone loved it. It was really primitive. It became apparent in that first one that stories are important, but the other character was the place."
Working with professional storyteller Sinead O'Brien, Craicly Stories mixes modern stories with classic Irish folklore.
As well as doing her own research on tales, myths, and legends, Jane takes submissions from the public, curating a fascinating collection of ghost stories and fables passed down through word of mouth across Ireland.
"It's surprising, when you ask people, what they'll tell you," she laughs.
Now, just in time for Halloween, Jane is set to kick off a monthly residency in Dublin in the beautiful surroundings of Bewley's Café on Grafton Street.
The sessions will include a group supper followed by storytelling, of which the theme will vary from month to month.
With the first event taking place on Wednesday, 15 October, the theme will, of course, be ghosts, and will celebrate Samhain through rich folklore and mythologies, along with storytellers' own ghostly experiences.
As well as providing unique entertainment in a beautiful space, Jane says that the nights serve as a great ice breaker for people.
"After is hilarious," she says of the nights. "It's like the afters of a wedding! The intimacy is there, the trust is there, and everyone is having a really good laugh. There are all these comparative stories that people want to share."
"It was the same in the shed," she says of the first session. "We all ended up staying there until about 2am. They were neighbours who had never met, but have met since then. That's happened at every event I've seen: professional and personal relationships being built from people who met at a Craicly."
As well as the monthly residency in Bewleys, Craicly Stories will be holding a ghost stories event at the Puca Festival in Meath on Saturday, 1 November. Click here for more info.
