De La Salle Pastoral Centre, Castletown, County Laois

 The retreat is open to anyone with previous experience of similar types of silent retreat of 5 days or longer, but preference will be given to mindfulness teachers and teachers in training.  

Personal meditation practice is an essential foundation for anyone who works with mindfulness-based interventions and participation in silent teacher-led mindfulness meditation retreats is part of all Good Practice Guidelines.  This retreat satisfies the MTAI criteria for a mindfulness teacher's annual retreat.

This retreat will explore aspects of the foundations of Mindfulness, as taught in the Satipaṭṭhāna discourse given by the Buddha. These are profound teachings that encourage us to place the path of freedom and compassion in the classroom of our lives, nurturing a heart that is receptive and unshakeable. Developing the capacity to encounter our own inner and outer experience with equanimity and curiosity creates a foundation for meeting the experiences of our students and clients, in offering mindfulness-based interventions.

Each day will offer a sustained schedule of formal meditation practice (both Insight and Metta), group meetings with the teachers, talks and instructions, all within an underlying environment of silence.  

 We welcome people with disabilities to our retreat.  The venue is fully accessible.  Please contact us with your specific needs relating to disability, long-term illness or health condition.

 for The Mindfulness Centre's August Retreat 2023 with John Peacock and Bernat Font. We hope these rates reflect our intention that anyone who would like to attend can through collective generosity. Prices include accommodation, food, teaching and administration.

Pay for yourself and help support one person to join on a Bursary -

For those in financial hardship who cannot afford our full priced rate (see below for more) -

A limited number of places are reserved for those unable to afford the concessionary Rate -

Cancellations up to 1st June 2023 will incur a €50 administration fee.

Cancellations after 1st June 2023 will incur the loss of the deposit.

The organisers may waive cancellation fees in exceptional circumstances, at their discretion.

We are keeping up-to-date with government guidelines to provide a safe retreat environment. As the conditions and guidelines change, we are remaining flexible and will be reviewing what is needed at the time of each retreat.

Prior to your retreat, we will send some more information about what to expect whilst at Castletown. We hope you find the following information useful

"Mindfulness, Insight and Freedom" 7-Day Silent Residential Retreat with John Peacock and Bernat Font

Mindful practices for all aspects of life.

A weekend to pause, slow down and restore yourself with the best of organic vegetarian food. In a warm and friendly environment, we will be taking time out from the frantic human 

 and spending time to nourish the human 

We will draw from a variety of mindfulness programmes and teachers – Mindful Self-Compassion, the Work that Reconnects (Joanna Macy), Thich Nhat Hanh, Positive Neuroplasticity (Rick Hanson) and Awakening Joy. 

The heart of this weekend is about how to care for ourselves and the natural world, which is so obviously under pressure. Often there can be a feeling of helplessness and overwhelm. How can we meet this? The first step is cultivating a sense of appreciation and connection.

There will be a range of activities such as mindful eating, mindful movement, guided meditations, mindful walking and cooking creatively together using seasonal, organic food and local vegetables from Kyrie Farm.

Shirley is a gifted and wonderful cook and she has some real treats in store for us like homemade elderflower cordial and rose petal syrup. We will learn how to support our micro biome with healthy foods like homemade pickles, keffir, kombucha and sauerkraut.

Slowing down in this way allows the chance of enjoying what you are doing, while you are doing it, to become possible. These practices also can serve as anchors in a frantic world.

Taking time to relax and enjoy the simple everyday experiences that we usually rush through allows us to resource ourselves to meet life more creatively.  When we slow down like this, we can become aware of  the limiting beliefs that can stop us from making more courageous choices in our lives. 

We are affected deeply by the world around us, however we often under appreciate how we can affect the world.  Mindful practices allows us to see this interconnection and support us in making better choices, for ourselves and the planet. Practicing appreciation and gratitude can perhaps free us from the belief that more is always better. We will also explore  how the practice of fierce self-compassion can support us in responding with kindness, wisdom and courage.

We have run a number of weekends together and very much look forward to this summer weekend that will have aspects of retreat, for example periods of silence, periods of preparation of vegetables with others in a quiet mindful atmosphere.  This embodiment of seeing, tasting and touching brings mindfulness so much more to life.  Along with this you will be given all the recipes so you can go home with a real understanding and knowledge of very tasty vegetarian food.  

All are welcome! The weekend is open to beginners as well as people with more experience.

Slow Down to Smell the Roses Weekend Retreat

Heart Of Inquiry - a Weekend Workshop with Sarah Silverton

We will practice and discuss exactly what this means, looks like, feels like as although it can sound easy, at times it really is not. We will have the time to reflect the  the blocks, fears and beliefs that can stop us from feeling more compassionate to ourselves and others.

Please pay the rate that is suitable for you and your income, and if you are in a position to support someone else to attend, this is most generous.

Introduction to Mindful Self-Compassion

Saturday and Sunday, 11th – 12th March 2023

Open to all, whether you are beginning to mediate or already have experience

CHRISTINA FELDMAN is a co-founder of Gaia House. She has been leading Insight Meditation retreats worldwide since 1976. She is a Guiding Teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts and a founder member of The Bodhi College.

She is the author of a number of books including Woman Awake,

Way of Meditation, and co-author of Soul Food. Recent books include Silence and The Buddhist Path to Simplicity and, co-authored with Willem Kuyken, Mindfulness: Ancient Wisdom meets Modern Psychology.

This weekend will be dedicated to contemplating the vulnerability of being human and the possibility of being held in mindfulness and the family of mindfulness. Our weekend will take the form of longer times of teaching plus periods of sitting and there will be opportunities to ask questions and reflect.

Saturday and Sunday from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm

Please commit to attending both days in full.  There will be comfort breaks throughout the day with a lunch break from 12.30 – 1.30 pm.

€50 - This covers the cost of the teacher and admin. (If you are struggling financially the option is to pay concession rate)

If you have any questions regarding the retreat, you can send an email 

Vulnerability and MindfulnessOnline retreat with Christina Feldman

You are welcome to join us for a day of mindfulness practice led by Josephine Lynch, Erica Balfour and  Rachel Ardagh it will take place in the Marino Institute of Education in Dublin 9.

This is a retreat day for anyone who is currently in the midst of or has completed one of our 8 Week Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Courses or anyone who has a regular practice and attended a full day retreat previously.

A day of practice offers us an opportunity to set aside our usual tasks and responsibilities and take time to practice being present to the fullness of our experience.

Aside from the guidance, we will be practicing mostly in silence so that we can create the space to allow us to go a little deeper than perhaps our usual mindfulness practice.  We may see a little more clearly our reactivity, our patterns and practice bringing kindness and understanding to what we are discovering rather than our tendency to distract ourselves, criticise or attack ourselves. We invite awareness, presence and kindness to all of our experience, as best we can. 

Please wear comfy clothing and bring your yoga mat, blanket, cushion (if you need one), meditation stool (if you have one). 

Bring packed lunch and a flask of tea/coffee and a drink.  There is a canteen on site but it can be noisy and might bring you out of your retreat headspace.

Day of Mindfulnes Practice

Graduation cermony

Mindful practices for all aspects of your life

A weekend to pause, slow down and restore yourself with the best of organic vegetarian food. In a warm and friendly environment, we will be taking time out from the frantic human 

There will be a range of activities such as mindful eating, mindful movement, cooking creatively together, mindful walking and guided meditations. This allows the chance of enjoying what you are doing, while you are doing it, to become possible. These practices can serve as anchors in a frantic world.

Taking time to relax and enjoy the simple everyday experiences that we usually rush through, allows us to resource ourselves to meet life more creatively. When we slow down like this, we can become aware of the limiting beliefs that can cause us to make poorer choices in our lives. We will be exploring how we often speak to ourselves unkindly and we will take the time to learn a more compassionate voice.

We are affected deeply by the world around us however we often under appreciate how we can affect the world in a way we might wish to. Mindful practices allows us to see this interconnection and supports us in making better choices, for ourselves and the planet. Practicing appreciation and gratitude can perhaps free us from the belief that more is always better.

Jospehine Lynch and Shirley Copeland have been working together for many years in this area and are delighted to offer this weekend.

The retreat is open to beginners as well as people with experience.

Price € 320 for single room, ensuite €15 extra. A number of reduced places offered please email to enquire.

Times Friday 17th check in at 5 pm till Sunday 19th after Lunch.

Slowing Down the Wheel of Life.  Weekend Retreat with Josephine Lynch and Shirley Copeland

This course includes a Day of Mindfulness Practice on TBC (Sunday between week 6 & 7).

We meet at 10am each Thursday and finish at 12:30pm.

The course is suitable for those with prior meditation experience as well as those who have none.

You are asked to make a commitment to daily home practice of around thirty to forty-five minutes per day for the duration of the course.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

 was developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979.  Originally developed for those living with chronic pain.

In this MBSR course we will explore what we mean by the term ‘stress’ and how it manifests in our lives.  We will explore the ways in which mindfulness can support us in responding to the events in our lives rather than being caught up in reactivity - how can we pause in the midst of the everything that is demanding our attention and tune into what is actually happening within and around us, and thus afford ourselves the opportunity to respond in more helpful ways.  The programme promotes the development of self-awareness and general well-being.  Stress is part of life, we cannot avoid it.   We are encouraged to acknowledge life as it is, with all its joys and sorrows, and thus live more fully, with whatever is here.   

We practice different forms of mindfulness practice including sitting meditation, the body scan gentle mindful movement and walking meditation.  The emphasis is on bringing mindful awareness into everyday life.

Participants will receive a programme handbook in the post to support learning and a weekly email summarising the content and practice instructions for that week, plus guided meditation recordings.

When the course finishes there are online meditation groups you can join. This support can make a big difference to keeping up practice so that when we experience stressful times in our lives it is there to support us.

●      Use mindfulness to relate in healthier ways to worry and feelings of anxiety and chronic pain and to better manage stressful situations in both work and home life

●      Become familiar with the workings of the mind, including the ways we avoid or get caught up in difficulties

●      Sustain the practice of mindfulness as a self-care tool that can be integrated into our work and home life

●      Explore ways of releasing ourselves from old habits of mind that increase anxiety levels

●      Get in touch with a different way of knowing ourselves and the world

●      Recognise the harshness of self-judgement and develop self-acceptance

●      Be able to exercise greater choice in life

●      Manage interpersonal relationships and conflict more effectively

●      Experience improved feelings of self-worth and compassion for ourselves and for others

Participants who attend the programme fully will receive a Certificate of Completion in the “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme” from The Mindfulness Centre, on request.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction 8 Week 
In-Person Course with Josephine Lynch

Mindful Self Compassion with Josephine Lynch and Barry Lee

Deepen your practice and learn to lead mindfulness based stress reduction courses.

Registration is open for our teacher training programme.  Come along to our open evening to find our why our training is so special. 

 The Mindfulness Centre offers an 18 month training programme in teaching mindfulness-based interventions. 

-We support our trainees in furthering their personal understanding and practice of mindfulness 

-We nurture a community of emerging teachers during the training and beyond. 

-We are the only training body that offers an apprenticeship model. 

-Assessment is carried out by senior teachers who have been trained in using the Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teacher Asessment Criteria (MBI:TAC), recognised in Europe and North America as the gold standard in teacher assessment.  

-Our programme is delivered in collaboration with senior mindfulness trainers who are leaders in their field from Ireland, the UK and beyond.  

-Our course is recognised by the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland (

Get in touch - we would love to hear from you. 

OPEN EVENING
LEARN ABOUT OUR 
18-month professional training programme to teach mindfulness

You are welcome to join us for a day of mindfulness practice led by Helen Byrne, Josephine Lynch and Erica Balfour and it will take place in the Marino Institute of Education in Dublin 9.

The day is offered on a DANA or donation basis for those who are not currently taking their course.  There will be a little box in the hall for those who would like to make a donation to the teachers.  Alternatively we can give you the REVOLUT details. 

This course includes a Day of Mindfulness Practice on Sunday 6th November 2022.

 was developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979.

●      Use mindfulness to relate in healthier ways to worry and feelings of anxiety and to better manage stressful situations in both work and home life

Personal meditation practice is an essential foundation for anyone who works with mindfulness-based interventions and participation in silent teacher-led mindfulness meditation retreats is part of all Good Practice Guidelines.  

This retreat will explore the foundations of Mindfulness, as taught in the Satipaṭṭhāna discourse given by the Buddha. This is a profound teaching that encourages us to place the path of freedom and compassion in the classroom of our lives, nurturing a heart that is receptive and unshakeable. Developing the capacity to encounter our own inner and outer experience with equanimity and curiosity creates a foundation for meeting the experiences of our students and clients, in offering mindfulness-based interventions.

Each day will offer a sustained schedule of formal meditation practice (both Insight and Metta), meetings with the teachers, talks and instructions, all within an underlying environment of silence.  

This retreat satisfies the MTAI criteria for a Mindfulness Teachers' annual retreat.

 for The Mindfulness Centre's August Retreat 2022 with Marc Akincano Weber and John Peacock. We hope these rates reflect out intention that anyone who would like to attend can through collective generosity. Prices include accommodation, food, teaching and administration.

Cancellations up to 1st June 2022 will incur a €50 administration fee.

Cancellations after 1st June 2022 will incur the loss of the deposit.

We are keeping up-to-date with government guidelines to provide a safe retreat environment. As the conditions and guidelines keep changing, we are remaining flexible and will be reviewing what is needed at the time of each retreat.

We want to reassure you that we have conducted thorough risk assessments and we’re planning to make your retreat at De La Salle Castletown Retreats as supportive as possible.

The Heart of Mindfulness,’ 7 Day Silent Meditation Retreat with Akincano and John Peacock

Mindful  Self-Compassion Weekend Retreat

This is a monthly drop-in for people who have completed the 8 week course in Mindful Self Compassion. At the end of every MSC course one of the most frequent observations we hear from participants is how supportive it felt to be part of a group. For some reason most of us find it much harder to keep the practice going after the course has ended and we are on our own. In this drop-in we will revisit some of the practices from the MSC course and there will also be some optional space to share in small groups.

Practicing self-compassion is quite simple but as we know, it isn't always easy. It means turning towards the difficult. This takes courage and a willingness to be open to suffering. We are learning to be a true friend to ourselves and to respond to whatever arises with kindness and equanimity. In this month's session there will be an emphasis on self-compassion in the context of relationships.

This session is offered on a donation basis. If you value the sessions and you would like to make a donation to support the teachers you may do so here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=AR3MSB7BUQ4RL&source=url

Mindful Self Compassion Drop In with Josephine Lynch and Barry Lee

Remote Learning – attend a live 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme in the comfort of your own home, online over zoom.

This 8 week programme will be delivered online and will explore what we mean by the term ‘stress’ and how it manifests in our personal lives and at work.  Can mindfulness can support us in responding to the events in our lives in an authentic way?  The programme promotes self-awareness, personal development and general wellbeing.  We know we cannot avoid stressful experiences, as long as we are alive this is part of life. However, how we respond, how we view, how we interact with stressful events can make things potentially worse or can help us, to not only tolerate discomfort but  to embrace a full life and even flourish.  

This programme will be delivered live on Zoom: Relatively stable WiFi is needed.

The programme is suitable for anyone who encounters stress and wishes to respond to stress in life with more understanding and ease. It is not suitable if you are in the middle of an acute crisis.

There will be an individual orientation call with each participant before the start, to enable each person to ask questions and to make sure it’s the right time to partake in this highly experiential programme.

The practices in the programme aim to help the participant to:

●      Use mindfulness techniques to relate differently to worry and feelings of anxiety and better manage stressful situations in both work and home life

●      Sustain the practice of mindfulness as a self-care tool that can be integrated into their work and home life

●      Get in touch with a different way of knowing themselves and the world

●      Reduce the impact of self judgement and increase self acceptance

●      Manage interpersonal conflict more effectively

●      Experience improved feelings of self-worth and compassion for others

Participants will receive a programme handbook in the post, or online if preferred. The main intention of this programme is to offer experiential learning.  There will be the opportunity during the training for participants to practice and experience mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques.  As mindfulness training is primarily experiential in nature, the main ‘work’ of the course is done at home between classes.  Participants will receive a weekly email summarising the content and practice instructions for that week plus meditation recordings. Participants are required to practice at home during the week for about 45 minutes per day.

Following the course there are ongoing weekly guided practice sessions open to everyone to join on a drop-in basis. We have found that this support can make a big difference in keeping up the practice. As Jon Kabat-Zinn says,  “we weave the parachute a little bit every day so that when we need it, it will actually hold us!”

All participants who attend the programme fully will receive a Certificate of Completion in the “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme” from The Mindfulness Centre.

Josephine lynch