This year’s Tea Party, curated by our three Citizen Curators, Joe Maguire, Madge O’Callaghan and Peter Clarke, celebrates creativity at every age – spotlighting late-life debuts, reinvention, and practices sustained across decades. Inspired by the energy of Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life, the event reframes ageing as vitality, not decline. Featuring debut writer Tom Dredge, storyteller Ruth Marshall and actor Bríd Ní Neachtain’, and joined by Bealtaine Dawn Chorus Flagship Choir, Hands in Harmony choir from Limerick (with a special rendition of ‘Lust for Life’). ISL will be provided as part of this event. Supported by IMMA.

Writers: find out more about the opportunity to read at this event by emailing arts@ageandopportunity.ie

Biographies

Ruth Marshall
Ruth Marshall is a storyteller, poet, author, and arts and heritage facilitator. Ruth works with groups of all ages and abilities, from preschool children and their parents, primary students, teenagers, to older people after retirement. Her facilitation has encouraged creativity for adults with differing needs in Rehab Care, Irish Wheelchair Association, Brothers of Charity. Ruth was a facilitator of Age & Opportunity’s Ageing with Confidence programme, and is also a perceptive transpersonal facilitator, life coach and sound healer. She has been a creative writing tutor for Limerick Clare ETB since 2017, and taught creative writing to adolescents at ALFA, a Steiner secondary school in Co Clare for 5 years. In all her work there runs a thread of natural spirituality, a reverence for place, seasonal traditions, for nature and a respect for our common humanity. Author of three books (Celebrating Irish Festivals, Hawthorn Press, 2003; Clare Folk Tales, The History Press, 2013; Limerick Folk Tales, THP, 2016). Ruth’s poetry collection, Unravelling, is currently on the shortlist of a UK publisher.

Tom Dredge
On retiring from his position as telecommunications technologist in ESB, Tom Dredge immersed himself in his passions, hill-walking and writing. A member of Bealtaine Poets, Boyne Writers and Leixlip Writers, his poetry has appeared in such magazines as Boyne Berries, Skylight 47, Ó Bhéal and Wow and he has published a poetry chapbook. Realising his ambition to walk the 146 km of the Royal Canal, he delved into the history, culture and ecology of the waterway, relating amusing local anecdotes and folklore gathered along this uplifting adventure. He was accepted into the National Mentoring Programme leading to the completion of his book Rambling Along the Royal Canal – A Journey into the Heart of Ireland.

Bríd Ní Neachtain
Bríd Ní Neachtain is an acclaimed Irish actress known for her work in theatre, film, and television, including Dancing at Lughnasa and The Banshees of Inisherin. She has received critical acclaim for her performances, including an IFTA award for Lead Actress Film. She has also been featured on an Irish 55-cent stamp in 2008, commemorating her role in Cré na Cille. Her work continues to highlight Irish-language storytelling and women’s narratives on stage and screen.

Hands in Harmony
Hands in Harmony Deaf Community choir is the first of its kind in the Mid-West area. The choir was formed in October 2014 and has been fortunate enough to perform in many venues and festivals throughout Ireland since its inception, including the Prosperous Music Festival in Kildare, Gospel Rising Music Festival for two years running and The Mayo Choral Festival.

We use a backing track and translate songs into Irish Sign Language, which when performed to music showcases the beautiful visual expression of ISL; the first and preferred language of most Deaf people in Ireland. The aim of the choir is to raise awareness of the Deaf community in a positive light, exploring the Irish Deaf Community’s rich language and culture through the use of music. The choir promotes the needs of the Deaf community by providing an outlet and an environment which is accessible for Deaf people to express themselves creatively and musically through Irish Sign Language. We look forward to our continued success and hope to delight future audiences with our performances.

Terenure College Community Choir
Based in Terenure College, Dublin, we are a choir of approximately 50 members. In addition to great sacred music by composers such as Handel, Mozart and Rutter, our repertoire now includes opera favourites, popular songs, gospel and songs from musical theatre.

We have performed on RTÉ television, at venues in Ireland and abroad, and we plan to do more. Since our foundation in 2013, we have remained strongly committed to musical excellence and also to the informal and social aspects of choral singing.