Retreat
Ireland
From keening to céilí dancing, cat caves to Giants Causeway, come explore Ireland with La Mort and Muldowney Memorials
We're taking La Mort to Ireland! Spend a week with us, 6 other deathies, and the lovely Irish born and bred Jennifer Muldowney, to learn keening and traditional Irish dance, visit a green funeral home and learn the true “Irish Goodbye”, explore sacred sites like the Cave of the Cats where Samhain originated, walk the Cliffs of Moher, wander through ancient castles, and take in the literary and cultural heartbeat of the country.
Ireland Retreat
Death education, Irish culture, good food, and genuine community
Over nine days we'll move through Ireland together, from Dublin to Donegal to Galway.
We'll begin in Dublin with church crypts, bog bodies, and the Dead Interesting tour at Glasnevin Cemetery (one of the best death education experiences in Europe). We'll stop at the Giant's Causeway and walk through the ruins of Dunluce Castle on our way north.
Then we settle in Donegal, our home for several days - slow mornings, writing workshops, beach walks, a visit to Tory Island, and a full day at a green funeral home trying our hands at shroud making.
From there we'll move south through Sligo's ancient megalithic burial grounds and stand at the mouth of the Cave of the Cats, where the Irish believed Samhain began. We'll finish in Galway, learning keening and céilí dancing, wandering castles and coastline, and ending at the edge of the Cliffs of Moher.
In between all of it there will be good meals and long drives through some of the most beautiful landscape on earth.
Home Sweet Home
For our Donegal days, we'll be staying at the Song House (or Teach na nAmhrán in Irish), a restored cottage tucked between wild Atlantic beaches and the Derryveagh mountains in the heart of the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht region.
Originally called The Poets' House, it was a gathering place for writers and poets for over two decades (Seamus Heaney among them). It's been lovingly restored with eco values at its core, surrounded by an organic garden, and it runs on solar and clean energy.
Expect mountain views, beach walks out the front door, and good company around the table at the end of a long day.
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Your Hosts
Lauren Carroll
of la mort collective
Lauren Carroll, co-founder of La Mort, is a Death Educator & Holistic Funeral Director who is passionate about weaving community and family back into the death space. Her work centers around re-aligning our culture with Mother Earth and helping humans remember how to love one another. She is a former board member for the National Home Funeral Alliance and co-founded The Deathwives. She lives on an urban farm at the base of a mountain where she tends to her animals, raises her two children, and dances around bonfires on the full moon with friends while listening to Nick Cave.
Jennifer Muldowney
of muldowney memorials
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Jennifer Muldowney is an award-winning international Funeral Celebrant and Memorial Planner with nearly two decades of experience in the funeral industry. Known for her empathetic approach and dedication to personalized service, Jennifer has guided hundreds of families through the difficult process of saying goodbye to their loved ones. She is the founder of Muldowney Memorials, a modern memorial planning company based in New York City, Florida and Dublin. Jennifer is also a published author, journalist, TEDx speaker, and host of The Glam Reaper podcast.
Mackenzie Ní Flainn
of Seun Threshold Accompaniment
Mackenzie Ní Flainn (she/they) is a Mama, health justice activist, abolitionist, harm reductionist, full spectrum birth advocate, student midwife, community herbalist, street medic, and self-defense instructor living in Oregon on the occupied territory of the Kalapuya ilahi. Mackenzie started training as a death worker after suffering two pregnancy losses and has continued to deepen the work in Irish death tradition, home funeral facilitation, and Keening. Now, Mackenzie is completing her graduate work in medical anthropology at UO, where she studies medicine as a site of resistance in America.