'It's about creativity and having fun': West Cork eco resort to host storytelling retreat

You don’t have to go to the ends of the Earth to rewild your imagination, and connect with your inner scribe.

Stories and creativity can be shared and enjoyed much nearer home.

Goleen Harbour Eco Resort in West Cork is hosting a week-long immersive storytelling retreat on the wild Atlantic coast next month.

“I am so excited to be part of this wonderful experience,” says Aron Hegarty, who, along with his sister, Sorcha, is leading the retreat, called Candlelit Tales, on May 10-16.

The siblings wrote their first book last year, called Celtic Mythology, a reader’s guidebook.

“Goleen Harbour is such a wonderful location,” says Aron, from Inniscarra. “We will bring the stories to vivid life making them organic, present, and available. I can’t wait!”

What can we expect to experience in this little piece of heaven on the Mizen Peninsula?

“Across the week, you’ll deepen your storytelling voice, shape powerful narratives, and reconnect with the transformative power of oral tradition,” says Aron, who is also an actor, and who began his storytelling journey one winter’s night upstairs in a Dublin pub 11 years ago.

What appealed to him about storytelling?

“I was blown away with the tangible engagement, the imagination of storytellers, the improvision associated with storytelling,” says Aron. “Irish people are natural storytellers”

Will the Candlelit Tales retreat be like days of yore when people gathered around the fireside to tell stories and tales and legends of the past, present and future?

“The atmosphere is very similar.” says Aron.

“Through myth, imagination, landscape walks, and fireside circles, you’ll slow down and draw creative inspiration from the land, sea, and community around you. Sessions are practical, engaging, and rooted in over a decade of performance experience.”

What makes Candlelit Tales stand apart from other storytelling forms?

“The retreats stand apart by blending deep-rooted heritage with modern, effective storytelling. The team ensures every session is not just educational, but also engaging, authentic, and unforgettable,” explains Aron.

The Candlelit Retreat, through the lens of ancient Irish mythology will start a creative enjoyable experience with lovely surroundings and food.

“It’s about creativity and having fun!” says Aron. “We’ll enjoy fireside circles or céilis that bring you into deeper connections with the stories, the group, and the magnificent landscape around. I can remember my childhood holidays in Goleen very clearly. It’ s a place you never forget.”

Aran and Sorcha are delighted to be involved with creative retreats at the eco resort. “It is something new and I love being part of it,” says Aron. “Such a brilliant idea to invigorate the artistic and creative community of writers and storytellers.”

When he began storytelling, his audience gradually got bigger and bigger. “My friends who dabbled, and musicians, all joined in,” says Aron. The stories gathered momentum.

“Soon we were doing six regular storytelling nights before Covid in Dublin,” says Aron. “Then we focused on doing podcasts online.”

The storytelling theme branched out.

“Sorcha and I devised how to run a storytelling retreat where people can feel comfortable and express themselves, and not take themselves too seriously.”

Aron says we are all storytellers. “It’s the first thing we do. And listening is so important as well. If only our world leaders would listen more and communicate more with each other.”

Aron said that Matt Mills and his partner Melanie, owners of Goleen Harbour Eco Resort, “understand the significance of both talking and listening to each other”.

Indeed, Matt’s own story about how he first landed in Goleen Harbour would make for an invigorating screen play for a film.

“In early August, 2014, I was on a loop ride cycle around Mizen,” says Matt. “Approaching Goleen I saw a sign: 38-acre coastal farm with ruin for sale.

“I diverted from the side road and into the entrance. There stood a large ruin which clearly hadn’t been occupied in decades, with trees growing up and right into the building.”

Looking at the varied and interesting landscape Matt began to imagine a place to stay, to learn, to make memories, and to relax.

“I imagined a place where we could demonstrate that you can live comfortably in connection with nature and elements, yet with a small ecological footprint.”

With like-minded friends with a set of essential skills, the project began to take shape.

“We had the necessary skills, but the Goleen project wasn’t straightforward,” says Matt.

“My partner Melanie, who is an excellent masseuse and gardener, was very reluctant.

“She had been living with Lyme disease for more than 20 years. Although a mighty worker, if she spent time in the garden, she needed several days to recover.

“To her, this was just a windswept piece of land and an overwhelming project.”

Things then took a turn for the better for Matt and for Melanie. “Eventually, I found a sheltered field at the entrance, tranquil and sun-drenched, a small piece to call her own,” says Matt. Melanie was transfixed with her piece of heaven.

“With her on board, albeit with trepidation, I went about writing the business plan to contacts including Jeremey Gilbert, who I had met through supporting Apple products for him and his wife Diana,” says Matt. “He saw the potential for the project to benefit the local economy.”

A deal was done.

“I agreed to sell him 25% of the company up front and he lent me personal bridging finance to buy the place.”

There was an after-party.

“At the end of November, 2014, our offer was accepted in the week of my 50th birthday. Double celebrations!” says Matt. “In April, 2015, we got the keys.

By May, Goleen Harbour Ltd was formed and the project truly began.”

There is a back story.

“For people who don’t know my background, I am a designer by profession,” says Matt.

“My father was an architect and when my self-employment journey started, I rented a space in his studio.”

Matt always loved the great outdoors.

“I grew up sailing and was a mountain bike racer at international level,” he says.

He moved from his native Bristol in 1999.

“I landed in Cork city before finding a small farmhouse on the north side of Sheep’s Head peninsula overlooking Bantry Bay.”

What was behind his move?

“It was driven by an increasing focus on the environment,” says Matt. “Forming ‘Sustain West Cork’, I helped run community orchards, information evenings, and in 2003, an award-winning festival in Bantry. I hosted discussion panels at festivals like Electric Picnic and Body & Soul.

“Over those 15 years, I learned quite a lot about renewable energy, organic farming and native woodland establishment,” says Matt.

“I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but the seeds were sown.”

A mentor who became a reliable prop came on board.

“James O’Mahony, a man of integrity and nobility whom I admire who had nothing to gain from the project, who simply saw the benefits of the project, became my mentor,” says Matt.

“Through that experience, I eventually joined the board of the West Cork Development Partnership in the Environmental Pillar position, a voluntary role I held for ten years.”

See: goleenharbour.ie