BOOKINGS CLOSED FOR THE SUMMER SCHOOL
6th – 9th July 2022 Clare Island, Co Mayo, Ireland
The Summer School is currently fully booked as there is a limited amount of accommodation on the island. We are looking into more options and some places may become available, to manage this we have created a waitlist. To join the list please simply book a place for free below. This will be first come first serve. If we have sufficient demand we might run a second Summer School in August/ September. We will keep you posted.
We are delighted to be able to hold the Bard Summer School in person after the two Covid years. While Zoom has been fantastic and enabled us to have global participation (five continents) there is no substitute for meeting in person.
We have run the Bard Summer School on Clare Island since 1996. In many Clare Island is the spiritual home of the Bard.
The Theme this year is the RETURN OF THE GODDESS. In Myth we know that the Goddess people, the Tuatha de Danann were defeated by the Sons of Mil at the Battle of Tailtiu. The newly arrived Celts punished them by sending them underground to the otherworld. Here they have remained, perhaps to emerge sometimes as the Little People, the often derided but much loved Leprechauns. For our friend and frequent Presenter John Moriarty, the defeat by the Celts was a Cultural Disaster. At this year’s Summer School we will reimagine the Return of these lost tribes, the return of the Goddess and what that would mean for our world today.
The format as always is that, in the time honoured oral tradition, we start with the Myths, the stories themselves. We will listen to the stories of the four Irish Goddesses: Brigid, Danu, Macha and the Morrigan. We will ask the question what is the Ireland/World into which they are to return today? We will explore the contemporary meaning of these stories in the modern world in terms of new challenges, new battles and new threats. Some of these relate to the use and abuse of cultural myths by those in powerful positions.
We work in small groups and explore how these Goddesses might have a role to play in a troubled modernity. The participative nature of the event is always much appreciated by participants, many of whom return year after year.
Additional Elements of the School
Other appreciated elements of the Bard School are the Welcome Supper in McCabes, the Island Night of Storytelling, Song and Dance and the final Feasta/Feast which brings the week together. We will have readings from an invited Poet and from our own Karina Tynan, author of the recently published Tain: The Women’s Stories. If the weather permits, we will walk the (Chartres) Labyrinth which enables us to enter a meditative moment on the last day. Trips round the Island for its fascinating 5000 year old History can also be arranged.
The Fee and Administrative Details
The fee for the Summer School is €300 (€75 non-refundable deposit to hold a place). This fee includes the opening night Supper, Teas, Coffees and scones each day, workshops and the Feast. It does not include accommodation and return boat costs.
We will provide you with the boat times, emails and phone numbers of available accommodation on the island which includes The Sailor’s Hostel with its newly upgraded rooms and Island B&Bs. There is also an Island Campsite should you wish you bring your own tent. Elena Keany from our Bard Team, is available to help on any of these arrangements on bardsummerschool@gmail.com.
To book follow the links below:
