We are Diarmuid and Siobhán, parents of Uisne, 7, Eirú, 4, baby Tuireann and our madra Dubh Dubh.
We are Wild Irish, an enterprise for the reclamation and celebration of our rich cultural heritage.
As the world around us descends into further chaos it is becoming clear that globalisation
was never about what we can get, rather what we have to offer. We are mining our rich heritage as an offering.
Join us, share the story, reach out to your community, and have a look at the offerings we have collected to play your part in
sharing what was always unique and valuable about this small island.
(If you're reading this on a mobile the products and offerings are at the bottom of this page).
Fite Fuaite ~ Interwoven
As the Irish environment degrades so too does Irish culture as we begin to recognise that the loss of one precipitates the loss of the other.
The work of Wild Irish is to redress and reverse that cultural degradation, for in doing so, we restore a collective consciousness that would begin the work of rehabilitation.
We have been given an extraordinary opportunity to buy the house and land our family currently lives on in South Kilkenny before it goes on the open market.
This would be a home for our family of five and a venue for a cultural centre in the heart of the east.
It will also provide a base for our work as Wild Irish.
To date, we have helped hundreds of people to reconnect with the Irish language, our heritage and the holy ground beneath our feet.
Now we need your help to raise €125,000 of the €250,000 offer we've put in, in a short space of time.
We have a encountered a great demand from people to be gently guided back to language but very few opportunities exist.
Buying this place in South Kilkenny will allow us to expand
to meet that demand, while raising the children.
With your help we will build Teacht Aniar (Resilience)
It is a renovated farm house and out-houses in good condition on 1.5 acres.
The long shed will be a dining area where food, plans and ideas are shared. We will renovate the stables to provide accommodation for up to twelve people for retreats which will also function as single room accommodation when there are no retreats, to meet the demand of people that wish to spend time with us working on the land and learning/speaking the language There is a yard for parking, a barn for events and workshops, storage and utility sheds and a polytunnel.
On the sloping meadow, we will plant trees and grow grow vegetables, but mostly it will be for the children to play freely.
And then there is the river: an Abhainn Dubh, a tributary of the Suir, which we found out is of good water quality and banked by a wild gorsey glen for miles, which in time, we could become custodians of and carve a path through. The potential here is great.
In the coming year Teacht Aniar will host bilingual weekend and day courses in a variety of ancestral skills, natural building methods (as we simultaneously improve the place) collective rituals on the Celtic days of celebration, a matchmaking day, a birth story circle, a wild food retreat and creative expression 'le Gaeilge' workshops with children to name a few.
Our Need
Our family has been at the coal face of the housing crisis for seven years, moving several times in search of a home. We have always had enough, but seldom more.
We have chosen to follow a vocation to serve the language, the
land and it's people to prepare for times to come. Like many of our
homeless generation, these choices have made us ineligible for bank
loans. So we must find another way to finance our vision.
We are asking you to help us pioneer this other way. A way that calls on the national village to support working parents.
The Work
Diarmuid and Siobhán founded Wild Irish Retreat in 2017, in Corca Dhuibhne (Dingle peninsula) in West Kerry as an alternative way for people to learn Irish. It was a cultural awakening for many who came and encountered the Irish language and customs through poetry, hurling, wild food foraging and ritual.
Since then Wild Irish has grown, though so has our family, and so we have been dedicated to our role as parents, but we have always remained steadfast in our role in the current movement toward a cultural revival.
In the past 40 years, the Irish rivers, soils and airways have been systematically degenerated. Our biodiversity has been decimated by industrial interests and we the people have failed to call halt.
We believe this degradation has been permitted by a people suffering a rupture from the ecologically sound consciousness of its ancestors.
When we lost our language, we also lost access to a living repository of ancestral knowledge and skills. There is an urgent need to regain these skills and build resilience for a future of great change and we believe the language provides a way back.
At Wild Irish, we collaborate with master crafts people, combining the Irish language with the learning of cultural tradition s with powerful results. The re-acquainting of our people to the language and the land in this way will create the strong collective will needed to preserve our land and reverse the destruction of it.
The Broader Need
There is a huge desire among Irish people to reclaim their native language but outside out the country’s few Gaeltacht's very few immersive opportunities exist.
We are currently limited to running weekend courses but with the realisation of Teacht Aniar (Resilience) we can offer the immersive experience, that is so desperately sought by would-be Irish speakers.
For the language to survive and grow, it must be fostered in pockets outside of the Gaeltacht. The Government has recognised this and have introduced significant funding for the creation of Irish language centres outside the Gaeltacht.
In the longer term Wild Irish will avail of this funding.
It takes a village
In the aspiration to cultural revival, the inclusion of the children is primary. And though our courses are designed mostly for adults, children are always welcome at Teacht Aniar, because as parents we have learned that returning to a sustainable way of living is only authentic if it makes provision for children. Modelled on a real village, our three children, our home and family will form the strong beating heart of Teacht Aniar.
Teacht Aniar translates literally into 'returning from the West' and it describes poignantly our journey from the remote Western Gaeltacht of Corca Dhuibhne back to our native 'ceantar'. Having rediscovered and refined our Gaeilge, we have carried it home; like an ember in the pocket. Ag lorg an tinteán chun é a lagadh síos . Seeking the hearth to set it in.
The Finance
We will be raising €125,000 from our assets and community investments and €125,000 from this campaign le cúnamh Dé (God willing) to buy the site. .
As the site will serve both as a family home and a social enterprise; we will separate the áit into two separate folios. One for the house, which will remain in our name, and the rest being transferred to our non-profit Wild Irish CLG. Wild Irish will be eligible for funding streams from the Department of Culture and Gaeltacht for the establishment of Irish language centres outside of the Gaeltacht. Further support is available from Leader and local Government grants. We will be transparent about the financing of the project at every stage as everyone that gives now has an investment in the outcome.
This center would be the first of its kind in all of Ireland.
The structure of the CLG will be a board of directors and a community of interested members. We will draw this membership from our peers, locals and mentors within the ecological movement in Ireland.
Custodianship
We undertake to develop this extraordinary place with the utmost respect for the land, in full consultation with the local community and in harmony with permaculture principles. We undertake to become worthy custodians of this land by protecting the biodiversity, preserving the river, improving the soil and growing vegetables and planting trees. Those that donate to the project can do so in exchange for a place on a weekend retreat in the future.
A final word on community building
In this crowdfunding campaign, we are building community. In gathering and offering rewards for our existing tribe of supporters, we are creating opportunities for future supporters to fortify their connection with the community motivated to preserve our historical gifts as a means of future proofing.
The program of events that will be held here in the coming years should provide us with an opportunity to meet all our supporters in person and return their generosity.
Go n-éirí Lyng!
A bit more about us
Diarmuid Lyng is a hurler, a great one, and since he retired from the game a new mission has clarified for him; to rewild hurling. And to this end, he has brought the game to most unlikely places and people facilitating a community game outside of the confines of club and competition.
He holds healing retreats with sweatlodge for men in the Wicklow Mountains with Nature of Man where breathwork and a sharing circle go hand in hand with wrestling and hurling.
He hosts wilderness camps with young men in GAA clubs creating an opportunity for teams to connect with their place and their team mates in a way that is new and meaningful. He is a gifted facilitator and a fearless advocate for a change in Irish sport and society. The Irish language is woven throughout this facilitation work, in particular in sweatlodge.
In learning Irish in his twenties, Diarmuid discovered access to a world of native wealth he taught was barred to him.
Siobhán de Paor is a poet, dramaturg and celebrant. She teaches creative expression and land connection using Irish as a medium. Her mission is to reclaim our indigenous rites and articulate as Gaeilge a collective spiritual tradition that is truly representative of the mystical experiences of the Irish people. She is an outspoken advocate for maternity rights in Ireland and through her own story has highlighted the gross abuse of birthing women in the hospital system.
She hosts rituals for rites of passage and the Celtic fire festivals. Her performances are biographical, brave and compelling.
The children are brilliant. Uisne is 7, Eirú is 4 and Tuireann is 1. Dubh Dubh is six but a more sage madra you never met.
Perks
Our fundamental aim is the same. To protect and restore our native language to a place worthy of it's richness and depth. That is why we are both engaged in this process, you and I. There are many variables, but that is the root. We have been guided here in the same way that you have. So let's keep this one very simple. Along with being a supporter of the language we also want to acknowledge your contribution, and so we will run one event/retreat for 20 people that contribute €20. At the end of the campaign we will draw 20 names from those that contribute to this base need we all share and we will reward you with the possibility of joining us for a Wild Irish retreat/event.
- 21 claimed
- 479 remaining
An artists commission will go out in the coming weeks to create a mural that will sit at Teach Aniar that will be titled Guardians of The Irish Heritage. Along the wall of the venue space is a wall waiting to be decorated with something meaningful, and there your name, your contribution and your intention for a better tomorrow will be enshrined for as long as Wild Irish call this land home. Chomh maaith leis sin, you will also join the raffle for a place on an upcoming Wild Irish Retreat.
The time has come to reclaim our ancient birth rites and practices, to rediscover the herblore and traditions of the indigenous bean cabhair (handywoman) culture. This is a day for mothers (and children) to gather with collective intention, to share birth stories, make cathartic art and participate in a healing ritual in the river, Hosted by Birthkeeper Sara Kelleher and Celebrant/artist Siobhán de Paor, join us this July '25 (tbc) for a day of story medicine and reclamation of our ancient birth rites.
On the suggestion of our daughter Ériú, we will gather for a day of celebration with families that are interested in bringing a live version of the language in to their home. We will use the full scope of the site and area to create an experience for all ages that combines creativity and the arts, informal language classes, play and a little bit of work to keep us all honest :)
€100 will cover 1 full family per ticket.
Individual tickets for those seeking to help and assist will be available on the day as well.
- 1 bought
- 2 remaining
*The first night was 3/4/25 but recordings are available.
We have known Kathy Scott for ten years now and we have watched in admiration at how she has built the Trailblazery 'down in to the ground'. With her previous partners there she was running incredible events and experiences that affected deeply anyone that came in to contact with them.
But since taking it on alone Kathy has introduced the language to the centre of the hall, which to me has constituted a re-rooting of all that she does so effortlessly well. She has partnered with the best minds in the country and has Michael D among her legion of admirers. You only have to look at the list below of who you will be coming in to contact with on this 9 week immersion course and it really does provide a platform to meet and speak with like-minded people while getting to grips with some of the finer points of the grammar. It's bilingual and it's a culturally rich experience. Buíochas leat Kathy as ucht an tacaíocht agus gach rud a dhéanann tú ar san na dteanga.
Scoil Scairte: Song & Storylines
A 9-week immersive journey into the heart and soul of the Irish language
supported by Foras na Gaeilge
Thursdays, Apr 03 - May 29
7pm Ireland | 2pm ET | 11am PT
on Zoom
- Kathy Scott {Founder, Host, Creative Director of The Trailblazery}
- Joseph Jones {Actor, Model, Múinteoir}
- Siobhán O’Kelly {Actor, Gaeilgeoir, Mama}
- Theo Dorgan {Poet, Writer, Lecturer}
- Professor Kevin Whelan {Historical Geographer, Author}
- Jenny Ní Ruiséil {Musician, Teacher, Writer}
- Ciara O’Donnell aka Domhan {Artist, Multi-instrumentalist & Songwriter}
- Michael Gallen {Irish Composer, Writer, Performer}
- Annemarie Ní Churreáin {Poet, Editor}
- Dónal Ó Céilleachair {Filmmaker, Founder of Anú Pictures}
- Caít Ní Rian {Traditional Singer, Multi-instrumentalist, Member of The Weaving}
- Lillis Ó Laoire {Sean-nós Singer, Lecturer in Irish language, Folklore and Celtic Civilisation}
- Michael Keegan-Dolan {Director, Choreographer, Teacher}
- RÓIS {Composer, Vocalist, Multi-instrumentalist, Electronic Artist}
- Edwina Guckian {Dancer, Teacher, Author}
'In 2020 in response to the crucible moment of lockdown we launched HedgeSchool - a virtual home school rooted in Ireland that invites people around the world on a collective learning experience to find our shared humanity and resource our collective possibility as global citizens.'
- 3 bought
- 9 remaining
Mollie Guidera is a pioneer for the modern age in learning the Irish language. Her background in the mechanics of teaching are a huge asset to the language, but it's Mollie's commitment to the scope, it's traditions, customs and some of the deeper aspects of the language that I really admire.
On top of that she has amassed a huge following, over 250,000 people, and has been featured all over the place but on request for this project, despite only having an online awareness of each other, she gracefully offered places on her course and suggested that she would share it out far and wide and was just in general full of the joys of Earraigh in relation to the project here. It's that sincerity, above all the other esteemed achievements, that puts her in the position she is in of being a guiding voice and a legitimate avenue for people to access the Irish language. We'll try to persuade her to do some in person classes or weekends here in the future.
Said Mollie;
'I travelled around the world, got the Cambridge certificate in teaching, and taught English, before realising what energised me most is immersing myself in the Irish language. I used my skills learning other languages to break down Irish in a way my Irish peers and international students had never been exposed to, and started becoming extremely busy teaching people from all over the world on Zoom.
People are in love with Ireland and our language, and I wanted to share this motivation and excitement with newcomers and people who grew up traumatised by learning Irish!
I was completely booked out, and I realised that I wanted to help even more students, and that’s why I started making online courses.
So far, I am very proud to say that I have helped more than 15,000 students from many different countries, and I want to continue to spread the language to everyone who loves it or loves Ireland!
- 2 bought
- 18 remaining
The jewel in the crown of our offerings, this is where it all began. Incorporating the richness and abundance of our locality to create an experience where Irish is learned 'on the job' whether it's getting to know the names and uses of the wild plants, a game of 'Iomándraíocht' or Wild Hurling or poetry and creativity workshops, this is a tried and tested model that has introduced hundreds of people to the magic of the Irish language.
Said Siobhán de Paor of WIR
'The future is bilingual. Let the insurance companies and the banks and those systems that organise our society use English as the preferred mode of communication. But let our creativity, our music and our songs, our poetry, our rituals and our crafts be considered through the medium of the Irish language, this way of seeing and thinking about the world that is so in tune with the needs of the nature all around us'.
'Wild Irish was born of our mutual desire to guide people in the rediscovery of our beautiful land and language. It is part of the movement to reclaim our native language, wild food, rituals and practices . The work is done in collaboration with Nature and in places of incredible natural beauty'.
For more info go anseo
For the bride and the bees. Organic and sustainable, Petra's arrangements are a seasonal mix of wild, dried and fresh, harvested from her own garden in Kilworth. Her creations are unique and beautiful. This is ideal for a couple who wish for a natural wedding. The package could include bride and bridesmaid bouquets, buttonholes and candle arrangements. Aside from supporting a sustainable local business, you will have the pleasure of dealing with the gealgháireach Petra on your wedding.
- 2 bought
- 8 remaining
One of the aims of Wild Irish has been to champion the work of those that share our values while building the skills of the community. There is a renewed interest in native crafts such as traditional dry stone walling and it is to this end that we offer this retreat.
Fergus Packman will guide this hands on experience and it's focus is to not only enrich the space here in south Kilkenny but also to provide the community that are engaged with us to upskill and attain the confidence and wherewithal to build their own vision for a brighter, more engaged future.
Fergus' work can be seen on instagram anseo and he is not only an exceptional teacher but he truly is a master craftsman.
We will be working with stones from the locality and nourishing food and healthy practices for the body will make up the remainder of the retreat.
The retreat will be bilingual where possible and accommodation will be camping or bunk style rooms.
- 0 ordered
- 1 remaining
An offering from my sister and visual artist Maria Tanner Cohen. Maria paints the imaginary interiority of Ireland's ancient ritual landscape. She writes: ''Celestial Ground collects a time spent on the limestone plateau of the Burren in Co. Clare. The Burren’s grey, folding lunar landscape and deep fissures rested on my imagination waiting to be revisited in one way or another.
The fact that an Boireann is home to rare and delicate species of wild orchid and artic alpine plants not found anywhere else in Ireland, almost whispers to us of that rarefication of elements and of the magic latent in the earth there. A truly special place.''
- 1 bought
- 50 remaining
This night is open to anyone that commits more than €1,000 euro to anything that we do here at Teach Aniar. This will be a night to remember
Irish musical luminaries will gather, Ó Maonlaí, Ó Snodaigh, Ní Ríain, Ó Laoighre and a very special guest that holds the traditions in her bones.
My vision isn't that of a gig, rather a singing of something in to existence. An unofficial opening, a ritual, an unfolding, where led by the masters of the art of collective exploration of sound we will bounce to the beat of the Snodach's drum, we'll follow Liam Ó Maonlaí to the places that only Liam Ó Maonlaí can take us and Cáit Ní Riain and Patrick Ó Laoighre will bring piano and shakers to complete the soundscape.
Now that's all a wild idea, but it's possible. And we can make it so. On top of that let's bring a few teenagers and let them off out to the back meadow to look after the young ones as a final accompaniment, a memory for all of us when running through meadows to the sound of music was a real and tangible thing.
Because that's the work here. It's a remembering. A chance to go back and rummage around in corners long forgotten. And it's with the Liam's and the Cáit's and the Rónán's that we can do this, it's with the meadow and the barn and the language that can facilitate it, a new mind for the new world, and we're so grateful to the lads for agreeing to join us here.
Só bígí linn, bí ann nó bí cearnógach, agus rockaimíd agus rollfaimid!
It's a strange world we live in where we get to collaborate and share time with the songbird that is Peia. When we first heard 'Blessed We Are' we knew it would be in our bones for some time and in that time we have connected and collaborated on numerous projects. Peia contributed backing vocals to Diarmuid's foray in to spoken word with 'Ériú' and Siobhán had the honour of sharing the stage with her at her last live show in Dublin.
Through her unsurprisingly generous offer you too can share in the magic of her music in the comfort of your own home with those closest to you and it really is a unique offering that she otherwise doesn't make available.
Her timetable is tight so there may be limitations on how far she can travel, but it's a dialogue that she is open to.
Grá leat agus buíochas duit, a Pheia.
Peia Luzzi is an American born song collector, writer and multi-instrumentalist based in the mountains of Appalachia. Like water from a deep well, she draws inspiration from her ancestral roots of Irish and Old World European folk music. Peia’s voice dances nimbly from Child Ballads and 17th C. Gaelic laments, to Waulking Songs, and Bulgarian mountain calls. She has traveled & studied extensively over the past 10 years to reconnect with her own ancestral song tradition. Uncovering melodies wrinkled & wise with time, while taking care to honor their language and stories, Peia brings a piece of herself to each song she carries.
Diarmuid is recently back from running a similar gathering amongst professionals in the warm sands outside of Dubai, which is a new departure from the moist forest soils of the Wicklow Mts. But the effects are the same. Regardless of situation, we respond fundamentally to human connection and this is Diarmuid's primary aim in the work that he offers.
This offering is ideal for sports teams of all persuasions who are looking to connect to something deeper within themselves that they may draw on when it comes to the white heat of battle.
There is also an increasing demand from the corporate sector for these services as we slowly realise that isolated staff are similar to isolated people; it breeds a sickness that is costing people their well-being and costing companies at their bottom line.
We camp in the woods close to where the team are based so there is less need for long journeys and then we prepare, we cook, we share, we speak, we hurl and we enjoy a beer and a song around the camp fire as we seek to find the balance between making sense of ourselves to ourselves and the very necessary enjoyment of play where outcome is not the primary motive.
He has run in excess of twenty similar camps and the feedback has been extraordinary.
'I feel sorry for teams and groups that haven't experienced this work to be honest. We came not knowing really what we needed but Diarmuid brought us together as a group like nothing else could have and we are immeasurably stronger as individuals because of it'. Conor, Cork.
We first met Cathal and his wife Petra a couple of years ago in their beautiful townhouse Kilworth, just outside of Fermoy in Cork. After a swim in his natural, living swimming pool out the back and a sauna in one of the outhouses we were smitten.
Professionally his architectural and design company, Cathal O' Meara Landscape Architects, offers a broad range of design and consultancy services to the environmental, planning and development sectors.
They are the recipients of many awards in the Landscaping sector, as are documented on their website, but it's Cathal's vision in marrying architecture with nature that draws us to his work.
This offer can be redeemed as part of a bigger piece of work.
Check out the profile on his work in the Irish Independent here
CLTV.film are an established brand working out of Dublin. They have worked with the top artists and brands in the country and though they have a proven track record across all genres, it is their philosophy and their work ethic that draws us to them.
'
We are a creative family whose passion is to tell human stories through the medium of picture and sound.
At the center of our work lies our belief in humanity, and the capacity to heal through powerful storytelling'.
They bring with them fresh ideas and innovations in film that has put them at the centre of some of the most significant movements in the country.
Highlights
See all activity102
The Launch
We want to engage with early adopters, people that can see the intrinsic value of what we are offering and people that want to support the project in whatever way they can. We will also feature your name or company or a cause close to your heart on the funders wall
It can be as simple as sharing the vision with a whatsapp group that may have an interest in such an undertaking, all the way to the top where you can purchase any one of the products or tickets that are on offer. Get in touch if you have a desire to help at wildirishretreat@gmail.com
Affiliates
If you have an offering or an idea you would like to put forward for the place and space then let us know and we will join together through social media channels to push each others work and give access to each others communities.
Our fundamental aim is the same. To protect and restore our native language to a place worthy of it's richness and depth. That is why we are both engaged in this process, you and I. There are many variables, but that is the root. We have been guided here in the same way that you have. So let's keep this one very simple. Along with being a supporter of the language we also want to acknowledge your contribution, and so we will run one event/retreat for 20 people that contribute €20. At the end of the campaign we will draw 20 names from those that contribute to this base need we all share and we will reward you with the possibility of joining us for a Wild Irish retreat/event.
- 21 claimed
- 479 remaining
An artists commission will go out in the coming weeks to create a mural that will sit at Teach Aniar that will be titled Guardians of The Irish Heritage. Along the wall of the venue space is a wall waiting to be decorated with something meaningful, and there your name, your contribution and your intention for a better tomorrow will be enshrined for as long as Wild Irish call this land home. Chomh maaith leis sin, you will also join the raffle for a place on an upcoming Wild Irish Retreat.
The time has come to reclaim our ancient birth rites and practices, to rediscover the herblore and traditions of the indigenous bean cabhair (handywoman) culture. This is a day for mothers (and children) to gather with collective intention, to share birth stories, make cathartic art and participate in a healing ritual in the river, Hosted by Birthkeeper Sara Kelleher and Celebrant/artist Siobhán de Paor, join us this July '25 (tbc) for a day of story medicine and reclamation of our ancient birth rites.
On the suggestion of our daughter Ériú, we will gather for a day of celebration with families that are interested in bringing a live version of the language in to their home. We will use the full scope of the site and area to create an experience for all ages that combines creativity and the arts, informal language classes, play and a little bit of work to keep us all honest :)
€100 will cover 1 full family per ticket.
Individual tickets for those seeking to help and assist will be available on the day as well.
- 1 bought
- 2 remaining
*The first night was 3/4/25 but recordings are available.
We have known Kathy Scott for ten years now and we have watched in admiration at how she has built the Trailblazery 'down in to the ground'. With her previous partners there she was running incredible events and experiences that affected deeply anyone that came in to contact with them.
But since taking it on alone Kathy has introduced the language to the centre of the hall, which to me has constituted a re-rooting of all that she does so effortlessly well. She has partnered with the best minds in the country and has Michael D among her legion of admirers. You only have to look at the list below of who you will be coming in to contact with on this 9 week immersion course and it really does provide a platform to meet and speak with like-minded people while getting to grips with some of the finer points of the grammar. It's bilingual and it's a culturally rich experience. Buíochas leat Kathy as ucht an tacaíocht agus gach rud a dhéanann tú ar san na dteanga.
Scoil Scairte: Song & Storylines
A 9-week immersive journey into the heart and soul of the Irish language
supported by Foras na Gaeilge
Thursdays, Apr 03 - May 29
7pm Ireland | 2pm ET | 11am PT
on Zoom
- Kathy Scott {Founder, Host, Creative Director of The Trailblazery}
- Joseph Jones {Actor, Model, Múinteoir}
- Siobhán O’Kelly {Actor, Gaeilgeoir, Mama}
- Theo Dorgan {Poet, Writer, Lecturer}
- Professor Kevin Whelan {Historical Geographer, Author}
- Jenny Ní Ruiséil {Musician, Teacher, Writer}
- Ciara O’Donnell aka Domhan {Artist, Multi-instrumentalist & Songwriter}
- Michael Gallen {Irish Composer, Writer, Performer}
- Annemarie Ní Churreáin {Poet, Editor}
- Dónal Ó Céilleachair {Filmmaker, Founder of Anú Pictures}
- Caít Ní Rian {Traditional Singer, Multi-instrumentalist, Member of The Weaving}
- Lillis Ó Laoire {Sean-nós Singer, Lecturer in Irish language, Folklore and Celtic Civilisation}
- Michael Keegan-Dolan {Director, Choreographer, Teacher}
- RÓIS {Composer, Vocalist, Multi-instrumentalist, Electronic Artist}
- Edwina Guckian {Dancer, Teacher, Author}
'In 2020 in response to the crucible moment of lockdown we launched HedgeSchool - a virtual home school rooted in Ireland that invites people around the world on a collective learning experience to find our shared humanity and resource our collective possibility as global citizens.'
- 3 bought
- 9 remaining
Mollie Guidera is a pioneer for the modern age in learning the Irish language. Her background in the mechanics of teaching are a huge asset to the language, but it's Mollie's commitment to the scope, it's traditions, customs and some of the deeper aspects of the language that I really admire.
On top of that she has amassed a huge following, over 250,000 people, and has been featured all over the place but on request for this project, despite only having an online awareness of each other, she gracefully offered places on her course and suggested that she would share it out far and wide and was just in general full of the joys of Earraigh in relation to the project here. It's that sincerity, above all the other esteemed achievements, that puts her in the position she is in of being a guiding voice and a legitimate avenue for people to access the Irish language. We'll try to persuade her to do some in person classes or weekends here in the future.
Said Mollie;
'I travelled around the world, got the Cambridge certificate in teaching, and taught English, before realising what energised me most is immersing myself in the Irish language. I used my skills learning other languages to break down Irish in a way my Irish peers and international students had never been exposed to, and started becoming extremely busy teaching people from all over the world on Zoom.
People are in love with Ireland and our language, and I wanted to share this motivation and excitement with newcomers and people who grew up traumatised by learning Irish!
I was completely booked out, and I realised that I wanted to help even more students, and that’s why I started making online courses.
So far, I am very proud to say that I have helped more than 15,000 students from many different countries, and I want to continue to spread the language to everyone who loves it or loves Ireland!
- 2 bought
- 18 remaining
The jewel in the crown of our offerings, this is where it all began. Incorporating the richness and abundance of our locality to create an experience where Irish is learned 'on the job' whether it's getting to know the names and uses of the wild plants, a game of 'Iomándraíocht' or Wild Hurling or poetry and creativity workshops, this is a tried and tested model that has introduced hundreds of people to the magic of the Irish language.
Said Siobhán de Paor of WIR
'The future is bilingual. Let the insurance companies and the banks and those systems that organise our society use English as the preferred mode of communication. But let our creativity, our music and our songs, our poetry, our rituals and our crafts be considered through the medium of the Irish language, this way of seeing and thinking about the world that is so in tune with the needs of the nature all around us'.
'Wild Irish was born of our mutual desire to guide people in the rediscovery of our beautiful land and language. It is part of the movement to reclaim our native language, wild food, rituals and practices . The work is done in collaboration with Nature and in places of incredible natural beauty'.
For more info go anseo
For the bride and the bees. Organic and sustainable, Petra's arrangements are a seasonal mix of wild, dried and fresh, harvested from her own garden in Kilworth. Her creations are unique and beautiful. This is ideal for a couple who wish for a natural wedding. The package could include bride and bridesmaid bouquets, buttonholes and candle arrangements. Aside from supporting a sustainable local business, you will have the pleasure of dealing with the gealgháireach Petra on your wedding.
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One of the aims of Wild Irish has been to champion the work of those that share our values while building the skills of the community. There is a renewed interest in native crafts such as traditional dry stone walling and it is to this end that we offer this retreat.
Fergus Packman will guide this hands on experience and it's focus is to not only enrich the space here in south Kilkenny but also to provide the community that are engaged with us to upskill and attain the confidence and wherewithal to build their own vision for a brighter, more engaged future.
Fergus' work can be seen on instagram anseo and he is not only an exceptional teacher but he truly is a master craftsman.
We will be working with stones from the locality and nourishing food and healthy practices for the body will make up the remainder of the retreat.
The retreat will be bilingual where possible and accommodation will be camping or bunk style rooms.
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An offering from my sister and visual artist Maria Tanner Cohen. Maria paints the imaginary interiority of Ireland's ancient ritual landscape. She writes: ''Celestial Ground collects a time spent on the limestone plateau of the Burren in Co. Clare. The Burren’s grey, folding lunar landscape and deep fissures rested on my imagination waiting to be revisited in one way or another.
The fact that an Boireann is home to rare and delicate species of wild orchid and artic alpine plants not found anywhere else in Ireland, almost whispers to us of that rarefication of elements and of the magic latent in the earth there. A truly special place.''
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This night is open to anyone that commits more than €1,000 euro to anything that we do here at Teach Aniar. This will be a night to remember
Irish musical luminaries will gather, Ó Maonlaí, Ó Snodaigh, Ní Ríain, Ó Laoighre and a very special guest that holds the traditions in her bones.
My vision isn't that of a gig, rather a singing of something in to existence. An unofficial opening, a ritual, an unfolding, where led by the masters of the art of collective exploration of sound we will bounce to the beat of the Snodach's drum, we'll follow Liam Ó Maonlaí to the places that only Liam Ó Maonlaí can take us and Cáit Ní Riain and Patrick Ó Laoighre will bring piano and shakers to complete the soundscape.
Now that's all a wild idea, but it's possible. And we can make it so. On top of that let's bring a few teenagers and let them off out to the back meadow to look after the young ones as a final accompaniment, a memory for all of us when running through meadows to the sound of music was a real and tangible thing.
Because that's the work here. It's a remembering. A chance to go back and rummage around in corners long forgotten. And it's with the Liam's and the Cáit's and the Rónán's that we can do this, it's with the meadow and the barn and the language that can facilitate it, a new mind for the new world, and we're so grateful to the lads for agreeing to join us here.
Só bígí linn, bí ann nó bí cearnógach, agus rockaimíd agus rollfaimid!
It's a strange world we live in where we get to collaborate and share time with the songbird that is Peia. When we first heard 'Blessed We Are' we knew it would be in our bones for some time and in that time we have connected and collaborated on numerous projects. Peia contributed backing vocals to Diarmuid's foray in to spoken word with 'Ériú' and Siobhán had the honour of sharing the stage with her at her last live show in Dublin.
Through her unsurprisingly generous offer you too can share in the magic of her music in the comfort of your own home with those closest to you and it really is a unique offering that she otherwise doesn't make available.
Her timetable is tight so there may be limitations on how far she can travel, but it's a dialogue that she is open to.
Grá leat agus buíochas duit, a Pheia.
Peia Luzzi is an American born song collector, writer and multi-instrumentalist based in the mountains of Appalachia. Like water from a deep well, she draws inspiration from her ancestral roots of Irish and Old World European folk music. Peia’s voice dances nimbly from Child Ballads and 17th C. Gaelic laments, to Waulking Songs, and Bulgarian mountain calls. She has traveled & studied extensively over the past 10 years to reconnect with her own ancestral song tradition. Uncovering melodies wrinkled & wise with time, while taking care to honor their language and stories, Peia brings a piece of herself to each song she carries.
Diarmuid is recently back from running a similar gathering amongst professionals in the warm sands outside of Dubai, which is a new departure from the moist forest soils of the Wicklow Mts. But the effects are the same. Regardless of situation, we respond fundamentally to human connection and this is Diarmuid's primary aim in the work that he offers.
This offering is ideal for sports teams of all persuasions who are looking to connect to something deeper within themselves that they may draw on when it comes to the white heat of battle.
There is also an increasing demand from the corporate sector for these services as we slowly realise that isolated staff are similar to isolated people; it breeds a sickness that is costing people their well-being and costing companies at their bottom line.
We camp in the woods close to where the team are based so there is less need for long journeys and then we prepare, we cook, we share, we speak, we hurl and we enjoy a beer and a song around the camp fire as we seek to find the balance between making sense of ourselves to ourselves and the very necessary enjoyment of play where outcome is not the primary motive.
He has run in excess of twenty similar camps and the feedback has been extraordinary.
'I feel sorry for teams and groups that haven't experienced this work to be honest. We came not knowing really what we needed but Diarmuid brought us together as a group like nothing else could have and we are immeasurably stronger as individuals because of it'. Conor, Cork.
We first met Cathal and his wife Petra a couple of years ago in their beautiful townhouse Kilworth, just outside of Fermoy in Cork. After a swim in his natural, living swimming pool out the back and a sauna in one of the outhouses we were smitten.
Professionally his architectural and design company, Cathal O' Meara Landscape Architects, offers a broad range of design and consultancy services to the environmental, planning and development sectors.
They are the recipients of many awards in the Landscaping sector, as are documented on their website, but it's Cathal's vision in marrying architecture with nature that draws us to his work.
This offer can be redeemed as part of a bigger piece of work.
Check out the profile on his work in the Irish Independent here
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