Maria Gillen is an award winning Irish storyteller. She has been the Storyteller in Residence for the Kerry Writers Museum and the Artistic Director for the Listowel International Storytelling Festival. She is a well-known and popular storyteller and Bean An Tí (Irish Session Host) on the storytelling circuit in Ireland.

She loves listening to stories and will tell a story at the drop of a hat. She loves co-creating stories with anyone ‘from the cradle to the grave.’ She believes deeply in the power of stories to strengthen communities, heal prejudice and build resilience. She is a member of IACAT (Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists).

She has twice won the longest running Story Competition in Ireland in Finuge, she has also won the Butter Roads Storytelling Competition in Blarney and the Bealtaine Hero Award for co-creating stories from gathered memories of yesteryear.