Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat

The retreat centre is owned and directed by Sue Booth-Forbes, a teacher, writer, editor and coach, who describes her work with writers, for example, as that of a "literary midwife."{{cite news |title=A perfect place to write |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=12 November 2011}} Booth-Forbes, an Arts and Politics graduate of Brigham Young University, also qualified as a teacher, and worked teaching English at high school level, later holding several editorial positions, including with the University of Virginia,{{cite news |title=Two pregnant schoolteachers file suit alleging discrimination |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=23 January 1972 |page=Sec 7, page 6}} Cambridge University Press and, from 1984 to 1997, as Editor of the Mormon women's magazine Exponent II, for which she had written since its foundation.{{cite journal |editor-last1=Booth-Forbes |editor-first1=Sue |title=(Masthead) |journal=Exponent II |date=1997 |volume=20 |issue=4 |page=20 |publisher=Exponent II, Inc. |location=Arlington, Massachusetts}}

Having led multiple retreats in the US, and a prolonged literary retreat with friends in Connemara, Booth-Forbes decided to seek a new base in Ireland, and then decided to launch a residential creative retreat location.{{cite news |last1=O'Connell |first1=Sandra |title=Steal away to write that novel |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=16 Mar 2013}} In November–December 1997 she searched with her daughter, and, after a hint from an academic writer friend, Claudia Harris, in December 1997 purchased a property in the small and remote village of Eyeries, on the West Cork part of the Beara Peninsula. This was launched as the Anam Cara Writers Retreat in summer 1998. The retreat name, which means "soul friend," was chosen partly to pay tribute to the works of John O'Donohue.{{cite web |title=(Home page) |url=https://www.anamcararetreat.com/ |website=Anam Cara Writer's & Artist's Retreat |accessdate=23 August 2019}}

Over the more than twenty years, over 1,000 creative guests - writers, composers, choreographers, visual artists -{{cite news |last1=Mulcahy |first1=Miriam |title=I want to be alone: solitary retreats for some quality me time |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=5 Aug 2017}} have visited, leaving more than 500 works on the shelves and walls in the common areas of the house. Many guests have commented on the benefits of the retreat, and several have included dedications to its director in their issued work. Several have visited multiple times, one on more than a dozen occasions, and at least one has also moved to the Beara peninsula.

The retreat house comprises a set of private rooms, and a number of common spaces, with a library in addition to books in most rooms, and extensive quiet grounds. Within the grounds a wide range of private working locations have been developed, in garden settings, by a duck pond, and on a landscaped river bank, as well as relaxation aids such as a labyrinth, meditation huts, and an accessible island within the small river. There is also a sauna, and a hot tub where guests and retreat leaders can relax and discuss work in progress. Parking is available but guests are encouraged to avoid the distraction of driving, and having remained offline for many years, there is wireless internet for visitors who need it. The location can be reached by a daily private bus from Cork city.{{cite web |last1=Booth-Forbes |first1=Sue |title=Your Own Retreat |url=https://www.anamcararetreat.com/your-own-retreat.html |website=Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat |accessdate=23 August 2019}}

Anam Cara offers two broad types of retreat: guided and self-directed. The guided workshops, usually hosted by 1-2 coaches or teachers, cover a wide range of topics, and occupy several weeks each year.{{cite web |last1=Booth-Forbes |first1=Sue |title=The Workshop Schedule for 2010 -- So Far! |url=http://anamcarawritersandartistsretreat.blogspot.com/2009/09/workshop-scheudle-for-...20-Aug-19 |website=Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat |accessdate=23 August 2019 |date=20 August 2009}} For the rest of the year, creative guests can develop their own work, aided by discussions with the retreat's director, and with fellow guests. In these retreat periods, the house operates on a silent regime from after breakfast to dinner time. It has been commented that guests sometimes come to work on one art, and shift to another, and that some guests continue cooperation after their visits.

Prospective guests are asked to send a summary of their proposed project, but even beginning writers and artists are welcome, in contrast to some more formal retreat centres, which target, for example, a track record of published or displayed work.{{cite news |last1=O'Connell |first1=Sandra |title=Steal away to write that novel |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=16 Mar 2013 |quote="You'd need to have a reasonable track record (quoting the Tyrone Guthrie Centre)"}}

The retreat has sponsored competitions for many years, with prizes including free visits to the facility.{{cite web |title=May 13th - Win a Retreat to Anam Cara |url=http://www.bearatourism.com/newsarchive6.html |website=Beara News |accessdate=23 August 2019 |date=13 May 2012 |quote=Two writing competitions, poetry and short fiction}} The location also hosts a range of events. Some of the competitions and events raise funds for charity.{{cite web |last1=Booth-Forbes |first1=Sue |title=Anam Cara Events, including Through Our Eyes |url=https://www.anamcararetreat.com/events.html |website=Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat |accessdate=23 August 2019}}

The retreat has published a book, in aid of Pieta House, Diving into the Mystery: Studies in the Creative Process.{{cite web |last1=Booth-Forbes |first1=Sue |title=Diving into the Mystery: Studies in the Creative Process |url=https://www.anamcararetreat.com/diving-into-the-mystery |website=Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat |accessdate=23 August 2019 |quote=In support of Pieta House Ireland...}}

Aside from endorsements by guests, listed as a top five retreat by Canada's Globe and Mail,{{cite news |last1=Keogh |first1=Jackie |title=The creative spirits flock to Beara's Anam Cara |url=https://www.southernstar.ie/news/roundup/articles/2016/07/18/4122972-the-creative-spirits-flock-to-bearas-anam-cara/ |accessdate=23 August 2019 |work=The Southern Star |date=18 July 2016 |quote="Retreat Anam Cara is a special place for working writers, artists and academics, ... has also been listed as one of the top five retreats in the world."}} as well as in articles in the Irish Times, and magazines in England and Wales. As a private establishment, the retreat does not publish data on guests but some who have commented on their experiences include Nessa O'Mahony, former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins,{{cite web |last1=Moriarty |first1=Mimi |title=Billy Collins as Soul Friend |url=https://irishamerica.com/2001/10/billy-collins-as-soul-friend/ |website=IrishAmerica.com |accessdate=6 September 2019 |date=October–November 2001}}{{cite news |title=Dispatches from Ireland – Anam Cara: A Shelter for Artists and Writers |url=https://www.thebedfordcitizen.org/2014/07/dispatches-from-ireland-anam-cara-a-shelter-for-artists-and-writers/ |accessdate=18 August 2019 |work=The Bedford Citizen |date=30 July 2014}} Alex Barclay,{{cite news |title=A perfect place to write |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/a-perfect-place-to-write-1.11071 |accessdate=29 May 2019 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=12 November 2011 |quote=Irish crime writer Alex Barclay has spent time at the centre for each...}} Man Booker Award finalist Jhumpa Lahiri,{{cite web |last1=Eggerz |first1=Solveig |title=Anam Cara, on Ireland's West Coast, a Place that Nurtures Creativity |url=http://thewriterscenter.blogspot.com/2014/10/anam-cara-on-irelands-west-coast-place.html |website=The Writer's Guide |accessdate=6 September 2019 |date=20 October 2014}} celebrity chef Gerry Galvin, Bernard O'Donoghue, Leanne O'Sullivan, Sassa Buregren, Ulf Lindström and Réaltán Ní Leannáin.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

• Cill Rialaig
• Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.anamcararetreat.com/ Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat]

{{coord missing|County Cork}}

Category:1998 establishments in Ireland

Category:Arts in Ireland

Category:Arts centres in the Republic of Ireland

Category:Culture in County Cork