I was overjoyed to have the opportunity to decamp from real life and spend a week in residence at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annamakerrig in Monaghan. What can I say that I, and others, have not said before? It is a truly magical place in which the creative spirit is given time and space to flourish – surrounded by like-minded-souls and facilitated by the most wonderful team guided by the calm, kind Director Anna Walsh.
I stayed in the Butler Room:
Not having to worry about shopping for food, cooking food, or indeed anything involving looking after a household for a week meant that I could immerse myself in the world of my fiction, walk in the countryside, and not having to hurry my thoughts or processes.
Walking included moments by the beautiful Annamakerrig Lake, watching the water for movement, following the clouds and searching for patterns (something I used to do as a child!).
Now begins the next piece of the work – reviewing what I wrote, and edited, and deciding what to do with those words written in the luxury of peace.
Shauna Gilligan Writer 