Tune in to the Glens Centre YouTube channel on Friday, June 12 at 8 PM, to hear poems, stories and songs inspired by Imbolc, by Spring, and by Brigid, Goddess and Saint. This episode will feature writing from:
At this workshop, based on the Amherst Method, we will write in response to prompts inspired by Imbolc / Lá Fhéile Bríde.
Imbolc is associated with the birth of lambs, the spring sowing, the return of the long days and the fire of the sun. It is a time of new beginnings, green shoots, the unploughed field, the blank page. Imbolc is also known as Brigid’s Day – Lá Fhéile Bríde. Brigid, honoured both as a pre-Christian goddess and as a Christian saint, is linked with blessing and fertility, inspiration, midwifery and birth.
No previous knowledge of myth or experience of writing is necessary to participate in this writing workshop – all you need bring with you is a notebook, a pen, and a willingness to be surprised by your own unique voice.
“What brings me back time and again is the surprise of not knowing what will emerge…”
The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Sunday, November 3, 10:30 – 16:30. €30, booking through https://glenscentre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873607199 or phone the Glens: (071) 9855833. Led by Monica Corish, award-winning writer and AWA certified writing workshop leader.
At this workshop we will write in response to prompts inspired by Samhain.
The festival of Samhain is associated with borders, boundaries and liminal spaces – between life and death, sleep and waking, the world of the everyday and the world of the sídhe. It is the time of summer’s end and the beginning of winter and the Celtic year, a time when the veil between worlds is thinned. Our writing may be inspired by any realm – by mythical borders or by political limits and lines on the map. No previous experience of writing is necessary – all you need bring with you is a notebook, a pen, and a willingness to be surprised by your own words.
The Field Trip
The day will begin with a meet-up and writing exercise in the Glens Centre. Weather permitting we will then go on a car-pooling, wheelchair-accessible field trip to the Shannon Pot, followed by an alfresco lunch and writing session at the Cavan Burren.
There is a catering van at the Cavan Burren, run by Cuilcagh Catering. They offer soup, sandwiches, chips, breakfast baps, scones, tea, coffee etc – alternatively, you can bring your own lunch. We will return to the Glens Centre for the afternoon writing session.
Weather
The Met Eireann forecast offers the probability of 13°C, some light drizzle and a gentle breeze. So dress warm, wear rain gear, walking shoes or sandals – no need for boots – and, in case the forecast is entirely wrong, a sun hat. And if it looks like there will be more than occasional drizzle, we will follow an indoor-based mystery Plan B…
Feedback from the Bealtaine workshop
You brought the myths alive again for me… Very good workshop, well researched and well planned… I could not believe how much gold I unearthed… Very interesting triggers… An incredibly encouraging and talent-nurturing workshop….
This Lughnasa-inspired workshop, led by Monica Corish, will take place in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim on Sunday August 11, 10:00 – 18:00, only €30.
The day will begin with a short writing exercise in the Glens Centre. Weather permitting, we will then go on a car-pooling, wheelchair-accessible, mystery field trip, where we will glean further inspiration, before returning to the Glens Centre in the afternoon. And if it is a day of torrential rain, as is entirely possible, a Plan B will be hatched. More details closer to the time…
You can book directly through the Glens Centre website, or by phone/email: (071) 985583 / info@theglenscentre.com
Image credits: Lugh by Brian Froude, Wheat Bees Design mightyskins.com, Tailltiu by Jim Fitzpatrick.
You can learn more about this series of workshops, “Poetry and Story, Landscape and Myth”, from Ocean FM Arts House (the interview between Harry Keaney and Monica Corish begins about 16 minutes into the podcast).
My interview with Harry Keaney for Ocean FM’s Art House will be broadcast Sunday, May 19 between 8 and 9 p.m. (about half way through the program, Harry tells me). During the interview we talked about my upcoming Bealtaine Creative Writing Workshop at the Glens Centre, Manorhamilton. and also about the writing life, writing workshops and the Amherst Method.
You can book for the Bealtaine workshop (Sunday May 26, 10:30 – 4:30) directly through the Glens Centre website.
To book, contact the Glens Centre Manorhamilton directly: (071) 985583 / info@theglenscentre.com. Sunday, May 26, 10:30 – 16:30. Cost: €30. Places limited, advance booking required.
In the month of May the Cailleach of Winter transforms into the blossoming Goddess of Summer. Bealtaine is associated with the fertility of nature and the imagination; with flowering hawthorn; and the need-fire of purification and blessing. The Tuatha De Danann are strongly linked with Bealtaine. According to the Book of Invasions, the golden people of the goddess Danu landed at Sliabh an Iarainn (Iron Mountain, on the shores of Lough Allen, Co Leitrim) during the Bealtaine festival. Many years later they went through the same mountain into the Otherworld and became the daoine sídhe.
At this workshop we will draw on the stories of Bealtaine to spark new writing in any form – poetry, story, memoir, opinion, reflection. The workshops will be led by award-winning writer and AWA-trained writing group leader Monica Corish monicacorish.ie. They are suitable for both novice writers and experienced writers, anyone over the age of eighteen. No previous knowledge of folklore or myth is needed.
This is the first in a series of workshops on the theme of “Poetry and Story, Landscape and Myth”, supported by the Glens Centre, the Arts Council and Leitrim County Council. Photo credit Slieve Anierin mountainviews.ie
Be inspired to write by the landscapes and borders, 
mythologies and megaliths of Leitrim and the North West. Four one day workshops at the Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, led by Monica Corish. €30 / single workshop; €100 / 4 workshops
Places limited, advance booking required.
To book, contact info@theglenscentre.com / (071) 9855833.
Supported by the Glens Centre, the Arts Council and Leitrim County Council.
A day of writing inspired by Lugh, god of first harvests, great gatherings, skill, crafts, oaths and truth.
Where? Lakeside Centre, Belleek Road, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal
When? Saturday, August 11, 11 AM – 5 PM
How much? €75
Early bird concession: €65 before August 3
Questions? Go to monicacorish.ie/workshops/ or email monicacorishwriting@gmail.com
A workshop to generate new writing, inspired by the myths of the Cailleach, of Samhain and Winter, the dark of the year… The workshop will take place in the Sligo Park Hotel on Pearse Road, halfway between Queen Maeve’s Cairn on Knocknarea and the Cailleach a Bherra’s House in the Ballygawley Hills, in the heart of Sligo’s ritual landscape. What better place to meet your mythic muse?
When? Saturday, November 25, 10:30 – 5:30. Where? Hazelwood Suite, Sligo Park Hotel. Cost? €80. Numbers limited, advance booking essential. For more info contact 087-6414185, monicacorishwriting@gmail.com To pay, go to www.monicacorish.ie/workshops/
This is the second in a series of “Poetry and Story Inspired by Myth” workshops led by award-winning writer and AWA certified writing group leader Monica Corish.
Monica Corish 