Your Own Anam Cara Retreat
An all-inclusive residential retreat, Anam Cara offers private and common working rooms and five acres of walking paths, quiet nooks and crannies, gardens, a labyrinth meadow, and a river island and cascades. Whether you retreat to work on your own project or as part of a workshop group, you will find support, creature comforts, and peace – all you need to do your best work.
Anam Cara is open to creative people seriously working to enhance their creative gifts. I ask that you come with a project in mind, having done the advance planning and preparation necessary to work on it. As part of your booking request, please send along a paragraph describing your project.
Although our time here could become an exploration in a number of creative directions and residents often shift focus at some time during their stay (for example, painters have been known to begin writing and writers to paint), it seems to work better when a residency begins with a specific focus.
If you are interested in discussing your work, we often spend time in the evenings discussing our work and offering each other feedback. If you would like my editorial advice, you and I could meet privately.
If you are interested in individual instruction in the visual arts, we can arrange for one of our many local, accomplished artists/teachers to work with you here.
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Retreat Format
For those residents working on their own projects, the daily schedule is designed to provide the structure that you need to explore and enhance your creative work:
Breakfast: 9:00 A.M.
Mid-Day Meal: 2:00 P.M.
Supper: 7:00 P.M.
If you do not plan to be here for a meal, please let me know during the meal previous to the one you will be missing. You are welcome to make a cup of tea or coffee or help yourself to fruit or a snack in the pantry kitchen at the east end of the retreat and to keep items in the refrigerator there.
As alcoholic beverages are not included, you can purchase wine at O'Sullivan's or the Post Office in Eyeries, and O'Shea's pub has an off-license.
Working Hours: 10:00 A.M.-6:00 P.M.
Please observe a working level of quiet. Feel free to work in any of the nooks and crannies on the grounds as well as in your own room. In fair weather, the nooks and crannies on the Meadow Walk, the garden patio, the hazelnut grove, the riverbank, and the river island are ideal spots. If you want to have a chat, please do so in a place where the doors can be closed so others won’t be disturbed.
Evenings can be spent either relaxing or working.
Sauna: To provide opportunities to relax away from your creative work, there is a sauna available. Just let me know about 45 minutes before you would like to use the sauna so that it can be heated.
Housekeeping: Your room is yours to maintain as you wish. Saturday is the usual cleaning day; if you would like something taken care of in your room, please let me know.
Transportation: Harrington's minibus goes to Cork (picks up here at 7:45 A.M., departs Cork 6:00 P.M.) every day of the week, except Sunday (picks up here at 4:30 P.M., departs Cork 7:30 P.M.).
O'Donoghue's minibus goes to Bantry (on Mondays, departs CastletownBere 9:30 A.M. and 4:30 P.M., departing Bantry at 12:00 and 5:50 P.M.; on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, departs CastletownBere 10:30 A.M., departing Bantry at 3:45 P.M.) On Thursdays, O’Donoghue’s makes the trip to Cork, leaving CastletownBere at 7:30 A.M. and returning to the Square at about 8:30 P.M.
Taxis are the common mode of transportation in Beara for both short errands and day and half-day trips around Beara for sightseeing and to Kenmare for shopping. There are several cab services available. As they have standing contracts during the day, we try to give them good advance time to book your trip. The average rate is €1.25/mile.
The colourful village of Eyeries with its two shops, post office, two pubs, and coffee shop (depending on the season) is a 10-15 minute walk away.
No Smoking: Anam Cara is a no-smoking retreat; however, there is a smoking area outside at the front of the retreat. Please dispose carefully of all smoking materials.