Following their inaugural run in Berlin last week, two Seanchoïche events are taking place this week in Sydney, Australia.

Pronounced "shanah-key-huh," Seanchoíche welcomes people to come listen to and participate in spoken storytelling that range from poetry pieces to personal anecdotes.

"We have run events in four continents over the past two years," founder Ciaran Gaffney stated. I believe there are already six countries. Additionally, over a thousand people have shared their stories with us.

The Irish term for a storyteller is senchaithe, which is the plural of senchchaí. The Irish term for night is oíche. Seanchoíche, or storytellers' night, is created when seanchaí and oíche are combined.

"Seanchoíche kind of has two missions," Mr. Gaffney clarified. "Bringing the narrative that resides inside each of us to life is one of them. The other is using something we are well-known for, but that is also really approachable and commonplace, to establish a connection between the Irish diaspora and their communities throughout the globe."



This month, there are further international Seanchoíche events planned for Brisbane and London.

"A narrative can be told by anybody. Thus, it's wonderful that we, as Irish people, can promote that while also encouraging others to share their stories," Gaffney remarked.