She began her conversation with the audience using a joke that some might find not quite politically correct enough. But coming from her lips, it seemed innocent and sweet, old-fashioned, as well as funny. We’ll refrain from repeating that joke here, but rest assured her Irish eyes were smiling, making the world feel bright and gay.
Thus began a lively hour of insights, humor, and folktales handed down through the ages as retold by the master storyteller Maggi Peirce. She said that she often warms up her audience with a joke, especially if there are men in the crowd, justifying the joke by saying, “You know the men are probably thinking, “What the hell am I doing here…”
Peirce has been telling stories and sharing folklore along with all things Irish for nearly eight decades. Even as a young child, her gift for spinning a yarn and her desire to hear the old-time stories were well known in her family.
“I loved all the old things, even the old people,” Peirce told a well-attended gathering on December 11 at the Mattapoisett Library. She said she followed her mother around, asking her questions that often were answered in the form of a folktale like this Christmas-themed one…
“How does the bread dough rise, Mummy?”
“Well, when Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus were fleeing to Egypt, they hid in a bakery and put the baby in the dough so the soldiers wouldn’t see him. After the soldiers passed by, they went to get the baby and the dough had risen so that was the beginning of yeast.”
Or this one…
“There was a worm in the stable where Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus rested. The worm felt bad because he was so dull compared to the shepherds and the angels. One of the angels gave the worm a bit of sparkle from her wings and told the worm, ‘Now you will be a glow worm and everyone will know that Christ is born in Bethlehem.’”
Peirce collected stories like these, some of which she said go back to the fifteenth century, stories that were part of her upbringing as a child in Belfast.
It was a twist of fate that led Peirce to become a well-respected storyteller. While attending a conference, the guest speaker never arrived. The professor organizing the event was familiar with Peirce, having heard her speak to students at the University of Massachusetts, so he asked her to step in to fill the gap. That was in 1978. The rest is history.
What would follow is the stuff of fairy stories indeed.
Peirce would go on to establish herself as the keeper of Irish folklore, songs, poems, and oral history from that point forward.
Her resume includes a 20-year stint as the director of the Tryworks Coffee House, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Storytelling Network, and for a time, a resident storyteller at the Smithsonian. She is also a prolific writer and poet.
Though her traveling has slowed down a bit, Peirce is still busy writing and speaking to those interested in hearing the tales from another place and time. Her last book, A Belfast Girl, was published in 2013. Of her earlier books, collections of folkloric tales, she said, “I found one on eBay for $30!”
Peirce has lived in the U.S. for the past 52 years with her “Yankee” husband, whom she met while they were both studying in Scotland. The couple lives in Fairhaven.
As the hour progressed, Peirce’s stories and recollections transported those within listening distance back to another time as her Irish brogue seemed to thicken, or maybe the fairies just made it seem that way.
A Belfast Girl is available on Amazon, and you can find Peirce’s public appearance schedule on her Facebook page.
By Marilou Newell