Creative Retreat at Rossnaree with Orna Ross and Joanna Penn

I asked Shanaya Wagh to write this post about one of the planned rewards for our Maud Gonne statue campaign: a creative retreat at Rossnaree House, the home of Gonnne's great-granddaughter.

Shanaya came to ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors, as an intern almost two years ago and has stayed on to work on the ALLi team and with me at Orna Ross Publications. She is also a member of my Go Creative! community and a fan of The Creative Penn.

So I thought she'd be better placed to tell you about what you can expect from the content.

We're planning this retreat to take place in April 2025 but right at this moment, we're still in the planning stages and flexible.

The workshops will be constructed around your needs, based on a questionnaire we'll issue in advance.

We have a limited number of rooms at Rosnaree House (the luxury option) or you can organize your own accommodation in nearby Slane, which a gorgeous town with lots of lovely options.

And it all goes to support the cause of seeing a statue of a remarkable woman on the streets of Dublin.

Visit Ornaross.com/morethanamuse and select “The Creative Retreat Reward” or “The Luxury Creative Retreat Reward” to book.

Shanaya Wagh

Perhaps you've been to creative retreats before only to return with a half finished project and no motivation to continue on. I guarantee that this luxury creative retreat at historic Rosnaree House in the heart of Ireland will be as affirmatively revolutionising as Maud Gonne herself.

One of the reasons is that the creative benefits won't stop when the weekend is over, thanks to Orna's Go Creative! programme, and the online support that available from both of these author powerhouses.

For the last year and a half, as I’ve worked directly with Orna, I've seen how she employs the Go Creative! practice she teaches up close.

Indie authors have so many tasks to do. Orna writes in all the three macro-genres (fiction, nonfiction and poetry), runs the Alliance of Independent Authors and publishes her own bestselling and award-winning books. Yet she always has a calm and balanced approach, and time for everything and everyone, especially those needing help, and is always up for a laugh. She attributes this to her Go Creative! method.

Inspired by her, I undertook the Go Creative! program and it has indeed changed how I approach my work and my life. Her f-r-e-e-writing exercises and the “Three Hats Principle” have been especially useful to me, helped keep me centred on what matters most.

Her insights around how creative rest and play rejuvenates me has led to greater creative flow in my work and in my life.

If you have a chance to work with Orna and Joanna so closely for a whole weekend, I’m sure the experience will be just as transformative for you.

Life afterwards won’t be the same.

Rosnaree House

Rossnaree House

Rossnaree is a 40-minute drive from Dublin, a historic 200-acre estate that is now home to Maud Gonne's great granddaughter, Aisling Law, who runs it as a boutique hotel.

A sculptor herself, Aisling has made Rosnaree a haven for artists and art lovers. This artistic synergy is amplified by the ancient spiritual sites of Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth all nearby (or as they are together called in Irish, Brú na Bóinne,

Rosnaree House: River Boyne

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Newgrange, five thousand years old, and thought to have been one of a series of passage tombs / death sites, sits opposite Rossnaree. Famous for its embraces the rising sun on winter solstice each December, exact answers to its mysteries of Newgrange are long buried. The structure is older than Stonehenge and the Giza Pyramids.

If the ancient mysteries of Newgrange, and the tranquility of the 200-acre estate beside the River Boyne, doesn't spark your muse, Orna Ross and Joanna Penn surely will.

No matter your lifestyle, field of endeavour, ideas, age, or abilities you can personalise the Go Creative! practices to fit you… and whatever you want to create.

If you would like to embrace your own creativity in a way that is truly joyful, sustainable, and suitable for you, now is the time to book your place.

Visit Ornaross.com/morethanamuse and select “The Creative Retreat Reward” or “The Luxury Creative Retreat Reward“, depending on whether you want to stay at Rossnaree or organise your own accommodation.

Rosnaree House: Hill of Tara

– How can the sessions “be constructed around my needs” when there are so many writers?

The Go Creative! principles, processes, and practices are adaptable to all needs, abilities, and brain types. You will be issued with a questionnaire in advance and the advice, exercises, and activities will be modified accordingly. You’ll be guided in a process that answers your own questions and processes your particular challenges. A series of expansive talks and exercises will harness your current creative flow, with transformative outcomes, and teach you creative skills you can take away and use forever.

What time does the Creative Retreat start and end?

This is a weekend long retreat that begins on a Friday afternoon and ends on a Sunday afternoon. Here is our current (draft) schedule:

Friday:

Afternoon: Arrival and Check-In
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Welcome Dinner in Slane
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Introduction to the Go Creative! Method
9:00 PM – 9.30 PM: Creative Intention Setting and Relaxation

Saturday:

7:30 AM – 8:00 AM: Morning Inspiration Meditation (Creative Rest)
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Breakfast
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: F-r-e-e-writing Session: Generative Exercises, 7 Stages of the Creative Process, Go Creative! Planning
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Tea/Coffee Break
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM: First stage of the Creative Process: Intention. Intention setting exercise. F-r-e-e-writing Session.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Lunch
AFTERNOON: Trip to Newgrange Passage Tomb, Memento Mori Exercise.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Dinner
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Evening Discussion: Creative Insights and Inspiration, Reflective Journaling and Group Sharing
9:00 PM – 9.30 PM: Relaxation and Mindfulness Session

Sunday:

7:30 AM – 8:00 AM: Morning Inspiration Meditation (Creative Rest)
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Breakfast
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Creative Writing Session: Deepening the Practice.
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Tea/Coffee Break. Checkout.
11:30 AM -1 PM: Group Sharing and Feedback, Closing Circle and Future Intentions
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Lunch.
AFTERNOON: Nature Walk, Individual Creative Reflection.

Is the retreat all about Maud Gonne as I don't know / care about her

This creative retreat is for authors, especially those who have, or want to, self-publish. The reward is a weekend-long retreat with the founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, Orna Ross and Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn.

The only link to Maud Gonne during this creative retreat is that it’s taking place in her descendant’s house: fabulous house, grounds and location in the heart of Ireland. (Of course if you are a fan of the fabulous Maud, you’ll have every opportunity to indulge)

Where is Rossnaree located?

Rossnaree House is a seven-minute drive from the village of Slane and a 50-minute drive from Dublin.

What's the closest airport? And how do I get from the airport to the hotel?

The closest airport to Rossnaree House is the Dublin Airport. A taxi costs £60 to £75 approx. There are also two bus options, from Finglas Road, near the airport, and Dublin south side (Wilton Terrace), at £8 to £15 approx. See: Rome2rio.com/s/Dublin/Slane for up to date information and pricing

– Are meals included? If not, are they provided?

Meals are not included but healthy, delicious food will be provided during retreat time for lunch and breaks by arrangement in advance.

List of local accommodation and restaurants

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