One Story Before Bed - Original Irish Stories

Michael O'Flaherty
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One Story Before Bed is a weekly collection of original Irish short stories. Some are funny, some are strange, some are tender, and some may stay with you after the light goes out. Each episode brings you one complete story, usually around twenty minutes long, told simply and without interruption. Settle in, switch off, and let one story carry you to the end of the day. New episodes every Sunday evening.

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    London Calling

    London CallingA short story set in rural Ireland, 1982.In a small village in the west of Ireland, one telephone connects an entire community to the sons and daughters who have left for England.Every Saturday evening, neighbours gather in Tess Mulvaney's kitchen, waiting for London to call. Across the Irish Sea come familiar voices, carrying news of new lives, promises of homecomings, and secrets too painful to share.As the rain falls outside and the telephone rings, stories of love, loss, emigration and quiet courage unfold.London Calling is a poignant journey back to an Ireland where a telephone call was a lifeline, where families were separated by the sea, and where the things left unsaid often mattered most.An atmospheric, moving short story about the ties that bind us, however far from home we travel.

    London Calling

  2. Oct 29

    A Festival of Crows

    A FESTIVAL OF CROWSA darkly humorous Irish Halloween tale. In the little coastal village of Easkey, on Ireland's wild Atlantic coast, an ancient Halloween festival is being revived for the first time in seventy years. There'll be music, costumes, a procession and the spectacular burning of a giant wicker crow. What could possibly go wrong? But as hundreds of crows begin gathering on the village rooftops, one elderly man remembers something the festival committee has overlooked. The old celebration wasn't simply a tradition. It was an agreement. And there was one very important part nobody was supposed to forget. Blending Irish folklore, village humour and creeping supernatural dread, A Festival of Crows is a Halloween story about the dead, the living, and the things that remember us long after we're gone. Some traditions should never be forgotten.

    A Festival of Crows

  3. Oct 25

    The Borrowed Steps

    THE BORROWED STEPS Some things are too difficult to put into words. In a small Irish town, a publican has spent years quietly helping young men face the days they would rather never have to face. He doesn't offer advice. He doesn't ask questions. He just makes sure they have what they need. Borrowed Steps is a short story about loss, dignity, and the kindness that often goes unnoticed. Listen Sunday on Spotify. #BorrowedSteps #IrishShortStories #AudioFiction #IrishWriting #Storytelling

    The Borrowed Steps

  4. Oct 18

    The Good Door

    What makes a good door? One that keeps the world out, welcomes people in, or simply lets you decide? Maura has spent years keeping the peace. Now, in a house of her own, she is discovering how unfamiliar peace can feel—and how difficult it can be for those she loves to understand why she left. The Good Door is a story about fear, family, and the quiet courage of choosing a different life.

    The Good Door

  5. Oct 11

    Six Good Men for Mary Devine

    Kilmeaden, County Waterford, 1986. Mary Devine has spent her life looking after everyone else. Faced with a terminal diagnosis, she approaches death as she approaches everything: with a copybook, firm instructions and no patience for nonsense. After her sister’s funeral nearly ends in disaster, Mary sets about training six unlikely pallbearers for her own. But the return of an old love brings unfinished business that even Mary can’t organise away. A bittersweet story of duty, pride, second chances and learning to let others carry their share.

    Six Good Men for Mary Devine

  6. Oct 4

    The ReIncarnation Situation of Terry O'Brien

    What if you discovered that some of your memories weren’t yours? Terry O’Brien is an ordinary man with a decidedly extraordinary problem. Something from another life appears to be following him into this one — and the deeper the story goes, the harder it becomes to dismiss as coincidence. Funny, strange and more than a little unsettling, The Reincarnation Situation of Terry O’Brien is an Irish tale of memory, identity and the possibility that death might not be quite as final as we think. So, has Terry been here before? You decide.

    The ReIncarnation Situation of Terry O'Brien

  7. Sep 27

    The Wildish Crone

    “Nobody remembered Maeve Rinn arriving in Bellweather.That was the first thing they held against her.She lived alone. She grew herbs. She loved her dogs. She was kind to children.And sometimes, when nobody was supposed to be watching, she danced.Naturally, the village thought she was a witch.” #TheWildishCrone #IrishShortStories #ShortStory #IrishWriter #Audiobook #Storytelling #SpokenWord #Spotify

    The Wildish Crone

  8. Sep 20

    The Empty Patch

    Martin’s arms are covered in tattoos — flowers, memories, pieces of a life laid down in ink. But on one forearm, among the roses, foxgloves, chrysanthemums, bluebells and poppies, there’s an empty patch of skin. Small. Deliberate. Waiting. And then there’s the walnut box. Beautifully made, highly polished, with brass hinges and no lock. Some things are kept for years before we understand why. The Empty Patch — an original Irish short story, written and read by MJ O’Flaherty. One Story Before Bed. One Irish story. Twenty minutes. Before the light goes out.

    The Empty Patch
  • 8 Episodes

About

One Story Before Bed is a weekly collection of original Irish short stories. Some are funny, some are strange, some are tender, and some may stay with you after the light goes out. Each episode brings you one complete story, usually around twenty minutes long, told simply and without interruption. Settle in, switch off, and let one story carry you to the end of the day. New episodes every Sunday evening.

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