A Week of Music, Workshops, Reiki & Fellowship
Join renowned singers Cathie Ryan & Ashley Davis in Ireland for the mystical week of Samhain, the Celtic New Year. Let go of the old and welcome in the new by renewing and refilling the body, mind, and spirit with joyful Irish music, workshops exploring the ancient tales and wisdom of Irish mythology, workshops on mindfulness, and the grounding and inspiring energies of Ireland’s land & sea.. Re-tune with the self-healing practices of Yoga and meditation, and learn how Reiki can powerfully shift your energy. All in a small, intimate group of no more than 12 to 24 people. Come and share this week in Ireland, to heal, to sing, to move forward into the Celtic New Year.
A Few Trip Highlights
Daily Yoga & Meditation
The physical & mental health benefits of Yoga & meditation are well known, & an essential part of this retreat. Our daily Yoga practice, guided by expert, qualified Yogis, will stimulate & renew the energies of your body & mind. Group meditation will further re-focus & center us all each day. Ashley, a Reiki Master, will give each member of our exclusive group an individual Reiki treatment during the week to help revitalize, unblock & refocus your energy.
Workshops & Music
Cathie and Ashley have decades of singing, songwriting, education, and healing experience between them, and will share their individual areas of expertise with you in workshops throughout the week. And, of course, they will be singing! They will share a week of song in workshops, in music sessions, at sacred sites, at Matt Molloy’s renowned pub, and everywhere in between. Hopefully, so will you! And musical friends will join them at sessions playing the jigs, reels, and slow airs we all love.
We will also have special guest Presenters from the world of music and healing who will share their own life journeys with you, including the ways they have found to endure and thrive in these globally turbulent times. One of our guest Presenters, an Irish Shaman, will guide us through a healing Sound Bath experience.
Journey Out on the Wild Atlantic Way
Our week includes two coach trips out into the wilds of the Wild Atlantic Way. We will visit one of Ireland’s oldest seaweed baths where we will soak-in the healing nutrients of the Atlantic Ocean. On Oct 31st, we’ll go further West to celebrate Samhain on Achill Island, a truly raw & inspiring landscape. We will be guided by local musician & native islander, Diarmuid Gielty, who deeply loves his home place & will share stories and Achill’s rich history with us. After a hearty pub lunch & a music session with some of Achill’s finest traditional musicians, we’ll take our hopes & dreams for the New Year out into the twilight to light the Samhain bonfire, just as the ancient Celts did, & burn away the old and light the way for the new.
Where You'll Stay
Hotel Westport shares the lushes 400 acres of the historic Westport House.
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Our retreat is based in one hotel, no daily packing, unpacking, or moving to new locations!
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Hotel Westport, is a 4-star hotel and spa located within the historic and beautiful 400 acre Westport Estate. It is the perfect place to unpack once, and settle in for a relaxing and healing week. The hotel features beautiful rooms, delicious dining, and a spa that includes a pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, and small gym.
Westport Estate is only a 5 minute walk to Westport town, one of Ireland’s most charming seaside towns on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Designated as a Fáilte Ireland Heritage town, Westport offers fine restaurants and cafés, a wealth of warm and welcoming pubs, stone bridges, historic buildings, monuments, parks, Clew Bay Heritage Centre, a variety of shopping, music sessions and entertainment, an excellent 18 hole championship golf course, horse riding, hill walking, sailing, horse-drawn carriage tours, bike rentals, and proximity to Ireland’s sacred mountain pilgrimage destination, Croagh Patrick (St Patrick’s Mountain).
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There are nature walks on the grounds of Westport Estate and more are a short stroll away, including the Great Western Greenway bike and pedestrian trail that leads to the shores of Clew Bay. Cathie will accompany the group on some walks while Ashley gives her Reiki treatments in the spa, so you have lots of opportunity to walk the trails and experience the natural beauty of Westport on your own or with the group.
For more about what’s in store at Hotel Westport and Westport Estate: https://hotelwestport.ie
