in the hearth with stories, music, song and dance from the rich treasury of Ireland’s cultural heritage. Spend an evening with native Irish storyteller Tomáseen Foley and some of the most gifted Celtic musicians, dancers and singers performing anywhere today, both sides of the Atlantic.
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2024 Tour
Now in its 28th season of touring nationally, Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas recreates the joy and innocence of a night before Christmas in a remote farmhouse in his native parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the west of Ireland in the 1950s, when the neighboring families gather around the fire to grace the wintry night with traditional Irish Christmas carols, to raise the rafters with the joy of their music, to knock sparks off the flagstone floor with traditional dances - and, of course, stories – they filled the night with the laughter of their stories.
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LIVE SHOWS
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Adapted from a story by Tomáseen Foley, Parcel from America is now a musical play! With the story of Irish emigration at its core, this holiday musical weaves a tale of loved ones who were forced to leave and those who had to stay behind, and the great power and significance of one particular parcel sent home to a young boy and a lonely widow in rural west Limerick in the 1950s.
Created by Malcolm Hillgartner, Jahnna Beecham, Michael J. Hume and Kevin Corcoran. |
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“2000 seats sold out!”
WEIDNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS, GREEN BAY, WI
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“ . . . charmed a sold-out house at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts.”
LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR, LINCOLN, NE
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“A very large audience turned out and sat rapt for A Celtic Christmas, 2½ hours of jigs, reels and wordsmithing.”
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER, SPRINGFIELD, IL
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“We had to move the performance to a venue with twice as many seats . . . the mix of stories, music and dance was perfect.”
ROCKPORT OPERA HOUSE, ME
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“The most popular performance this year.”
MELLON ART CENTER, WALLINGFORD, CT
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“Like a pint of Guinness, Tomáseen Foley’s “A Celtic Christmas” is going down rich and smooth with . . . another packed house . . . at the Keith-Albee Performing Art Center.”
THE HERALD-DISPATCH, HUNTINGDON, WV
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“A rousing success . . . a magnificent performance.”
WEST VALLEY FINE ARTS, LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ
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“1,800 Lied patrons joined the stage musicians for ‘Silent Night’ to close Foley’s warm, intimate and personal look at Irish history and culture.”
THE LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR
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“What a terrific program! The audience was completely charmed and captivated…wonderful storytelling…the best I have ever heard.”
THE SOCIETY FOR THE FOUR ARTS, PALM BEACH, FL
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“In the tradition of great Irish storytellers…Tomáseen Foley is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.”
TOM HORAN, REGO IRISH RECORDS
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“Like a cup of Irish coffee in a neighbor’s kitchen on a dark night, it was warm, comforting and full of cheer.”
JUSTINE SUTTON, SANTA BARBARA NOOZHAWK
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“Move over, Garrison Keillor. As a presenter of the performing arts who’s always looking for a sure bet, I assure Tomáseen delivers. He deserves a world stage.”
CRATERIAN GINGER ROGERS THEATER, MEDFORD, OR
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“…a masterful weaver of a good tale… One of the great charms of the evening was Tomáseen’s skill in relating a story…a gentle and easy humor made his tales fascinating and eminently human.”
PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS, PALM BEACH, FL
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"...people told me that they LOVED it, that it was just what a Christmas show should be, that it fit in beautifully with our Arts Series and that we should have you back every year!”
ARLENE SHAW, HOUSE MANAGER, OLIN FINE ARTS CENTER
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“I want to thank you for an absolutely terrific show! We have not had such a large crowd since the Juilliard String quartet six years ago. You are all sooo talented.”
JANE CARTAGE
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“You’ll love his warm-hearted, poignant stories of life in the homeland.”
MIKE STURGILL, BRITT FESTIVAL, JACKSONVILLE, OR
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“A good storyteller . . . can carry (his) audience to another time and place. It’s an art—and a gift—and Tomáseen Foley has it in spades."
THE SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
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“In between musical presentations by five wondrously talented guest artists, storyteller and Ireland native Tomáseen Foley regaled the sold-out crowd of "good people of Cleveland, Ohio" with poetry, tales and jokes, evoking a quiet evening spent sitting around the hearth."
THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
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“Foley runs pictures and thoughts across the mind like shooting stars on a crystalline night, with emotions shaking the ground.”
THE GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE, GREEN BAY, WI
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“Tomáseen Foley brings to his audience a mastery of the oral tradition that has marked the Irish spirit for generations.”
ROBERT CASEBEER, PROF. EMERITUS, SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
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“His warm voice wraps you with vivid imagery and stealthy Irish humor.”
DIRTY LINEN MAGAZINE
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“With dramatic impact, Foley brought his tales to a fitting close. He has captured the charm of the wit and wisdom inherent in a locality where people lived within the shelter of their neighbours.”
PAUL KEATING, THE IRISH VOICE, NEW YORK CITY, NY
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“Tomáseen Foley has made it nationally - and internationally - with his warm-hearted “A Celtic Christmas.”
RICHARD MOESCHL, MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OR
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“Great storytelling swept up more than 1,000 listeners . . . "A Celtic Christmas" received a standing ovation at the end. Some people may have been standing to reach for a tissue . . . it was heart tugging."
GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE
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“Foley had people rapt and delighted . . . he has an engaging manner, a lightness of wit and a silver-tongued way of unwinding a tale.”
GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, GREEN BAY, WI
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“He’s a spell-binding storyteller.”
ROBERT MILLER, ASHLAND DAILY TIDINGS, ASHLAND, OR
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NEWEST CD & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
AVAILABLE ON OUR CDs PAGE 
A RADIANT LOVE STORY WOVEN AROUND THE POEMS OF W.B. YEATS
Tomáseen Foley, Brian Bigley, William Coulter and more... |
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PRESENTERS
Press Kit, Posters, Tech Rider, Performer Photos & more. |
TOUR INFO
Up-to-date tour dates and venues. |
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HISTORY
Growing up in rural Ireland and a history of A Celtic Christmas. |
