What turns a journey into a pilgrimage? What leads us into becoming pilgrims? What makes a place or landscape sacred? How do we connect to a sacred site? What does a sacred site or landscape ask of us?
Through exploring the powerful landscape of Connemara in the West of Ireland, this pilgrimage provides an opportunity for those of us who long to discover our own way as pilgrims and to use this as a source of personal knowledge and creative inspiration. We will explore both traditional and non-traditional pilgrimages, Christian and mythological, in the multi-layered landscape of Connacht, the province of learning and knowledge and of druids and hermit saints.
This is an intensive eight-day journey and workshop largely based in the small fishing village of Roundstone on the Connemara coast. We will visit McDara’s Island, the Maamturk Mountains and Croagh Patrick in addition to discussions, readings and time for reflection and writing. While this time is not specifically geared toward writers, we will rely on writing personal narrative or poetry as a way to understand our experiences and to share them with others. There will also be guest musicians, poets and storytellers whose creative work is fed by their experiences with the sacred landscape of Ireland.
Kate Hennessy who has spent years on the road traveling to sacred sites around the world such as the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa and Tikal in Guatemala. She has also walked 740 kilometers on el Camino de Santiago in Spain where she finally began to understand something of her role as a pilgrim. She is a writer and photographer who divides her time between Vermont, where her roots lie, and Ireland, where, fed by the thick Connemara air, her heart flourishes. Garry Jones, Tour Guide, has lived and worked in Ireland since 1998. An artist and musician, he has composed music based on the ancient spiritual capitals of the provinces of Ireland. His intimate knowledge of these areas will be shared throughout the Pilgrimage. Travelers have opportunity to hear some of his much-loved compositions on Music Nights and at Brigit's Garden where he also constructed a large-scale "Temple of the Wind". Limited to 14 travelers.
