Mícheál ‘Moley’ Ó Súilleabháin will be performing during Wisdom and Wellbeing Week 3 David Whyte Intensive: January 17 – 24, 2026. He will also be teaching during Multi-Faculty Week 4: Cultivating Presence, Purpose and Potential | January 24 – 31, 2026 about the following topic:
The Wisdom Within Irish Traditional Song & Poetry
Step into the heart of Ireland’s ancient soul through the living art of traditional song and poetry. In this immersive workshop we invite you to explore the deep wells of wisdom, resilience, and beauty woven into Irish oral tradition.
Irish traditional song is memory, myth, and message carried across generations. Paired with poetry, both spoken and sung, these forms have long served as vessels for truth, protest, grief, love, and celebration. This workshop will uncover how these artforms offer insight into the Irish worldview — one that honours nature, ancestry, community, and the power of the spoken and sung word.
Be guided through a mixture of listening, discussion, and gentle participatory singing and writing (no experience necessary). We’ll explore themes such as keening and lament, poetic cycles, and the use of rhythm and repetition as tools for healing and remembering.
From a family steeped in Irish traditional music and academia, he gravitated to performance early, beginning as a drummer, he studied music at Univeristy College Cork. He graduated to an MA in Ethnomusicology at Irish World Academy of Music and Dance before teaching as a freelance music educator with a specialization in rap and human beatboxing (vocal percussion).
Mícheál provides coaching and conversation in a range of fields. He deepens the narrative around creativity and the artists sense of belonging. Permission and virtuosity are deep themes in his poetry, music, and his conversational interest. Music and poetry are both areas where he is brave enough to inspire others.