When: March 17-20, 2005

Who: The Garravogue Festival is open to women and men who honor the spirits of the land and of ancestral wisdom, and who are open to exploring arts as a way of healing both self and society.

What: The Garravogue Festival introduces participants to Ireland and its spiritual energies. Bringing together artists, storytellers, writers and spiritual leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, Garravogue also puts you in touch with the land's own energies through field trips around the magical and magnificant Burren. The conference is

deliberately brief, offering you a chance to explore Ireland on your own before or afterwards. A list of suggested tours and sites related to the conference theme

can be found below.

Where: Our conference site is in beautiful Ennis just 24 km from Shannon Airport. Ennis in Co. Clare is a lovely small town renowned for its music and on the edge of the famous scenic area, the Burren. Bisected by the river Fergus, Ennis is a traditional market town centered on an ancient abbey and tiny town square, from which radiate narrow cobbled streets lined with shops featuring Irish crafts, books and music.

Accommodations: Our conference will be held in Templegate Hotel, just steps from the town square but serene in its own cobblestoned courtyard shared with the County Clare Museum.

Participants can use their time as a retreat by remaining within the conference location, or can enjoy Irish music, sophisticated coffeeshops, and the variety of shopping opportunities and historical sites offered in Ennis.

The Templegate was originally a town house occupied by the family of Daniel O'Connor, "The Great Liberator" of Ireland. The buildings became a convent of an Irish religious order in the 19th century. Founded by the visionary Catherine McAuley, the Sisters of Mercy were dedicated to the education of women and to helping the poor through direct social action. When first opened as a hotel in 1996, the Templegate retained the gothic theme of the building, as was done in the expansion in 1998. The hotel features an award-winning bistro restaurant, a charming pub featuring Irish music sessions and traditional "snugs" for intimate discussion, a magnificant paneled lounge for residents, and wireless internet service from public areas. Guest rooms are ample in size and beautifully styled; bathrooms include full bathtubs as well as hairdryers.

The festival has arranged for a block of rooms at a special conference rate; go to the Templegate Hotel website, and use code PAUL to make reservations. Conference rate at the hotel includes full Irish breakfast. Participants staying at the conference hotel are welcome to share meals and breaks with the presenters.

Travel Arrangements:

Airfare is not included in the registration fee, but we have selected the month of March because it is part of the "low season" for Irish travel and thus offers excellent value for cost. Aer Lingus, Ireland's national airline, offers many specials; check them at www.aerlingus.com.

Ennis is very close to the international airport at Shannon; buses run between Shannon and Ennis regularly. Cab fare from airport to conference hotel is approximately $35 and can be shared by as many as three participants. Car hire is also available.

Schedule

All sessions at Templegate Hotel, The Square, Ennis, Co. Clare

Thursday - March 17

5 pm Welcome tea

7 pm Plenary Session:

Goddess and Earth Spirituality in Ireland

Patricia Monaghan

8pm Stories of the Sidhe (fairy folk)

with Eddie Lenihan, one of Ireland's premier seanachies (storytellers)

Friday - March 18

CHOOSE BETWEEN:

Tour of the Burren (9 am - 5 pm).

The Burren is one of Ireland's most dramatic and scenic areas. A natural limestone hanging garden beside the Atlantic, the Burren is one of the earliest sites of human habitation in Ireland. Your tour will include stops at many sacred sites: the renowned Sheela-na-Gig at

Kilnaboy; the Cliffs of Moher (in Irish, Ceann na Cailleach), named for the hag goddess Cailleach; the holy well at Liscannor, once connected with the hag's harvest feast but now resanctified to Brigit; and the "cursing stones" near Carron, where generations of believers "turned the stones" against those who offended them. Luncheon will be at the brewpub dedicated to the area's "white witch," Biddy Early. Your guide will be Irish-American author and poet Patricia Monaghan.

Also accompanying the tour, to discuss the significance of the Sheela-na-Gig, will be Irish artist Fiona Marron.

(Note: each tour limited to 26 attenders; sign up early to assure your choice of days.)

Or One of These Workshops:

9 am-noon: Music and the Spirit:

A workshop for those who love music, whether or not you believe you can sing. Through chanting and breathing, we will access the spirit of music in ourselves and in the world. Led by one of Ireland's most revered musicians, harpist Lynn

Saoirse, this workshop will open your heart to the possibilities of employing song in your spiritual practice.

1:30 pm-5 pm:

Writing the Body of the Land from Indigenous Ways of Knowing.

Barbara Flaherty will lead participants into the non ordinary realms of earth mysticism and shamanic visioning, where the wisdom in creation and the powers of writing come alive though senses revived in the body of land. Can a leaf talk? Can a blade of grass reveal? Can the cells of your own body speak in a new language of consciousness? Through meditation, journal exercises, and old Celtic forms of writing each participant will have the opportunity to uncover in their writing layers of voice and portals of deep wisdom.

Presenters - Patricia and guests

Patricia Monaghan: Poet Patricia Monaghan's family emigrated in the early 1900s from east Co. Mayo; she first returned to Ireland in the early 1970's to study literature and myth and now returns several times annually. (about Patricia) She is the author of several books of poetry and mythology. See www.altogether.com/patricia.

Eddie Lenihan: Seanchai and teacher, Eddie Lenihan has collected the largest archive of taped folklore material in private hands in Ireland. He is the author of fifteen books for adults and children, including Rowdy Irish Tales and In Search of Biddy Early. He visits schools, libraries, prisons and hospitals telling traditional Irish stories. See http://eddielenihan.ennis.ie/homepage.htm

Barbara Flaherty: Poet and essayist Barbara Flaherty's grandparents emmigrated from Connemara to Boston. Barbara has lived in Alaska for 25 years where she owns Land and People Tours, specializing in fine arts, ecology, culture and spirituality of the land. She is a founding companion of the Fourth Order of Francis and Clare, an intertribal order of troubadours, madmen, fools and wandering mystics. See http://home.gci.net/~barbaraflahertypoetry/

Fiona Marron: One of Ireland's most exciting young artists, Fiona Marron gains her inspiration from the land itself as well as from ancient images of the goddess. Although her best-known paintings and prints are of the Sheila-na-gig, she has also painted extensive series of bogs, rivers and holy wells. Her work can be seen on the website www.silenagig.com. She lives in her childhood home of Clane, Co. Kildare.

See http://www.goddessalive.co.uk/issue5/5page2.html

Michael McDermott: Throughout his career Michael Mc Dermott, MD, has focused on the sacredness of land and people, as well justice issues for the poor in North and Central America. McDermott recently retired after a 30-year career as an inner-city emergency-room doctor in order to sustainably develop land in the American Midwest named for the goddess Brigit. Michael was the model for the television character of "Dr. Mark Greene" in "ER," a series based on the emergency room that he ran in Chicago.

Lynn Saoirse: Considered one of Ireland's most gifted musicians, Lynn is an American-born harpist who has made her home in Ireland for more than a dozen years. Lynn's CD, On the Bright Road, features her own original music and that of the great Connemara composer Barbara Callan, as well as classic melodies. Lynn lives near Waterford, in Ireland's sunny southeast.

See http://www.lynnsaoirse.com/

Who was Garravogue?

Our festival bears the name of one of the great-though today little-known-goddesses of the Irish land and waters. She is found especially in two regions: in Sligo, where the river that runs through Sligo town is named for her; and in the upper midlands, where she was known in the Cavan-Meath borderlands. In both regions, she is described as a cailleach or hag, a powerful old woman whose image appears to derive from the pre-Celtic settlers of the land. Garravogue's name was chosen for our festival as a way of honoring the power and complexity of the ancient goddess.

Cost:

Individual Rate. Registration fee: $395 before January 15; $475 afterwards.

Nonrefundable deposit of $100 guarantees your registration rate.

Fee covers participation in all plenary sessions as well as two workshops

and one tour.

Special group rate! Get together with your friends and make the expedition together! If five or more register together, you will each get a discount of $100 on the festival registration price.

Accommodations and meals are not included, to permit the maximum flexibility for participants. The festival has arranged for a block of rooms at a special conference rate; go to the Templegate Hotel website, and use code PAUL to make reservations.

If you choose to book into a B&B or other accommodation; the Irish Tourist Board (http://www.ireland.ie/) can help you find such facilities. However, the World Irish Dancing championships will be held in Ennis the week after the conference, accommodations elsewhere may be difficult to locate if not reserved early.

Registration

Please fill out registration form below.

Please indicate in the comments section

which workshops you are choosing,

or if you are

a member of a 5 or more person group (please list your group members),

looking for a roomate sharing arrangement

Then click Paypal Buttons for payment and follow these instructions.

When you click which option you want you will receive a page which checks off everything. This is evidently because we chose the "shopping cart option".

Remove those you do not want by checking the "remove" box and clicking "update shopping cart".

Then all should proceed as normal. If it does not then please contact me ASAP at bflaherty@gci.net. I will attend to it immediately.

TOURING IRELAND

The Garravogue Festival is designed as a springboard to your own explorations of Ireland. Many agencies offer package tours of Ireland that offers mostly Irish scenery flashing by the bus windows as you are hauled from one hotel to the next. We advise against such tours because Ireland is not only sites and scenes; you don't want to miss the Irish people. We encourage you to select one or two of the following

itineraries for further exploration. Starting from a single point, you can learn about a single area while also appreciating the hospitality for which Ireland has been famous since pre-history. The itineraries below offer ideas for regional tourism based on interests in the arts, literature, and spirituality of Ireland.

Tour one: Lake-dwellings, castles and poetry

Center yourself in Ennis, Ennistymon or Gort. From there, you can visit

the following:

Coole Park: Home of the renowned playwright and folklorist Lady Augusta

Gregory; its woods are known for their beauty (and are said to be

haunted as well).

Thoor Ballylee: Home of William Butler Yeats, now a national literary

heritage site. You can climb to the top, up narrow winding stone

stairs, and explore the rooms in which the great poet created his

masterpieces.

Dunguaire Castle: Scenic restored castle at the seaside in the charming

town of Kinvara, this was the site of the revelation of the great epic

of the "Cattle Raid" of Queen Maeve, rediscovered through magic from the

Otherworld.

Cragganowen: See how the ancient Irish lived by visiting this restored

lake dwelling.

Lough Gur: Ireland's largest stone circle, on the lake enchanted by the

goddess Aine. A good small museum helps you understand ancient life

there.

Feakle, Co. Clare: Home of the "White Witch of Clare," Biddy Early, who

was renowned in the 19th century for her healing powers.

Portumna: As it nears the sea, the river Shannon (named for the goddess

Sinann) widens out into the scenic Lough Derg. The port town of

Portumna is a great location for touring this area; think about renting

a boat and riding the Shannon waves.

For the craic: Ennis! Ennis will be hosting the world Irish Dancing

championships the week after the Garravogue festival. There will also

be music galore!

Tour Two: The Beautiful Mountains of Connemara

Center at Clifden, Roundstone, Letterfrack or Spiddal. In the most

scenic region of Ireland, you will hear the Irish language spoken and

experience traditional culture.

Galway city: Gateway to Connemara and named for a goddess, this thriving

town is home to many artists and musicians.

Innisbofin: The mythic "Island of the White Cow" is named for the great

goddess of abundance. Just off the coast at Cleggan, the island can be

reached by a day-ferry.

Aughnanure Castle: Home of Granuaille, the great historical pirate queen

of Connemara, this castle in the middle of Lough Corrib is scenic and

inspiring.

The Aran Islands: Take a boat from Rossaveal to Inis Mor, the largest

of the Aran Islands. Still remote and relatively untouched by

Europeanization, these islands are home to a number of important

archaeological sites including the cliffside fort Dun Aengus.

Connemara National Park: Sensational scenery amid mountains named for

goddesses, in the wildest part of the island.

Tour Three: The Mythic Midlands

Center at Moate, Athlone, Mullingar to explore an area where tourists

rarely visit but which is rich in ancient sites:

Uisneach: Now, tragically, closed to the public, this is the central

hill of Ireland, of great mythic power.

Fore Holy Wells: Two holy wells from which grow trees upon which

"clooties" (prayer-rags) are still tied, located in the dramatic gorge

of Fore.

Lake Derravara: The swan-maiden Finola and her brothers swam for 300

years on this, one of Ireland's most beautiful lakes.

Loughcrew: Called in Irish Sliabh na Callighe, Mountain of the Hag, this

hill is topped with a spectacular prehistoric cairn (artificial cave).

Clonmacnoise: Known as a Christian monastery, this site is also the

point at which the two ancient roadways of Ireland cross: the Shannon

River and the Eiscir Riada, the line of small hills that run from Galway

to Dublin. An acrobatic sheela-na-gig hides in the decorations at the

Nun's Chapel.

Tour Four: Holy wells and mountains

Center in Westport or Sligo town and visit the great holy wells and

mountains of the region.

Croagh Patrick: A great pyramidal mountain, it has been kept holy since

prehistory, as ancient ruins on its summit attest. The pilgrim's path

takes approximately four hours to complete and offers a stunning view

over Clew Bay.

Ceide Fields: A huge archaeological dig that has revealed how ancient

peoples lived.

Tobernault holy well: Ireland's most beautiful holy well, in Sligo, is

still in active use.

Knocknarea: Holy mountain of Queen Maeve; the tradition is to carry a

pebble to add to the huge cairn that supposedly marks her grave.

Carrawmore: The greatest of the huge rock cemeteries of ancient

Ireland, near Sligo.

Rathcrogan: Ancient capital of Queen Maeve, with a good museum nearby in

Tulsk.

Tour Five: The Capital and Surroundings

Center: Dublin is expensive, but its suburbs can offer good

accommodations at reasonable rates; or consider staying in a nearby town

like Kildare. Some of Ireland's most famous and impressive sites are

near Dublin.

Kildare: The city of the goddess/saint Brigit, Kildare is home to many

holy wells that honor her, as well as the sacred flame of Brigit, kept

by the Sisters of Saint Brigit (Brigidines).

Newgrange: The most spectacular of Ireland's ancient monuments and the

location of the winter solstice sunrise light-show.

Fourknocks: Less known than Newgrange but as spectacular, Fourknocks is

a large passage-grave with many engravings.

Tara: Site of the ancient political and spiritual capital, where the

king was ritually "married" to the goddess Maeve.

Tour Six: The North

Center in Coleraine, Derry, Armagh. Although more known for its

political "Troubles" than as a center of tourism, Northern Ireland is a

welcoming land with many sites of interest to the mythic traveler.

Grianan Alleach: Spectacular ancient stone building, possibly ritual

space.

The Silent Valley: Deep in the heart of the Mourne Mountains is the

splendid and remote Silent Valley with its deep lake.

Slieve Gullion: Mountaintop cairn oriented towards winter solstice

sunset.

Emain Macha: Hillfort of the horse goddess Macha, one of Ireland's most

significant mountain capitals.

Giant's Causeway: Natural formation of broken basalt that is said to

have been a giant's pathway to the nearby island of Scotland (visible on

a clear day).

Streull Wells: Several holy well on one site include an excellent

ancient well-building into which you can descend to dip into the water.

These tours give you just a sampling of the riches of the Irish countryside. We suggest the following books to help you learn more about Ireland:

Michael Dames, Mythic Ireland

Maire MacNeill, The Festival of Lughnasa

Patricia Monaghan, The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog

Cary Meehan, The Travelers' Guide to Ancient Ireland