Commissions

  • Shane was commissioned to write an environmental story relating to the local river, raising awareness and the issues about its environmental protection.

    The story ‘Little River’, was used in workshop format at a local school. The project was so successful that Shane was asked to take it into another school the following year.

    One teacher said to Shane, “I wish you would come and work here as a teacher, I have never seen the children so engaged in the classroom”.  

  • Shane was commissioned to tell a story in the city's Cathedral, under the massive art installation ‘Gaia’ (mother earth), created by renowned international artist Luke Jerram. 

  • ~ Shane was commissioned to co-facilitate a 12 week therapeutic ‘Applied Storytelling’ programme, in an infant school. The programme was so successful, that the school asked for the programme to be run twice more. In  total the project ran for 36 weeks..

    For a Secondary School Shane was commissioned to put together and run a bespoke therapeutic nature and storytelling programme, for a cohort of students, who were all deemed ‘disengaged’ from their education.

    The Head of Year saw a “noticeable difference” in all of the pupils attending.  

  • ~ Shane was commissioned to put together and deliver a week of storytelling workshops in an infant school, to enhance the children’s ‘emotional’ language and literacy, through the mediums of oral story, drama and art work.    

    ~ Shane has also co-facilitated several storytelling workshops in Morocco for adult students learning English language. Some of the sessions involved storytelling through an Arabic speaking interpreter, while other sessions were in English. 

    ~ Shane has also run workshops with adults and also with teenagers with learning disabilities, for Mencap in Essex and Suffolk . The staff were surprised to see how much oral storytelling and story creation engaged the students. One particular moment stood out for Shane, after a member of staff commented, that a particular student with severe learning and language difficulties, was, “The most engaged I have ever seen him, and enjoying himself”  

Residencies

  • Shane is the storyteller in Residence for ‘Haverhill Arts Centre’ and Haverhill District Council.  

  • Shane is the storyteller in Residence for Big Hat Bushcamp Limited and has been for more than seven years. 

  • Shane was Mencap’s Resident Storyteller for teenagers and for adult’s with learning disabilities for five years

  • Shane was Resident Storyteller for ‘Renew Counselling’ for two years using, Applied Therapeutic Storytelling.  

  • I was invited by the Earl and Countess of Meath, to spend a short artist’s residency, in their Baronial family home. To work on some stories and to also tell some stories for families, as part of a ‘Fairytale Day’ at Killruddery House & Gardens. It was in conjunction with, Mermaid Arts Centre, County Wicklow.