Willowbrook Creative Writing Retreat 2024

A weekend of writing workshops and activities facilitated by some incredibly talented writers. This is our fourth creative writing retreat. It involves readings / performances by the different facilitators, a full day of workshops, an open mic session, all your meals provided, and a novel little activity to close out the weekend.

So, some details:

Your accommodation and all your meals are included in the ticket price. Shortly after arrival on Friday evening we will share some pizza freshly baked in our wood fired pizza oven (gluten free and vegan options available). There will be continental breakfast each morning. We will break up the Saturday with lunch in the early afternoon, and dinner on Saturday will be provided by highly recommended local caterer. Expect delicious. Vegan options will be available. Accommodation will be in one of our extremely cosy yurts or other glamping units which you will share with other retreat attendees (accommodation will be split into male & female units). We do have different types of accommodation units which some of you may be familiar with so it will be first in best dressed if you have a preference!!! If you have friends coming to the retreat, please let us know before booking and we will do our best to place you in the same accommodation. For those who wish to camp (including campervans or caravans) or locals who do not require accommodation, there are a limited number of discounted tickets which will include all workshops and meals.

On Friday evening, after we eat, we will have readings by all of the facilitators who will be running workshops the next day. Saturday you will have the opportunity to attend 3 different workshops. There will be some spare time to go for a walk or to work on some of the things explored during the workshops, there will also be an laughter yoga session in the afternoon (previous attendees will be well ware that this is absolutely gas craic) and in the evening we will have an open mic, where you will have the opportunity to share with the group something created during the day, or previously. This will be a judgement free weekend, and there is no obligation on anyone to read or perform during the open mic.

On sunday morning we will have breakfast and then something just a little bit special to ease you back into the real world.

The Facilitators for this wonderful weekend are:

Short story writer, poet and dramatist Órfhlaith Foyle

Singwer/songwriter Emma Langford

Poet and spoken word artist Colm Keegan

Órfhlaith Foyle is a short story writer, poet and dramatist and lives in Galway.

Doire Press published her third collection of short stories Three Houses in Rome September 2023.  Her work has appeared in the London Magazine, The Dublin Review, Wales Arts Review, The Manchester Review, The Stinging Fly, the Gorse journal and various anthologies. She wrote and directed the radio dramas May’s End and How I Murdered Lucrezia, adapted from her own short stories. Both received full BAI funding and premiered on Newstalk Radio in October 2021 and 2023.

Órfhlaith received a full Arts Council Agility award ’21 to complete a first draft of Three Houses in Rome and was awarded a full Arts Council Literary Bursary in 2022.

Órfhlaith’s workshop – 

In 15,000 -13,000 BC people painted their lives onto the walls of the Lascaux caves in the Pyrenees. The Epic of Gilgamesh was created in 700 BC and in 200 BC, Aesop wrote his tales. Tales we read and recite today. Stories are us. Stories are short, or long. They are narrative poems and tiny flashes of fiction. This workshop is for beginning and emerging writers, and all interested in writing a very short story. Workshop participants will use their imagination and experience, exploring flash fiction via creative writing tasks, experimenting with voice, character, conflict, narrative and plot, all within the parameters of a tiny story and by the end of this workshop, they will have written their own piece of flash fiction.

Emma Langford‘s songs offer an insight into Irish folklore, history, and many of life’s universal truths; playfully blending folk, traditional and contemporary sounds and styles. With the heart-warming ballad The Winding Way Down to Kells Bay and epic anthem Birdsong she has climbed the charts, and solidified her place on the Irish and international music scene.
The artist has received multiple awards for her work, including an RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Award and the Dolores O’Riordan Bursary. She has played Ireland’s National Concert Hall where, alongside Éimear Noone and the National Symphony Orchestra, she premiered new original works inspired by Irish history. She is also a core member of star-studded collective Irish Women In Harmony, and has toured Germany, the UK, Ireland, and the US extensively. She can currently be found touring a brand new collaborative body of work celebrating Irish myth, history and folklore.

Emma’s workshop – 

We all have a story, and we all have the capacity to find beauty anywhere, even in the seemingly mundane, so in this workshop we’ll explore ways to bring out our inner poet. Attendees will have the option of working solo or in pairs; choosing a beloved book, a favourite tale from folklore, or a personal story, to sculpt into prose or poetry. At the end of the day, everyone will leave having made something that didn’t exist before, with new ideas and stories, and new ways of thinking about, celebrating and sharing old stories. This will be accessible to writers of all levels, and aims to help attendees to develop their writing skills and to think differently about the stories they know and love.

Colm Keegan is an award winning writer and poet from Dublin. He judges the Waterford Poetry Prize and was guest editor of Poetry Ireland Review in 2022. His debut collection “Don’t Go There” was released to critical acclaim and his latest collection “Randomer” is available from Salmon poetry. In 2023 he developed Ireland Is, a spoken word roadshow with Poetry Ireland and Sofft Productions, which toured the island of Ireland. His first full-length play “For Saoirse” was staged in Axis Theatre and shortlisted for the Fishamble New Writing award and his short play “Something Worth Saying,” commissioned for the Abbey Theatre and starring Owen O’ Roe, was called ‘exquisite and devastating’ by reviewer Emer O’ Kelly.

Colm has developed numerous creative writing projects for schools & organisations across the country including Writing Home, an initiative he developed in partnership with Kilkenny County Council, to support homeless service users through the pandemic, which won a LAMA award for best education initiative. He was a co-founder of Lingo, Ireland’s first Spoken Word festival and has been awarded several residencies including the LexIcon, Ireland’s largest public library. He is currently an Artist in Residence with Maynooth University. He also coordinates Deadly Poets Society, an exchange project between poets and academics in Ireland and Australia.

Colm’s workshop – Play without Permission
Join acclaimed poet Colm Keegan for a 90-minute workshop focused on unleashing creativity through free expression and play. Perfect for all levels, this session encourages breaking free from conventional constraints. Engage in spontaneous writing exercises free from the pressure of perfection in a supportive environment where you can take creative risks and enjoy the writing process.

Prices:
Full weekend including glamping accommodation, meals & workshops €240
Full weekend including meals & workshops, but no accommodation €160 (includes a camping pitch if you’d like to take a tent/van/caravan

A brief look at what the agenda for the weekend will be like….

Friday 8th September:
-Check in from 2pm if you wish to come early and explore our little bit of paradise.
-6pm: Welcome & Shared dinner
-8pm: Performances of original work by our facilitators

Saturday 9th September:
-8am-9.30am: Self Serve Continental breakfast in Campers Kitchen
-9.30am: Writing Workshop 1
-11am :Tea break
-11.30am: Writing Workshop 2
-1pm: Shared Lunch
-2pm: Writing Workshop 3
-3.30pm – 6pm : Free time to create, should the mood take you. (and join the laughter yoga session at 5pm if you like)
-6pm: Shared dinner
-8pm: Open mic spoken word session – your opportunity to share your work with the group should you choose to do so.

Sunday 10th September:
-8am-9.30am: Self Serve Continental breakfast in Campers Kitchen
-9.30am: TBC
-11am: Check out.

What people said about our previous Creative Writing Retreats:
One of the best experiences I have had in ages – Gemma
Such a relaxing atmosphere – Sean
An incredible creative writing weekend which exceeded all expectations – Sarah
Very professionally organized with a wonderful choice of facilitators to get the creative juices flowing. – Patricia
I spent a wonderful weekend at the creative writing course; It’s a gift to have this amazing sanctuary on my doorstep – Annamarie
The atmosphere was fabulous. Didn’t really want to leave. – Tony

For any queries, please get in touch in one of the following ways:
-Call us on (094)98 61307
-Email us at…… hello@willowbrookglamping.ieWe are Very much looking forward to welcoming you all to Willowbrook for another wonderful weekend of creativity!