In Gaelic society, the bard ranked just below the king, memorizing enormous quantities of verse that often served as the only record a community had of its own past. Those poets gave way over the centuries to the seanchaí, custodians of tradition who walked from town to town keeping an oral literature alive long after print arrived, and whose descendants still hold a room quiet today.
Seanchaí (shan-a-key) were traditional Irish storytellers and the custodians of history for centuries in Ireland. They could recite ancient lore and tales of wisdom whenever needed and were considered something of the Google of ancient times.
The English translation and definition of seanchaí is, in fact, a custodian of tradition, and while storytelling has largely been replaced in Ireland with TV and film as it has in the rest of the world, it's still a highly respected ability that will have crowds waiting on a storyteller's every word.
Ireland has one of the richest folklore traditions in the world. This is primarily because the Celtic culture has been maintained for more than 2,000 years, and the tradition of oral composition and performance has been strong throughout Irish history.
The Irish hold a great appreciation for the "spoken word" and the use of language, and have created a unique and beautifully poetic oral literature.
In ancient Celtic society, bards held a position of esteem, second only to kings. Bards memorized vast amounts of poetry, which they performed live, and their poems and songs were often the only historical record available. Some may consider them to be historians.
Bards evolved into storytellers called "seanchaí" who wandered from town to town. In this informal way, an ancient oral literary tradition continued into modern times.
The seanchaí is an essential link in Celtic/Irish cultural heritage and continues to play a dominant role in the oral tradition, bringing old stories to life for modern-day listeners.
Marianne McShane is one such storyteller. Raised in Bangor, Co. Down, an area steeped in history and rich in folklore, Marianne weaves a spell of Celtic legends, myths, and wonder tales that she heard as a child.
McShane has been a featured storyteller at festivals in the US and Ireland and has shared her stories at social events, schools, and libraries. You can visit her website here.
* Originally published in September 2014, updated in 2026.