Seaside Writing Retreat at Curracloe Beach, May 26th - 30th 2025
Would you like to spend a week focused on your writing in calm, beautiful surroundings?
I am running a five-day writing retreat & workshop at the serenely spectacular Ballyvaloo Retreat Centre in Co. Wexford next May.
Each day will consist of writing workshops in the morning and free time in the afternoons for reading and writing (& walks by the beach & sea-swims). Every participant will also get one-to-one feedback on their writing from me during the week.
The fee is €1200 for everything: writing workshops, room and board.
The accommodation is simple but beautifully comfortable: ensuite, private rooms with a writing desk.
We will also have a visiting yoga teacher, offering optional classes in the evenings or mornings.
Email me on niamhkm@gmail.com to for booking information. Places are selling fast - you can secure your spot now with a €200 deposit. Balance will be due 31/3/2025.
FAQs
Who can come to this retreat?
Any adult with a commitment to or interest in creative writing. Please bring an open mind and a courteous attitude towards others.
Do I need to do anything in advance?
Please submit a short statement to Niamh before end of March outlining what you are working on (if anything) and what you’d like to get from the course. This is to help me get to know you all a little in advance, it’s not a way of evaluating you.
I will also issue some short reading to be done before the week starts – this is to give us a shared starting point for discussions about structure, plot, characterisation, etc.
Will I get any feedback on my writing?
You will. Depending on numbers, I may ask you to submit some creative work in advance of the retreat and perhaps discuss on a Zoom call before or after the week itself. Otherwise, with a smaller group, I’ll meet everyone one-to-one during the week.
We will also make time for workshop discussions of every attendee’s work – depending on numbers, we may do this in the evening as well as the afternoon but we will do our best to keep this work to the afternoons. My aim is for every attendee feel enthused and liberated by the process of the week. Creative work can be difficult and lonely – the point of this week is to make it more enjoyable and to awaken each writer to the power and potential latent in their own work.
On the Monday, I’ll talk a little about ‘workshop etiquette’ – how to make sure that our comments on one another’s work is constructive and enlightening.
What should I bring?
Notebook, pen, pencils, laptop (if you want), books.
How do I get there?
Ballyvaloo Retreat Centre is situated a 30-minute drive from Enniscorthy, which is served by train from Dublin Connolly. We can help you get a cab from Enniscorthy to Ballyvaloo or organise a pick-up if you are arriving this way.
The retreat centre is a 40-minute drive from Rosslare Europort – again, we can help get you from there to here if necessary.
By car, it is about a two-hour drive from Dublin Airport.
What is the retreat centre like?
The retreat centre is located in beautiful gardens just minutes from spectacular Curracloe Beach (made famous when it served as a stand-in for Omaha Beach during the filming of Saving Private Ryan in 1997). It is a very rural location, half an hour to the nearest large town. You will love it.
The building is owned and run by the St John of God Sisters and as such has a quiet, contemplative and spiritual atmosphere. The centre hosts many secular gatherings and retreats throughout the year.
The rooms are all beautifully appointed with en-suite bathrooms.