Showing Up
in community for ourselves, each other and our world
Bearing Witness to Ireland's Mother and Baby Homes
Retreat information and registration
Who is this retreat for?
This retreat is an opportunity to practice in an inter-conviction community (including all faiths and none). This way of practice invites us into deep listening and contemplation. It creates the space and conditions for each participant to listen inwardly and to find their own meaningful response.
Anyone for whom this topic resonates is welcome to join us. We hope to practice with and learn from survivors of Sean Ross Abbey, Tuam and other mother and baby homes and laundries, from people who worked in them and anyone else who feels called to come. There will be Irish and international retreatants. Due to limited accommodation availability in the area, the retreat will be limited to 40 people. There will be a number of scholarship places available for Irish participants.
*On Wednesday, March 12th Roshi Frank and Niamh Barrett will host a short Zoom presentation/Q&A session about this Bearing Witness retreat.
19:00 - 20:00 UTC
To register click here
Cost of participation
The retreat is run on a not-for-profit basis.
Standard retreat fee: €990 or US$1050
Supporters’ retreat fee:
If it is possible for you to make an extra contribution to support an Irish retreatant, please be as generous as you can.
Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. A deposit of €200 / US$200 secures your place.
The balance of the full retreat fee is due by May 16th 2025.
Click
here
for full information, including information on making a 'mala' to cover your retreat costs, and to register.
The start of the retreat
The retreat begins on Monday, May 26th
in Dublin where we’ll gather in Trinity College for retreat registration, an orientation session and lunch.
Then we’ll visit the derelict site of the largest Magdalene laundry in Ireland which, in September 1996, was also the last to close. Here we’ll learn about the relationship between Magdalene laundries and mother and baby homes, and the overall system of incarceration and institutionalisation of women and children in the twentieth century in Ireland.
That afternoon we travel by coach for 1.5 hours to our accommodation in Cloughjordan, Tipperary, close to Sean Ross Abbey. We’ll have an evening meal there followed by a screening of the recent Irish documentary about the mother and baby homes, ‘Stolen’.
Our following retreat days together will include:
• morning Council (listening) Circles in smaller groups (these groups will be assigned at the start of the retreat);
• coach travel from our lodgings in Cloughjordan to Sean Ross Abbey where we will learn from people who are connected with it;
• daily meditation at places of significance on the grounds such as the Angel’s Plot (unmarked grave site), the house and the orchard where the women worked up until their labour,
• and memorial ceremonies during which we will read the names of the children who died.
Buddhist, Christian and non-denominational (for example, mindfulness) services will be offered each day. Opportunities for gentle movement practices such as yoga will be given regularly.
There will also be free time for personal exploration of the site.
Although we strongly encourage participation in each offering, each part of the retreat is optional except for the morning Council Circles which you will find to be an essential element of this retreat. The morning Council Circles help to create the retreat ‘container’ and help participants to feel supported within the community of the retreat.
Click here
for full information and to register
Retreat leadership
Frank De Waele, Roshi
is the spiritual leader of this retreat. Frank Roshi has participated in leadership roles at the Auschwitz Bearing Witness retreats of the Zen Peacemakers with his teacher, the late Bernie Glassman Roshi. Previously he has also organized Bearing Witness retreats in Lampedusa, Flanders Fields, Sarajevo, Lützerath, and Auschwitz.
Niamh Barrett
received Zen Peacemaker vows from Frank Roshi in summer 2024. She is the co-leader of this retreat and organises the event in close collaboration with Roshi. As an Irish woman, she is personally motivated to bear witness to this time in Ireland’s recent history.
Ginni Stern, an American Zen Peacemaker, is co-organizer, ‘mala coach’ (more about fundraising with a mala follows below) and staff member on this retreat. Ginni was a logistics and administrative assistant at the Zen Peacemaker Auschwitz Bearing Witness Retreats for 20 years.
Dee Kerins
is the co-organizer in Ireland and the retreat photographer. Dee is a yoga and mindfulness teacher and teaches video and filmmaking in 3rd level colleges. Dee has taken part in, volunteered with and worked on retreats and meditation events over the last decade, mainly in the insight meditation tradition.
*Please note that although this retreat is inspired by Zen Peacemakers retreats, this event is not organised by Zen Peacemakers International.
Some additional information
• English will be the primary language of the retreat.
• Meals will be vegan and vegetarian.
• As a retreat of this nature can be physically, psychologically and emotionally demanding, at registration each participant will be asked to sign a waiver to say that they feel well enough to take part in the retreat, and to hold the organisers harmless.
• As our intention is to create a safe retreat container, retreatants agree to refrain from substance and alcohol abuse for the duration of the retreat and to refrain from relationally-inappropriate (and self-harming) behaviour.
• There will be a medical doctor and a number of therapists and other trauma-informed practitioners among the staff who will be able to offer support if needed.
We are offering two fully-supported scholarships and additional discounted-places to Irish survivors.
Our wish is that all who feel called to join us on this retreat will feel supported to come. If you have any questions or if you need any help, please just let us know at bearingwitness2025@protonmail.com
Click here
for full information and to register
Image:
The Orchard, Sean Ross Abbey