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

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