Billy Teare & Kathleen O'Sullivan
Billy Teare - Born in Ballycarry, storyteller Billy Teare, now resides in Larne, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. Billy has appeared on the big screen, stage, TV and radio in guises ranging from chicken hypnotist to jester.
From his teens he had a part time career on the tough Belfast comedy circuit. He continued in a semi professional capacity, during 16yrs working as a law clerk for the Crown Solicitors Dept. Northern Ireland Office. In the past thirty years, Billy's popularity have seen him as a featured artist at ALL the major folk and storytelling festivals around the world. (Including the far reaches of the Yukon). He tells stories in hundreds of early years settings, schools, libraries, community groups, heritage sites, council and cultural venues and is passionate about his treatment of narrative as an accelerated learning tool. He is working on a book of his techniques.
To find out more about both Billy Teare & Kathleen O'Sullivan please visit their website - www.billyteare.com
Kathleen O'Sullivan - In performance Kathleen offers an insight into her London/Irish cultural duality. Speaking with a pronounced East End accent, it sometimes comes as a surprise to audiences to hear how precisely she replicates the Irish templates, both spoken and sung, that have shaped her psyche and fortunes.
Recognised as a fine exponent of traditional Irish singing, she is also a witty, sometimes surreal wordsmith. She has served as an MC and was the host for recitals of music by Celtic Women, held in Greenwich. She has had some of her poetry published in an anthology, along with other Irish women living in London, called ‘Fresher than Green, Brighter than Orange’, and more recently in ’Irish Lifelines’ (2008). Kathleen’s first love though, is singing. By far her most residing childhood impression is of listening to the songs of her mother, Laois woman, Norah O‘Sullivan (nee Coss).. Although Kathleen’s tuition was informal, she was immersed. What she sings and the way she sings it are entrenched. On stage, her physical default position for a rendition of a song is one of introversion. It is ALL about the song. She is ever mindful that although she was encouraged to sing for friends and family, her mother would have chastised her soundly if she veered into the realms of showing off.
To find out more about both Billy Teare & Kathleen O'Sullivan please visit their website - www.billyteare.com
