Cill Rialaig

Ten days in the stunning surroundings of Cill Rialaig, thanks to the Irish Writers Centre and what an experience it was. The solitude was quite difficult to get used to at first, and the sense of many layers of time one on top of the other. It is an elemental place and I spent a good part of each day out walking, watching the changing light over the Skelligs and the sea, visitng the Iron Age fort and the standing stones or just staring out at the horizon. I became acquainted with the Cailleach, a number of pookas and managed to write quite a few poems. It was a chance to reflect on all kinds of things and catch up on reading as well. An ideal retreat at this point in my life, newly retired and loving it.

A Different Time

It has been a long time since I posted anything on here. Life has been complicated at times over the last couple of years and this summer I finally made the decision to apply for early retirement from the day job. I just knew I could no longer keep going. I felt tired and anxious. I had compassion fatigue My writing had been sporadic at best.
I've been officially retired for one month now and have still to settle into a new rhythm. For all of my writing life I have fitted creativity around everything else that had to be done. Now I have lots more time to myself and my hope is that I will write more - but I'm not sure that it will happen. The expanse of hours that I have now feels a bit scary. Perhaps I won't be able to fill it with words.

I'm hoping to kick start some creativity with a 10 day residency at Cill Rialaig courtesy of the Irish Writers Centre. It will be an opportunity to have a 'retreat' in which to think about themes for work and to go inwards to see if I can find a renewed sense of myself.