Photo Diary: Cill Rialaig Writers Residency 2024

Last week, seven Irish Writers Centre members escaped to Cill Rialaig in County Kerry for a 10-day uninterrupted writing retreat. In this blog, our residency awardees capture their experience and the beautiful landscapes surrounding Cill Rialaig, locally known as the “edge of the world”. Read more about the awardees here.

Slán le Cill Rialaig agus le mo chairde nua : scríbhneoirí na Cónaitheachta 2024 a bhronn an Irish Writers Centre orainn. Fanfaidh an t-eispéireas seo i mo chroí istigh ar feadh i bhfad. Agus taibhsí Uibh Ráthaigh, na manaigh ón sean am agus iad siúd a d’imigh rompu, Seanchaí na háite Seán Ó Conaill agus ar ndóigh muintir na háite feasta. 

Hard to bid farewell to the place I called home for the last week and more, to the inspiring Gaeltacht landscape of people both past and present, the monks of Ballinskellig and the Gael who preceded them, not forgetting Seanchaí Chill Rialaig Seán Ó Conaill. The magic will last in my soul for a long time to come, not least the company of the collegial collective of companions (mo chuid comharsanna) selected by Irish Writers Centre for this 2024 Cill Rialaig Writers Residency. 

– Caitriona Lane, Irish Writers Centre Cill Rialaig Residency 2024 awardee

Cill Rialaig village (c.1790), Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, Ireland. October 2024

Ballinskelligs Abbey, Co Kerry, Ireland. October 2024

Inside Cill Rialaig village cottage, Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, Ireland. October 2024

Inside Cill Rialaig village cottage, Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, Ireland. October 2024

What can I say about Cill Rialaig, this delightfully wordless place? I cherished being able to go to the end of the world to centre myself and my writing practice, to get away from my usual soundtrack of commuter traffic and just be, with the smell of the peat smoke and the sound of the sea.

– Soula Emmanuel, Irish Writers Centre Cill Rialaig Residency 2024 awardee

Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, Ireland. October 2024

Cill Rialaig residency awardees’ Joseph Jones (Seosamh Mac Seoin), Seána Talbot and Eoghan Smith. October 2024

Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, Ireland. October 2024

Stephen Walker, Seána Talbot, Caitríona Lane and Joseph Jones (Seosamh Mac Seoin). October 2024

Inside Cill Rialaig village cottage, Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, Ireland. October 2024

Sunset at Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, Ireland. October 2024

Contact with the outside world is limited—there are no televisions here, only occasional internet coverage, and the phone signal is dodgy at times. This is truly more retreat than residency—a withdrawal from the joys, challenges, and distractions of daily life. A chance to imagine, to reflect, to write.

– Seána Talbot, Irish Writers Centre Cill Rialaig Residency 2024 awardee