Last October, Galway City Museum invited local schools to enter a competition by submitting illustrated folktales from their locality. The Museum received around 90 entries from across the city and county. With great difficulty, Brendan McGowan, Education Officer at Galway City Museum, William Henry, local historian and folklorist, and Sadie Cramer, artist, whittled the entries down to seven prize winners. Special thanks to all our participants and to William and Sadie for their kind support.
Galway City Museum would like to thank everyone who took part in this folklore competition. As Education Officer, Brendan McGowan says “We really enjoyed reading stories about historical events, strange otherworldly occurrences and folk cures from your localities, and seeing all the wonderful illustrations. These stories have the power to change how we see our surroundings. You are now the custodians, or keepers, of this local knowledge and your task is to keep them alive by retelling them to others”.
Colin Barry, Principal at Scoil Chroí Íosa, expressed the enjoyment of both staff and students saying, “We were delighted to have the opportunity to link up with Galway City Museum. It was wonderful for the children to have the opportunity to use their imaginations to create stories inspired by folklore tales and legends from the past”.
Here are the winning entries:
FIRST PLACE – Amy, 5th Class, SN na bhForbacha
Here’s what the judges had to say about Amy’s work:
Brendan: “Great layering of information – architecture, genealogy and folklore – and a fantastic almost architectural drawing of the Blake house. I also liked the description of the house’s setting drawn with the woods and river.”
Sadie: “A great layout. Excellent pencil work. Thoughtful merging of image and text in the stream”
William: “The competition entries were excellent and it proved very difficult to make a decision. It was reassuring to see the Irish language entries along with their wonderful illustrations. This was the language of the early story-tellers, who passed down the tales through the generations.”
The Prize
Amy has won a bilingual exhibition entitled “The Corrib: Myth, Legend and Folklore” for her school, SN na bhForbacha. The exhibition consists of eleven panels, researched and written by Brendan McGowan of Galway City Museum and beautifully illustrated by artist Sadie Cramer, sharing some of the myths, legends and folktales associate with the Corrib, river and lake. Comhghairdeas le Amy agus múinteoirí Scoil na bhForbacha.
JOINT SECOND PLACE – Liza and Lola, 4th Class, Claddagh NS, Galway City
Here’s what the judges had to say about Liza and Lola’s work:
Sadie – “A funny narrative. Excellent pencil work. An enjoyable way to learn about old cures”
William – “The Claddagh entry was encouraging as the children wrote and illustrated traditional stories of their own place. The ‘Crazy Cures’ and Mermaids being prominent among them as they were in the past.”
Brendan – “It was impossible to separate these two great entries. I loved the comic-style artwork – what a fun way to present traditional cures”
The Prize
Liza and Lola have won an art workshop (on the theme of folktales) for their class with artist Sadie Cramer, who illustrated our exhibition. The exhibition consists of eleven panels, beautifully illustrated by artist Sadie Cramer, which tell some of the myths, legends and folktales associate with the Corrib, river and lake. Comhghairdeas le Liza agus Lola agus múinteoirí Scoil an Chladaigh.
JOINT THIRD PRIZE – Deagán, Niamh, Princess and James
Here’s what the judges had to say:
Deagán, SN na bhForbacha
Sadie: “Vivid storytelling in picture and text. Great blending of hilarity and horror”
Brendan: “Beautifully presented common folktale, with lots to see in the colourful picture”
William: “It was reassuring to see the Irish language entries along with their wonderful illustrations. This was the language of the early story-tellers, who passed down the tales through the generations.”
Niamh, SN na bhForbacha
Brendan: “A scary folktale that’s well framed in bite-size chunks. The colourful drawing is like something from a Tim Burton film”.
William: “It was reassuring to see the Irish language entries along with their wonderful illustrations. This was the language of the early story-tellers, who passed down the tales through the generations.”
Princess, Scoil Chroí Íosa, Galway City
William: “The story of the magical bull was very interesting as tales of this animal feature in a number of old Irish legends.”
Brendan: “I loved the drawing of all the tasty food that the magical bull gave the boy”
James, SN Naomh Breandán, Annaghdown
William: “One of the stories that grabbed my attention was the Gruagach of Locha Fuair. Another version of this ancient story was told to me many years ago.”
Brendan: “A wonderfully detailed and interesting story about the Gruagach”
The Prize
Each winner – Deagán, Niamh, Princess, and James – wins a signed copy of William Henry’s book, Away with the Fairies. Comhghairdeas le gach duine. And thank you to William for presenting the Museum with copies of his book as prizes.
Closing note from author, William Henry:
“Ireland really is at the heart of a folklore tradition and the West of Ireland can lay claim some of the richest stories. The idea of running a folklore competition by Galway City Museum was a really a fantastic concept. The support shown by the schools and all the children was excellent. The competition entries were excellent and it proved very difficult to make a decision. It was reassuring to see the Irish language entries along with their wonderful illustrations. This was the language of the early story-tellers, who passed down the tales through the generations. Sincere thanks to all the children who made such a fantastic effort with their entries. Their wonderful stories and illustrations showed a very creative mind and an amazing imagination which are the hallmarks of folklore. Please continue your interest in the stories of the past and keep them alive for future generations.” (William Henry, author of Away with the Fairies)
