A Visit to the Beara Peninsula and Killarney
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
 A problem with our rental car delayed our next outing. We had to drive to Kerry Airport to exchange vehicles, and it took so long we knew we wouldn’t see the entire Beara Peninsula as we'd planned. We’d see what we could, however. I’d visited Beara before, though my husband never had. I wanted to show him the village of Eyeries and the writing retreat whose hospitality I'd enjoyed, and I wanted to see parts of the area I'd never seen. With the rental car business squared away, we headed back to Kenmare and entered the gloriously rugged West Cork region.
Gertrude, our gallant GPS, did a commendable job with her new Irish maps until we reached Beara. The place completely baffled the poor thing. What should have been a simple drive around a modest peninsula quickly deteriorated into "direct routes" through obscure trails and elusive villages that were on the map but probably only appeared every seven years.
 Eventually we unwound ourselves from the maze and found Healy Pass, a high winding road that runs from Lauragh in County Kerry to Adrigole in County Cork, cutting through the  Caha Mountains. Perhaps it was because my husband was driving and I had no sense of control, but I couldn’t help imagining the car slipping over the edge of the road and plunging down the cliffs.
 We stopped at a lofty overlook. Once I was out of the car, I felt safe enough to enjoy the spectacular scenery—but we had to get back down. What would happen if we met a car coming the other way? One of us would have to back up for miles. One of us would surely plunge. My bet would be on the Yanks driving backwards on the "wrong" side of the bicycle path road.
But we reached Adrigole at last having met only two other cars in spots where we could pull over and let them pass. We continued on to Castletownbere and stopped for lunch, assured by the owner we’d never find fresher haddock anywhere. He was right.
 
After lunch, we drove to Eyeries. Sadly, Sue Booth-Forbes, owner, director, and all around wizard of the Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat, was away on a family matter, but we viewed the house, Coolagh Bay, and the town. Only the occasional mooing of cows disturbed the peace. I wished we could linger and walk on the bogs, but the afternoon was fading fast. Perhaps we'd see the rest of the peninsula another time.
 The next day we stayed in town for a walk in Killarney National Park. Fine blue skies and warmer temperatures graced our stroll to Ross Castle. The last time we’d seen the castle, scaffolding covered most of it. The renovations are complete,  and though the old fort was closed  for the winter, we had a wonderful tour of the grounds and a walk through the park. That evening, we attended the traditional Irish music festival that had been our excuse to visit Ireland this time. After three great concerts, we returned to our hotel room to pack. -768672.jpg) Gertrude got us safely back to Limerick the next afternoon. We strolled into town, and I picked up a few books for writing researc  h. I nearly shrieked when I saw The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance, the new anthology containing a story I wrote, in one of the bookstores! Our hotel room overlooked the Shannon River, beautiful at night. Our flight to Boston wouldn’t leave until the following afternoon, but I was already wondering how soon I could return. Labels: Anam Cara, Beara Peninsula, Eyeries, Healy Pass, Ireland, Killarney, Mammoth Book of Irish Romance, West Cork
Posted by Pat McDermott
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Lost in a Fairy Mist
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
 You can’t see the fairies unless you were born in the evening, or so the saying goes. I was a dawn baby, so I doubted  I’d see them, but I knew they were there in the fragrant Irish woods. The cascades and narrow paths behind the Anam Cara retreat tingled with magic that lingered long after I scraped the mud and grass from my shoes. I had no blackthorn or hazelwood sticks for protection, but I didn’t need them. The fairies, in this part of Ireland at least, seemed friendly enough.
Yet they caused their share of mischief. The weather was hot and dry, and before I left Cork Cit  y for Eyeries, I had to shop for warm weather clothes, which I never bring to Ireland. During my first night at Anam Cara, youngs ters partying across the stream lit a campfire that quickly spread and would have devoured those fragrant woods if a gallant neighbor hadn’t doused the flames with the retreat’s fire extinguishers. Worst of all, crows robbed the duck house of two precious ducklings. The fairies’ antics couldn’t over  ride the glory of the Beara Peninsula, ho wever. Each day I cranked up my laptop and wrote while gazing out at Coolagh Bay and the Iveragh Peninsula beyond. I watched the waves roll in, and instead of wincing at the racket made by cars and trucks and p  lanes, I savored the lowing of contented cows. When I needed a break, Anam Cara’s walking paths provided tranquility that let my thoughts make themselves known, and I thanked the fairies for allowing me into their domain.
I know I imagined them.
I know they weren’t really there . . . Labels: Anam Cara, Beara Peninsula, Eyeries
Posted by Pat McDermott
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Sound the Retreat!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
 Finding time to write without distractions is a challenge. My children, both young adults, are on their own, so parenting is no longer an issue. The culprits are those dinner plans that creep into an exciting rescue or tender love scene, or the grocery list that competes with my list of revisions. Telephone calls and bills requiring payment derail my search for those phrases I overuse. Appointments, laundry, and cats demanding hugs all conspire to thwart the start of a brand-new chapter. What’s a writer to do?
Writing before the rest of the house is up and about usually works—unless I start by checking e-mail or posting "just one excerpt" so I’ll feel like I’ve done some marketing/promo. Another precious block of writing time gone. Combining my periodic hankerings to travel to Ireland with attending a wonderful writing retreat near the West Cork village of Eyeries works even better. I’ve taken refuge at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat on the remote and beautiful Beara Peninsula several times now. Each time I do, I get more than a month’s worth of writing done in a week, and I’ve found that having no internet access isn’t a bad thing. (Gracious retreat owner Sue Booth-Forbes reports that Anam Cara has gone wireless since my last visit, but I may pretend it hasn’t.)
 What can a writing retreat do besides provide reasonably priced relief from mundane chores? That depends on what you want. Whether you’re interested in structured workshops or uninterrupted time to simply sit and think, most offer both. Anam Cara does, though the only structure in which I’m interested is the schedule for Sue’s fabulous meals. Simply leaving my normal environment provides a tremendous boost of creativity, and I know I’ll enjoy wonderful walking paths and vibrant conversations with other residents. 
Worried about sitting in that chair all day? Most writing retreats, Anam Cara included, offer fitness equipment, whirlpools, and massage. The Beara Peninsula’s spectacular scenery begs retreat residents to take a hike, or at least a pleasant walk. No need to recreate the historic march of Donal Cam O'Sullivan Bere (1561–1613), the last leader of the Sullivan clan.
 This city girl walked right by a herd of cows (wondering if they’d attack) and happily soaked her shoes on a gorgeous bog dotted with sheep. On my first bog walk, I met a guardian angel border collie who guided me over barely visible paths I never would have found on my own.
 I’m off for another working mini-vacation soon. A bus will take me from Shannon Airport to Cork City, where I’ll spend a day raiding my favorite bookstores and finding new music. The shuttle that will take me to Anam Cara will pass dramatic scenery and rustic villages that will bask in Ireland’s summer sunlight well after ten p.m.
And I’ll bask in the quiet.Labels: Anam Cara, Beara Peninsula, Eyeries, writing retreats
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