SAVE THE DATE!
REGISTRATION DETAILS ON THE ESSENCE OF MULRANNY WEBSITE COMING SOON!
Our amazing host for the week, Lora Murphy, walking the Essence of Mulranny labyrinth
A Journey into Wonder, Deep Seeing, and the Soul of the Irish Landscape
On the wild edge of Ireland, where sea, sky, and ancient land meet in quiet conversation, lies a stone labyrinth overlooking Clew Bay. Here, walking becomes a form of prayer, and photography becomes a way of listening. This retreat invites you into a creative pilgrimage where each step and each image becomes an opening into deeper presence, wonder, and soul.
Imagine…
Slowing down into the rhythm of the tides.
Letting the Irish landscape stir your senses.
Walking the labyrinth with a question, an intention, or a longing.
And allowing your camera to reveal what your heart is already noticing.
Photography, like the labyrinth, is a contemplative pathway. One offers a physical journey into the center; the other offers a visual journey into the essence of what calls to you. Together, they awaken a way of seeing that is spacious, intuitive, symbolic, and deeply personal.
During our time together you will explore:
• Labyrinth Walking as a Creative Practice
Learn to use the labyrinth as a threshold for seeing—an invitation to shift from ordinary awareness into a more receptive, imaginal state. Each walk becomes an opening into symbols, metaphors, and the quiet wisdom rising from within.
• Practices for Mindful Seeing
Develop the ability to create images that reflect what you feel rather than only what you see. Through guided exercises, you’ll learn to bring presence, emotion, and curiosity into every image.
• Close-Up & Intuitive Photography
Discover the magic of photographing small details—textures, patterns, light, shadow, and the simple wonders of the Irish landscape—that invite you into a world of wonder and subtle beauty.
• Reflective Focus Practices
Strengthen your image-making skills through gentle practices that attune your eye to metaphor, symbolism, and intuitive composition. These sessions help you cultivate what Catherine calls “seeing through quiet eyes.”
• Creative Image Transformation
Explore easy-to-use photo apps on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device that allow you to enhance and transform your photographs into expressive works of art.
• Studio Sessions & Creative Bookmaking
During studio time, you’ll curate and refine your favorite images. You’ll also learn two beautiful handmade book forms—each designed to hold your photographs as reminders of your journey. All supplies are included.
• Your Pilgrimage Journal
Each participant will receive a unique, custom-made pilgrimage journal designed by Catherine for this retreat, filled with contemplative photography prompts, labyrinth reflections, and creative practices.
Why Ireland? Why the Labyrinth?
Ireland is a land where the veil is thin—where the ancient stones, the soft rain, and the green heart of the landscape seem to whisper stories. The labyrinth at Essence of Mulranny, made of local stone and overlooking the water, becomes a powerful companion for your creative process.
Walking the labyrinth helps you shift from striving to receiving. Photography helps you translate that inner shift into visual language. Together, they offer a way of seeing the world—and your life—with renewed clarity, reverence, and imagination.
Who is this retreat for?
This retreat welcomes all creative spirits—whether you use an iPhone, a DSLR, or anything in between. No technical expertise is required. We will focus on photography as a meditative, soulful, creative practice rather than on settings or gear.
An Invitation
Come walk the ancient stones of Ireland.
Come see the world—and yourself—through eyes of wonder.
Come discover the images that have been waiting for you.
Alongside our studio sessions and labyrinth walks, our week will take us into the heart of the Irish landscape. We’ll make a day trip to Achill Island, where dramatic cliffs, shifting weather, and luminous Atlantic light offer rich opportunities for contemplative photography. A half-day excursion to nearby Westport and local hidden gems invites us to wander with our cameras—capturing textures, patterns, stories, and symbols held in stone, sky, and sea. We will explore holy wells, ancient ruins, tidal pathways, and quiet corners of Mulranny village, moving slowly and attentively as we let the landscape become our teacher. Each outing becomes part of your creative pilgrimage, inviting you to notice how the outer landscape reflects the one within.
Let the mystery and beauty of this landscape sharpen your seeing and soften your heart. Ireland’s wild coast—its shifting light, ocean edges, misted mountains, and heathered hills—becomes an open invitation to notice more deeply, to receive what calls to your eye, and to let your images arise from genuine connection rather than effort. In this unspoiled place, you are free to explore your creative edges with curiosity and ease, remembering your belonging to the great circle of creation as you photograph what moves you, touches you, and opens you.
INCLUDED IN THE RETREAT:
Workshop instruction and supplies
Seven nights lodging and all meals except for one lunch and one dinner
Transportation from Westport to the Studio (it is recommended to fly into Dublin airport and get a train to Westport where you will be met and transported to Mulranny)
All tour and excursion fees
NOT INCLUDED IN THE RETREAT:
Airfare and travel costs
Passport fees, photos and processing where applicable
Additional nights lodging
GETTING TO THE RETREAT CENTER
The retreat hosts will collect you at the Westport Train Station at 4pm on Saturday, May 4th and drive you to Mulranny, which is about 30 minutes from Westport. Our hosts at Essence of Mulranny are eager to assist you with any travel questions you may have. Email lora@essenceofmulranny.com with any questions.
Getting to Essence of Mulranny is simple and Catherine will schedule a Zoom call for you to meet other participants and help you arrange to travel together by train from Dublin to Westport should you be anxious about traveling alone.
COST OF RETREAT
$3,950 for a private bedroom and bathroom. More information on the Essence of Mulranny website.
VERIDITAS QUALIFYING WORKSHOP
This workshop serves as a Qualifying Workshop for anyone who might decide to attend a Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training in the future. No previous experience of the labyrinth is required to attend.
About Catherine
Catherine Anderson is the author of The Creative Photographer, winner of a Silver Nautilus Book Award, and is currently writing The Contemplative Photographer. She is known for weaving photography, labyrinth practice, creativity, and soulful reflection into experiences that help people reclaim wonder and see the world with renewed presence. Catherine has taught labyrinth and photography workshops worldwide, including “Walking the World in Wonder” at Ghost Ranch.