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heritage · Thursday 20 August 2026 · 7:30pm 
Irish Legends and Living Stories with Eddie Lenihan
At Nenagh Arts Centre · Banba Square, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
At Nenagh Arts Centre · Banba Square, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
Eddie Lenihan, one of Ireland’s few remaining practising seanchaithe, brings an evening of fairy lore, haunted places and old Tipperary tales to the Nenagh Arts Centre stage on Thursday, 20 August 2026. Lenihan has spent more than 40 years collecting stories directly from older people across Munster and holds what is reckoned to be the largest private folklore collection in the country. The show runs an hour with a ten-minute interval and is recommended for ages 12 and up.
Lenihan built his reputation as a folklorist and author, with more than 30 books to his name, including “Meeting the Other Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland” and “In Search of Biddy Early.” He became nationally known in 1999 when he used folklore evidence to stop a motorway realignment from removing a fairy bush in County Clare, an episode that drew international press coverage of Irish oral tradition. On stage he works without props, drawing on decades of recordings and interviews to talk through fairy forts, banshees, local hauntings and the historical figures who turn up in Munster storytelling. Expect the tone to move between funny and unsettling within the same story, which is part of what has kept him in demand as a performer rather than just an academic collector. The evening is a solo performance, seated, in the Nenagh Arts Centre theatre space.
Nenagh Arts Centre is on Banba Square in the centre of Nenagh, close to the town’s main shopping streets and a short walk from the bus stop on Pearse Street. Nenagh is on the Dublin-Limerick road and rail line, with regular Bus Éireann and Irish Rail services connecting to both cities.
Nenagh’s own castle keep and Heritage Centre are a few minutes from Banba Square, so it is easy to make an afternoon of the town before the evening show. There is more to see in Nenagh and across Co. Tipperary.
Heading to Nenagh Arts Centre in Nenagh? Tipperary has plenty more to see. Read the Nenagh area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.