Willowbrook Creative Writing Retreat Spring 2025
A weekend of writing workshops and activities facilitated by some incredibly talented writers. This is our fifth 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 when 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 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:
Spoken word artist and poet Colm Keegan
Singer/songwriter Paddy Dennehy
Poet Jessamine O’Connor
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.
Paddy Dennehy’s first album ‘Little Light’ was released in June of 2020 to both critical acclaim and a well documented pandemic. He received glowing reviews from Hotpress magazine in Ireland, Folk Radio UK, Rolling Stone France to name a few . The songs on that album have allowed
Paddy being invited to share a stage with the likes of Mick Flannery, Glen Hansard, Imelda May, Lisa Hannigan , Gemma Hayes and Paul Noonan.
‘Love and Be Brave’ is the title of his second album released in May 2023. When he started writing this album Paddy lived alone on his father’s small farm in County Limerick. It was a long way from anywhere and afforded him plenty of time to think, write and play with everything on full volume. It was both cathartic and challenging.
“Poignant lyrics…evoke almost disturbingly vivid images. A captivating, heart-wrenching showcase of how powerful folk music can be.” – Hotpress Magazine
“Bare nerves and raw emotions, backed by arrangements fueled with a combination of power and panache create the heart and danger at the soul of Paddy Dennehy’s music. Fermented over time, Little Lights rings out as a beacon, illuminating the roads we continue to travel.” – Folk Radio UK
Jessamine O’Connor lives in a train station on the Sligo Roscommon border. Her poetry collection ‘Silver Spoon’ is published by Salmon Poetry, and she has several chapbooks including with Nine Pens Press and the Black Light Engine Room press. She is an editor with Drunk Muse Press, The Poet’s Republic, and was on the editorial team for the inaugural Scrimshaw. Recent publications include Banshee, Ink Sweat & Tears, Abridged, Dreich, Atrium, The Stony Thursday Book, and Skylight47. Awards include the iYeats and Francis Ledwidge poetry prizes and the Dermot Healy Award 2021 for her fiction and poetry.
Sunday Morning’s activity will be Laughter yoga with Jenni (Kinvara Laughter yoga) Previous attendees will be familiar with Jenni’s sessions which she has run as part of the event in previous years. A wonderful way to fuel the spirit and send you on your way back into the real world after a weekend full of inspiration and creativity.
Prices:
Full weekend including glamping accommodation, meals & workshops €250 (or €225 per person if booking in a group of 2 or more)
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 9th May:
-Check in for those staying on site from 2pm if you wish to come early and explore our little bit of paradise.
-6.30pm: Welcome & Shared dinner
-8.30pm: Performances of original work by our facilitators
Saturday 10th May:
-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.
-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 11th May:
-8am-9.30am: Self Serve Continental breakfast in Campers Kitchen
-9.30am: Laughter Yoga with Jenni (Kinvara laughter yoga)
-11am: Check out.
What people said about our previous Creative Writing Retreats:
In Willowbrook you can have your own balance of interaction and silence in whatever measures you want. The interaction will connect you with good fun good ideas, great crack and one hell of a sing song. The silence will connect you to a deep source of intuition. It’s no coincidence that the words silent and listen have the same letters, so don’t be surprised if in the silence you get the answers you’re looking for. – Mike (2024)
Tuesday and Wes have a very warm and welcoming way of providing and facilitating writing workshops that inspire and support new and seasoned writers to develop and hone their craft. I can’t recommend it highly enough. – Siobhan (2024)
Very professionally organized with a wonderful choice of facilitators to get the creative juices flowing. – Patricia (2023)
I spent a wonderful weekend at the creative writing course; It’s a gift to have this amazing sanctuary on my doorstep – Annamarie (2022)
One of the best experiences I have had in ages – Gemma (2019)
For any queries, please get in touch in one of the following ways:
-Call us on (094)98 61307
-Email us at…… hello@willowbrookglamping.ie We are Very much looking forward to welcoming you all to Willowbrook for yet another wonderful weekend of creativity!
