Billy Teare is an Irish storyteller. Originally from

Ballycarry Ballycarry () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is midway between Larne and Carrickfergus, overlooking Islandmagee, and is part of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 981. Ar ...

, he now resides in

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Teare has appeared on radio, stage, TV and the big screen Billy has performed in guises ranging from chicken to stage jester. Still only in his teens Billy honed his audience skills, in a career on the Belfast stand up comedy circuit. Billy entered a number of talent shows, winning several, and performing throughout Northern Ireland, as well as gigs in Scotland and England until 1990s. In the past thirty years, he has told stories in hundreds of early years settings, schools, libraries, community groups, council and cultural venues, as well as being a featured artist at many of the major folk and storytelling festivals around the world, including the far reaches of the Yukon. He incorporates songs, music, magic, juggling and other theatrical skills, to enliven a multi cultural feast of original, modern and traditional tales, monologues, rhymes, chants and audience participation. Unique in using the critical thinking and recall inherent in stories, his treatment of narrative has proved highly successful for students and teachers alike. In the past Teare has worked collaboratively with various other artists and groups, including BBC Northern Ireland and the Verbal Arts Centre,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. Among his appearances have been: Storyteller in Residence, International Storytelling Centre, Tennessee, 2008, BBC Folk Proms event 2008, return performance at the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

International Storytelling Festival (2000, 2001, 2006), Beyond the Border: The Wales International Storytelling Festival (2005), The Toronto International Storytelling Festival, Sidmouth International Folk Festival (1999, 2001, 2003) In 2013 Billy Teare co wrote a volume of 'Antrim Folk Tales' with Kathleen O'Sullivan, his storytelling partner for over twenty years. The book was published by The History Press, Ireland. In 2020 stories from the book were included in 'The Anthology of Irish Folk Tales' also published by The History Press.

External links

LONSAS

NAWE/ARTSCAPE

Poetry Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teare, Billy Year of birth missing (living people) Male comedians from Northern Ireland Television writers from Northern Ireland British male television writers Living people People from Larne People from Ballycarry