Our Creative Process Going Behind the Words, Within the Story, and Through the Mist of Time.
Over the past few weeks, Ms. Munnelly’s TY students at St. Nathy’s College have been stepping into the shade of a long-standing cherry blossom tree to explore how imagination, historical research, and creative expression can be used to re-imagine Ballaghaderreen’s past.
Led by Anna King, these ongoing workshops are rooted in a creative non-fiction process that honours historical fact while connecting the past to the lives and questions of young people today.
In the last few sessions, students were introduced to key figures and ideas: Anne Deane, Michael Davitt, the Ladies Land League, and the symbolic power of cherry blossoms in Irish history.
They then broke into smaller groups to mind-map, draw connections, and begin weaving creative responses from historical threads.
Led by Anna King, these ongoing workshops are rooted in a creative non-fiction process that honours historical fact while connecting the past to the lives and questions of young people today.
In the last few sessions, students were introduced to key figures and ideas: Anne Deane, Michael Davitt, the Ladies Land League, and the symbolic power of cherry blossoms in Irish history.
They then broke into smaller groups to mind-map, draw connections, and begin weaving creative responses from historical threads.
Last week, we refined the historical narrative at the heart of our project. Building on earlier sessions, where students created research-based mind maps, we began shaping these insights into a story. We explored some of the hidden and overlooked layers of history, while holding space for imagination, storytelling, and the act of reclaiming narratives like those of the Ladies Land League.
As part of the process, Anna wrote a short fictionalised scene: a quiet conversation imagined between Anne Deane and Michael Davitt beneath the cherry blossom tree. They speak about Charles Stewart Parnell’s intentions to disband the Ladies Land League, while a stranger lurks behind the tree, holding a secret letter…
The piece closes with three evocative prompts to help the students continue the tale:
Who was the stranger behind the tree?
What did he overhear?
What secrets lie in the crumpled letter beneath the cherry tree?
The story was recorded and played back in class.
Students responded in pairs with their own creative reconstructions, using storytelling techniques such as inner monologue, flashback, imagined dialogue, and shifting narrative perspective. These exercises encourage emotional depth and literary freedom; they allow students to interpret, question, and reimagine history on their own terms.
Who was the stranger behind the tree?
What did he overhear?
What secrets lie in the crumpled letter beneath the cherry tree?
The story was recorded and played back in class.
Students responded in pairs with their own creative reconstructions, using storytelling techniques such as inner monologue, flashback, imagined dialogue, and shifting narrative perspective. These exercises encourage emotional depth and literary freedom; they allow students to interpret, question, and reimagine history on their own terms.
We have also begun exploring how these layered stories might be presented.
Early ideas include narrated audio stories, pen and ink drawings, painted scenes of the garden conversation, oil and acrylic impressions of cherry blossoms in bloom, and close-up studies of bark textures and falling petals. Some students are experimenting with photography and videography, capturing the ephemeral magic of nature and memory in motion.
Early ideas include narrated audio stories, pen and ink drawings, painted scenes of the garden conversation, oil and acrylic impressions of cherry blossoms in bloom, and close-up studies of bark textures and falling petals. Some students are experimenting with photography and videography, capturing the ephemeral magic of nature and memory in motion.
We will be continuing this work in our next session on Thursday. Keep an eye out for more creative developments as the stories beneath the cherry tree continue to unfold.
This project is Funded by Creative Ireland & Roscommon County Council.
More info: https://www.annaking.ie/the-cherry-blossom-tales
 | A Creative Ireland Funded Project www.annaking.ie |
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