“I’ll be telling you about a woman who was a warrior, a fighter, a protector, a leader. She was born in the year 1530 on the shores of the great Clew Bay, on the west coast of Ireland, County Mayo. And her name was Gráinne Mhaol, or Grace O’Malley.
“Her father, Dubhdara Ó Máille, was chief of the seafaring O’Malley clan. When she was 13 years old, Gráinne pleaded with her father to take her on board.
He told her, “I’ve no doubt you can row and fight. But there is simply no place for a woman at sea. Your lovely locks would get caught in the ropes.”
“When he set sail a few days later, Gráinne was not in her usual place on the hill to wave goodbye.”
SEQUIM — So begins the true, moving story of an indomitable woman, which nationally renowned storyteller William Kennedy Hornyak will share during his show, “Erin’s Daughters: Goddesses, Hags and Heroines” at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The show, co-sponsored by the Story People of Clallam County and Olympic Theater Arts, will be at Olympic Theater Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
Admission will be $15. The program is suitable for listeners ages 18 and older.
Snacks and alcoholic beverages befitting an Irish celebration will be available for purchase.
Hornyak’s show will include myths, songs, legends, poems and lore from Ireland. Hornyak himself has Irish ancestry and is looking forward to his second trip to the old country this year.
“William is a master of making stories relevant to everyone’s life,” said Erran Sharpe, board member of the Story People of Clallam County.
“Regardless of whether you have a drop of Irish blood in you, these stories wrap you up and take you deep into the human experience.”
The nonprofit Story People of Clallam County is dedicated to bringing all forms of live storytelling to the North Olympic Peninsula. Information about public events and group membership is on the web at ClallamStoryPeople.org.
The Story People of Clallam County hosts story swaps on the first Wednesday of the month, along with other public events: a Liars’ Contest in June and the Forest Storytelling Festival in October.
To find out more, visit the website or contact board president Christy Wright at 360-775-9693.
