Clocha & Lughnasa
Join us this Lughnasa for a weekend retreat of dry stone walling and communal living le Gaeilge.
We are excited to chuir fáilte romhaibh in this our first retreat since becoming owners of this beautiful place in South Kilkenny, which will bring the crafters and the crafty together in a weekend of simplicity, craft and connection.
With over 30 years of experience in the ancient skill Master Stonemason Fergus Packman will teach (in English) the traditional Irish skill of stone wall building.
We will be building stone retaining walls in the sloping for vegetables terraces. Each participant will get hands on experience and will leave with the techniques and competence to build their own projects.
This is Irish permaculture at its best. To make use stone; of our abundant and free resource; to create a feature that is lasting, aesthetic and integrated.
We will work together and also play. It is Lughnasa after all and we'll be harvesting from the garden and reaping the rewards of the summer's labour. There will be music and poetry, as there must be around a fire.
You will be hosted by Diarmuid Lyng and Siobhán de Paor in this weekend of communal living on the land. We will occupy a yurt and a barn for a morning practice. We will prepare meals at an outdoor kitchen. We will slow down, keep the guthán múchta. We will regenerate with a with a dip in the river, a wander in the woods, a forage, a feast and a cómhrá.
This is a bilingual gathering and all participants are invited to use their beagán Gaeilge and make this an opportunity to reclaim their teanga from the recesses of memory.
Food will be local, wild and organic as far as possible. Vegetables from our own garden, raw milk and deer will feature.
Tickets are 350 euro and include a wholesome food and camping accommodation. We also offer a concessionary rate for the unwaged of 300 euro, or less if you're stuck. Participants staying offsite and attending for the day only can pay €250. Spaces are limited. A non-refundable deposit of 100 euros will secure your place.
August 6th to 8th, 2026
Saorcloiche
Fergus Packman
is an instructor with the dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland. This is ancient craft synonymous with our ancestral landscape
I now work mainly with the granites and karat limestone of Connemara where I live.
Over the weekend, I will be teaching all the skills and techniques you will need to build your own drystone project whilst also contributing to the building of something very special and improving our cúpla focail.
cómhrá
chiorcal
Timpeall an tine tiocfaimid i gchomhceol lena chéile. Around the fire we come into harmony with each other. These is a weekend of land based living in that we are sleeping and eating outdoors, bathing in the river and leaving our phones behind and slowing down to receive this old and meticulous craft. While instruction will be in English, we will also tapaigh an deis to practice and put a snas on our teanga tréigthe (neglected tongue).
Participants are invited to bring their own creative offerings to the fire, beidh cúpla amhrán Gaeilge againn fresin.
Diarmuid hosts nature connection camps for men and Siobhán is a performance poet and bean an tí. They have conducted bilingual retreats together since 2018 and are adept at meeting people where they are at in their fluency.
