Good news for participants to our mid-March travel retreat – majestic Glenveagh National Park, one of excursions they will enjoy during the retreat, has just been named one of Ireland’s most interesting tourism attractions. It received a Gold Excellence Award and National Heritage Awards at the recent CIE International Awards of Excellence. Glenveagh (from the Irish Gleann Bheatha, meaning 'glen of the birches’) is the second largest national park in Ireland. Located scenical

What a joy last week’s summer retreat turned out to be. A stunning castle at the end of a lough in a national park, a charming traditional thatched cottage, an island boat trip, live music concerts, a whiskey tasting evening, daily writing workshops, practical assignments critiqued by published authors… and a lovely group of warm-hearted, talented and hard-working writers from places as diverse as Alaska, Wyoming, California, Virginia, Arizona, Michigan, Newfoundland, Ohio, B

Novelists, poets and short-story writers from all across America and Ireland have descended upon Gaoth Dobhair this week to highlight the region’s natural beauty and culture. Part of the annual international ‘Ireland Writing Retreat’ held in the heartland of the Gaeltacht, the writers have travelled from US states as diverse as Wyoming, California, Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan and Newfoundland as well as Belfast and will stay until Sunday. With whiskey being the Muse of many

Late Spring house cleaning can sometimes unearth the most intriguing of artefacts – such as a personal letter signed by the great Irish playwright, Brian Friel, who had 24 plays published during a career lasting more than half a century, including triple Tony Award winning ‘Dancing at Lughnasa,’ transformed into a hit movie starring Meryl Streep, directed Pat O'Connor with a script by Frank McGuinness. Obviously impressed by plans to launch the ‘Ireland Writing Retreat’ in hi