Anam Cara Writer's & Artist's Retreat
High on a heather-covered hillside awaits Anam Cara*, a tranquil spot set apart to nurture and to provide sanctuary for those who create. Whether you come to work on a writing or artistic project of your own or as part of a workshop or special interest group, you will find support, creature comforts, and peace – all you need to produce your best work.
To help fulfill Anam Cara's purpose and to let the breezes off Coulagh Bay clear your creative path, we recommend a stay of at least a week. Your hostess, Sue Booth-Forbes, an experienced writer and editor who began her editing career at Cambridge University Press, creates an ambience and a daily schedule that will help you concentrate your energies on your artistic endeavor: In the evening, you may want to share your work in conversation with others in front of a turf fire or watch the sun set in the magical west-of-Ireland sky.
- Morning meals** taken with other residents
- Quiet working hours from 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. with mid-day meals shared with others or on your own
- Evening meals** taken with other residents
- Smoke-free environment
**Meals feature slow-cooked, comfort food prepared using produce and products from local gardeners, butchers, and fishermen.
Since 1998, artists and writers have been having that conversation — inspiring and supporting each other as they have worked through their own creative processes. Hands down, the best part of being Anam Cara’s director is getting to know the writers- and artists-in residence (now over 1,000) and their work.
They have taught me and each other much about the creative process. Their genre / medium may be similar to someone else's, but their approach is always unique and inspirational. One intention for naming the retreat Anam Cara was to provide a space for people who, as they worked with their creative gifts, would recognize the “soul friend” in themselves, in their work, and in others.
*The name Anam Cara means "soul friend" in Irish; it was chosen, in part, to pay tribute to the work and writing of John O'Donohue.