Michael the Storyteller Tells Tales

THE IRISH STORYTELLER AND HIS IRISH STORYTELLING: This Irish folktale was originally recorded by William Carleton in 1846 in County Tyrone, Ireland. MICHAEL THE IRISH-AMERICAN STORYTELLER BRINGS THIS OLD CELTIC TALE TO LIFE 173 years later. Enjoy! (Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Prophecy.” )

We hope you enjoy Michael’s adaptation of this folktale from India. (Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Prophecy.” )

Enter into Michael’s adaptation of this folktale from Japan. (Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Prophecy.” )

ENVIRONMENTAL STORYTELLING, GREEN STORYTELLING, ECO-STORYTELLING: Drawing from Margaret Read MacDonald’s work that she has shared, Michael the Environmental Storyteller (who had the opportunity to visit Tallinn, Estonia years ago) offers an Earth Mother story (and a Lesson) from the people of Estonia. (Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Prophecy.” )

Listen & Enjoy! (Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Prophecy.” )

A Powerful Tale and Lesson about Strength and Death… Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Prophecy.” )

Originally recorded by Pavol Dobšinský in the 1800s, this mythic Slovakian story is now retold by Michael the Slovak-American Storyteller. Michael, the youngest child of the youngest child of immigrants from Slovakia, aspires to honor the ancestors in sharing this magical Slavic folktale of Maruška. (Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Continue Reading

Listen to the story of how the Irish accent came to Michael… Michael Malley (aka Michael O’Malley) the Irish-American storyteller speaks of his travels and work in Ireland where he first picked up the Irish brogue. Michael, know as “Mick the Yank,” worked with the homeless in the Cork Simon Continue Reading

A mystical Celtic tale that includes the elements, animals, the gift of curing, and the knowledge of foretelling. This story offers some insights into Irish Earth-centered beliefs and traditional folk lore. John Malone, who held faith in the shee, told it to Jeremiah Curtin in 1892 on the Dingle Peninsula, Continue Reading

A playful Irish tale of miscommunication that works in favor of a fellow by the name of Robin. An old man told this tale to Lady Gregory in County Galway in 1902. Here, it is retold to a live audience by the Irish-American Storyteller Michael O’Malley.

A delightful European folktale about a tree fairy, marital strife, & a magical sausage! Found in Sweden, England, & throughout Europe, Storyteller Michael R. Malley (aka Michael Kasony-O’Malley) brings the spirited characters to life in this lively tale.

Storyteller Michael R. Malley (aka Michael Kasony-O’Malley) shares this Congolese tale about the limits to our “points of view.” This story and lesson explores how differing perspectives can disrupt, destroy, or enrich friendships. Michael originally found this tale from central Africa in one of Heather Forest’s collections of stories.

In this tale of a king’s vanity and a tree’s life, Environmental Storyteller Michael R. Malley (aka Michael Kasony-O’Malley) engages in a bit of “Green Storytelling.” Michael expands Storyteller Marie Shedlock’s 1920 recording of this Buddhist Jataka Tale from India, honoring the trees through this Earth Mother Story.

Michael the Storyteller (aka Michael Kasony-O’Malley or Michael the Writer & Speaker on Spirituality, Culture, Tradition, Ecology, & Lore) describes the Good Friday ritual of slowing it down with silence in a cemetery from noon to 3:00 pm. Lake Park Cemetery, Youngstown, Ohio… The Burning of the Library at Alexandria…

Mr. Jackal, Mrs. Jackal, Tiger, Monkey, and the Jackal cubs all play their roles in this folktale from Tibet about a great trickster retold by Michael the Storyteller (Michael Kasony-O’Malley).

Beltaine (May Eve) is one of the four turnings of the Celtic year (along with Lughnasa, Samhain, & Imbolc) when the wall between us and the Spirit World is particularly thin… For more information about the Fairies/the Sidhe (Shee)/the Good People see Irish Earth Folk by Diarmuid MacManus, The Fairy Continue Reading

The simple wisdom of a poor, old farmer is highlighted in this Chinese tale of a horse, a son, and a farmer from a small village in China. Retold by Michael R. Kasony-O’Malley, also known as “Michael the Storyteller.”

Michael R. Kasony-O’Malley (“Michael the Storyteller”) shares an American pourquoi tale (aka as an origin story, an etiological tale, or a “reason why” story) about the bunny rabbit’s ears and tail.

Irish Storyteller Michael O’Malley (aka “Michael the Storyteller” or Michael Kasony-O’Malley) thinks of his own father whenever he tells this story from County Down in Northern Ireland. Michael tells this tale with permission from Maggie Kerr Peirce who shared it in the collection entitled Ready-To-Tell Tales.

Storyteller Michael Kasony-O’Malley (aka Michael R. Malley or Michael O’Malley) adapts and tells this tale inspired by Margaret Read MacDonald’s story “Old Joe and the Carpenter” found in her collection of Peace Tales.

This gentle tale from Japan is retold by Environmental Storyteller Michael Kasony-O’Malley (aka Michael R. Malley or Michael O’Malley). It is found in Frances Jenkins Olcott’s 1919 collection: The Wonder Garden: Nature Myths and Tales from All the World Over.

Doing the Tibetan Buddhist phowa practice with Jesus Christ for HaHa (my Roman Catholic godmother, Aunt Mary). Sogyal Rinpoche’s The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. The Sacred Heart of Jesus painting. Dual or Double Belonging: On being a Buddhist Christian.

Seeing the “Balcony” sign in an old theater at First Night Boston decades ago changed Michael’s life, along with Jay O’Callahan’s Raspberries.

Children especially enjoy this light-hearted Ethiopian tale of the silly farmer, retold with oohs & aahs & old bones by Storyteller Michael Kasony-O’Malley. This story can also be found in Pleasant DeSpain’s collection of Tales of Nonsense and Tomfoolery.

When you pull the tail of the pooka, there’s no tellin’ where the tale might end! Kathleen Green’s delightful Irish story of a pooka is brought to life by the Irish Storyteller Michael O’Malley. (See Jimmy Stewart’s movie Harvey for another great pooka tale.)