All-Weather Words Writing Retreat
with Alice Kinsella
Friday 27 February - Sunday 1 March 2026
€325 for Newcomers
€295 Special Discount for Previous Attendees
Please ring box our office at 094 902 3733
to pay and secure the discount rate.
Following a successful first retreat we are delighted to be inviting you to join us for the next All-Weather Words Writing Retreat.Hosted by award-winning local writer, Alice Kinsella, this weekend retreat is designed to give you time and space to read, relax, meet like-minded peers, spend time in nature, and write.An intimate group of thirteen ensures that each participant gets sufficient time to share their work and receive feedback, while still providing a warm group dynamic.
When?
Fri 27 – Sun 29 Feb 2026
Friday: Arrive at 2pm for some refreshments and your first workshop. Check-in to accommodation at 4pm.
Saturday: Breakfast in the main house. Workshop 11-2. Free time/writing time.
Sunday: Breakfast in the main house. Check-out of cottages 12 noon. Workshop 12-2 followed by lunch, time to share work, and goodbyes leaving at approximately 3.30pm.
The Retreat
Your accommodation for the weekend will be in one of the picturesque cottages of the lakeside Lough Lannagh holiday village.
You will have a private bedroom in a shared cottage. Each bedroom is ensuite and comes with a desk. Kitchen and living areas are communal. On the Saturday evening participants will gather in the largest cottage to share work. If you do not wish this to be in your cottage we can ensure you are staying in one of the other cottages.
The retreat is within minutes of the bustling town of Castlebar, Co. Mayo. The lakeside holiday village boasts a tranquil environment and close proximity to the local leisure centre. The town is accessible by both road and rail.
Workshops will focus on generating ideas, finding inspiration, nurturing your voice, on loosening creative inhibitions, building a world, and moments of significance. One workshop will involve a guided walk around the lake.Whether already a prolific writer, a budding wordsmith, or you fancy dabbling for fun, our retreat provides a welcoming space for you to focus, be inspired, and create.
What’s included?
The cost of your retreat includes:
-Accommodation;
-Breakfast both mornings;
-Welcome refreshments and farewell lunch;
-Three creative writing workshops.
Dinners are self-catering, with a number of wonderful local restaurants within walking distance if you don’t feel like cooking. This allows us to keep the cost of the retreat low and gives you the option to socialise or embrace solo writing time. An optional evening meal (cost not included) in a local restaurant will be facilitated on the Saturday evening.
Breakfast: Juices, fresh fruits, yoghurts, cereals, porridge, bacon, eggs (fried, scrambled or poached), sausage, tomato, hash brown, tea/coffee & toast/soda bread.
Lunch: Soup with rolls/soda bread and salad buffet, tea/coffee.
The facilitator
Alice Kinsella is a writer from Mayo. Her books include Milk: on motherhood and madness (Picador, 2023) and The Ethics of Cats (Broken Sleep, 2025) was published to critical acclaim. She co-edited Empty House: poetry and prose on the climate crisis (Doire Press, 2021), and co-authored Wake of the Whale (Mayo Books, 2024) which was a Sunday Independent Book of the Year. Kinsella has received multiple bursaries and residencies, including the Arts Council of Ireland Next Generation Award. She is the founder of Caomhnú Creative, a collective of artists and producers working in heritage and environmental conservation, which is a Druid Theatre FUEL programme resident for 2025. Alongside writing, she has been a creative writing teacher, editor, and mentor for over a decade.
Note: If you are booking with a friend or partner and would like to share a bedroom, either a double or twin, please get in touch directly.
Cancellation policy
Cancellations any time up to 28 days before the retreat will be given a full refund.In the event of cancellation in the 28 days before the retreat, we will endeavor to fill the space.In the case the space is not filled:Between 28 and 8 days prior to the retreat: 50% refund7 days prior to the retreat: no refund possible.In the case the space is filled: full refundThis cancellation policy has been designed to ensure as much flexibility as possible while keep fixed costs covered so that the retreat can continue. In all cases of cancellation, we will endeavor to try to fill the empty spot from the waitlist, but the more notice we have for this the more likely we are to fill it.
Having had the nerves and comfort zone concerns in advance, I had nothing to worry about. The weekend was a safe space full of support and encouragement. Alice is a fabulous facilitator, and I would highly recommend this writing retreat.
Alice created a warm and open space that allowed a diverse group of people to feel safe and create.
A wonderful setting with wonderful people, accompanied by a facilitator who gives you the space to produce your own work.
Alice’s writing retreat inspired me in ways I least expected. I definitely look forward to joining her again, and I highly recommend to all writers, budding or in bloom. A thoroughly sumptuous weekend reinvigorating the senses.
Alice has created a space where creativity flows and writers are encouraged to be brave with their writing and challenge themselves to experiment and develop their own practice. I can’t recommend these workshops enough.
