Top 10 Writing Schools in Ireland
As you might expect Ireland to top the list in varieties of the color green, so does the “green island” in the number and quality of writing schools, workshops, and retreats, of every genre possible. The Irish are of the earliest of vernacular literature in all of Western Europe.
Obviously named after highly esteemed authors born to them, Ireland keeps these writers’ legacies alive by enriching internationally renowned schools for writing. The following are the top ten for the so-inspired traveler.
Oscar Wilde Centre at the Trinity College Dublin must top this eclectic list. Their beloved poet and prose writer’s actual writing studio is what the school has been built around and available for viewing.
The National University of Ireland includes Galway’s International Writing School, followed by The Irish Writer’s Centre in Dublin are public opportunities for one to study other disciplines in Fine Arts as well as writing and literature.
St. Conleth’s College in Dublin, St. Aloysins School of Cork, and John Magnier’s Glentall Abby in Limerick are highly recommended for the private school environment for only the most serious writers. These historical landmarks are set deep in the Irish countryside though part of major metropolitan areas.
As for workshops, The Creative Writer’s Workshop founded and led by author Irene Graham have scheduled events and writing weekends that might fit into most if not all travelers’ schedule. These also available online, and include Memoir Writing Workshops. Limerick Writers’ Centre also provides both virtual and online opportunities.
For specifically poets, the Poetry Ireland Eigre Ereann organization hosts workshops, as well as the Patrick Kavanagh Rural and Literary Centre in Innsiskeen, Monahan County.
All schools listed have websites/contact numbers, making it easy as opening up a copy of Leaves of Grass to be, if not by your touring Ireland alone, well inspired!