School Retreats

Choose the retreat you wish to attend from our list of retreats below, then, by using our calendar, select the day/s and retreat/s you wish to attend and we’ll be in touch. If you have any questions about the retreats or how to book through the calendar, please contact us here, or through the button/socials below.

Thank you.

Panoramic views around Ards. Video courtesy of AsTheCrowFiles.

Ards Friary Programme of Retreats 2024

Wed 3 Jan – Fri 2 Feb

30-day Ignation Retreat led by Br. Philip Baxter OFM Cap

Thur 11 Jan – Mon 12 Feb

30-day Ignation Retreat – Loretto Sisters

Fri 16 – Sun 18 Feb

Contemplative Outreach

Contemplative Outreach Ireland are holding a Weekend Centering Prayer Retreat at Ards Friary Retreat Centre 16^th – 18th February 2024. Give yourself the gift of a weekend of quiet time-out in surroundings that will enable you to receive the gift of Christ’s presence and action in your life. Join us for contemplative prayer, stillness, solitude and reflection. Full residential €230.

Contact: Email: contemplativeoutreachireland@gmail.com. Phone: Eileen; 00 353 87 6017709

Fri 23 – Sun 25 Feb

Bereavement I

Companioning your grief.

Experience shows that the mutual support of people who come together and share their common experience of loss is invaluable in encouraging healing. Sharing your pain with others won’t make it disappear, but it will, over time, make it more bearable. When we feel hopeless and can’t see a way forward, sensing that we are not alone provides us with much needed encouragement and comfort.

In these two weekend retreats participants will reflect on and share their experiences in a safe, non-threatening atmosphere. Even though they are not friends or family, they learn to offer each other fresh perspectives on their journey through grief, and much appreciated affirmation.

Note:

These weekend retreats will be most valuable to people

-who have journeyed six months after their loss.

– who are open to embracing hope

– and are able to listen to and share their own and others peoples’ stories of grief.

– – participants in the second weekend will have attended programme one.

Facilitator: Fr. Philip Baxter and John Keane

Fri 23 – Sun 25

Feb Lenten Retreat

Season of Well-Being

Lent is a suitable time to practice the things that are good for our physical, mental and spiritual health.

Facilitator: Philip McParland

Fri 1 – Sun 3 March

John Bell (Yoga)

Fri 8 – Sun 10 March

Bereavement II

See Bereavement I above – only those who have attended Bereavement I will be eligible for this retreat.

Facilitator: Fr. Philip Baxter and John Keane

Sat 9 March

Retreat Day for Readers and Eucharistic Ministers

This day will begin at 10.30am and finish at 4.00pm. It will include some input, silent time, social time and a full lunch.

Sun 10 – Fri 15 March

Private Retreat (Pastor Sheila)

Fri 15 – Sun 17 March

Potala

Fri 22 – Sun 24 March

Cursillo Friendship

Cursillo is a short course to develop one’s relationship with Christ through an adult understanding of the Christian faith.

Thurs 28 – Sun 31 March

Easter Triduum

Fri 5 – Sun 7 April

Annie Deery

Fri 12 – Sun 14 April

Healing our Wounds

“If we allow our wounds to become sacred wounds then our story becomes a sacred story” Richard Rohr. Our wounds have a huge impact on how we experience ourselves and on how we live our lives.

This workshop will offer a way to transform our wounds.

Limited to 12 people.

Fri 19 – Sun 21 April

Bosco McColgan

Tues 23 – Sun 28 April

Mountain Centre Retreat

Sat 4 – Mon 6 May

Dublin Brazilian Community (Private Group)

Fri 10 – Sun 12 May

Practical Philosophy (Private Group)

Mon 13 – Thurs 16 May

AA Women’s Retreat

Fri 17 – Fri 24 May

Sisters of the Renewal (Private Retreat)

Fri 31 May – Wed 5 June

BioSpirituality

5-Day Guided BioSpiritual Focusing Silent Retreat

Come to the beauty and peace of Ards Friary . . .where noticing and receiving with openness all that is most real within can lead to greater freedom and transformation. In this silent guided retreat, we will explore the practice of BioSpiritual Focusing as based on the work of Eugene Gendlin and further developed by Frs. Pete Campbell and Ed McMahon. Participants will attend morning group sessions of learning and discussion, and each afternoon, will meet one-on-one with a Focusing Companion. There will be evening sessions for discussions, providing observations and opportunities for questions regarding the process of BioSpiritual Focusing. Silence during the rest of the day is suggested.

As you participate in this life-giving and life-changing experience over the course of the 5 days, you will become more and more aware of the sacred story you carry in your own body and the movement of grace in your life. Gift yourself with a few days to simply be present and receive insight, healing, and a sense of connection or whatever is most needed now.

Facilitators: John Keane and Fr. Philip Baxter

Fri 7 – Sun 9 June

Annie Deery

Sun 9 – Thurs 13 June

Interdiocesan Clergy Retreat

Fri 14 – Sun 16 June

Potala

Mon 24 – Thurs 27 June

Raphoe Clergy Retreat

Sat 6 – Fri 12 July

Meditation Retreat (Transcendental)

Sat 13 – Thurs 18 July

Benedictine (Men’s Retreat)

Guided by the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint Joseph.

These five-day retreats are a shortened form of the full Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The Exercises are a synthetic and practical presentation of the central truths of the Catholic faith—God, the meaning of life, the eternal destiny of mankind, the life of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race—in the form of meditations, examination of conscience and prayers, to find peace of heart, rid oneself of worldly attachments and discover the will of God for the salvation of the soul. On the purely practical level, the day consists of 4 or 5 talks given by one or other of the two priests who are guiding the retreat. After each talk there is time for private prayer, and then free time to converse with the priests. There is of course daily Mass and Rosary, as well as opportunity for Confession.

Daily Mass is generally offered according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Priest/ retreatants, celebrate Mass privately according to the form of their choice.

Commences: 5:30pm (Supper)

Contact: Monks of St Joseph Abbey – Fax 00 333 80 962529, email: spiritualexercises@clairval.com or Ards Friary Tel: 074 913 8909; Email: info@ardsfriary.ie

Fri 19 – Sun 21 July

Annie Deery

Mon 22 – Thurs 25 July

Christian Family Group (Private Group)

Mon 22 – Fri 26 July

Sli Colmcille (Private Group)

Sat 27 July – Thurs 15 August

Christendom College

Fri 16 – Sun 18 August

Potala

Sun 18 – Fri 23 August

Marian Priests (Private Retreat)

Fri 23 – Sun 25 August

Matt Talbot

The Matt Talbot Retreat is intended specifically for people recovering from alcoholic addiction. Contact Patsy 0044 771 287 1870, Mickey 0044 776 453 35588, Jim 0044 785 048 2282 Email: patsybrogan@hotmail.co.uk

Sun 25 – Fri 30 August

August Wild Spirituality

Fri 6 – Sun 8 Sept

Annie Deery

Tues 3 – Sun 8 Sept

Black Mountain Centre

Fri 13 – Sun 15 Sept

Bereavement I

Companioning your grief.

Note:

These weekend retreats will be most valuable to people

-who have journeyed six months after their loss.

– who are open to embracing hope

– and are able to listen to and share their own and others peoples’ stories of grief.

– – participants in the second weekend will have attended programme one.

Facilitator: Fr. Philip Baxter and John Keane

Fri 13 – Sun 15 Sept

John Bell

Sun 15 – Fri 20 Sept

Silent Retreat

Facilitator: Fr. Brendan McManus SJ

Fri 20 – Sun 22 Sept

Courage and Renewal

Wed 25 Sept

Welcoming Autumn: A Day Retreat for the Retired

This day will begin at 10.30am and finish at 4.00pm. It will include some input, silent time, social time and a full lunch.

Fri 27 – Sun 29 Sept

The Path to Self-Acceptance

The journey of life is a journey into deeper levels of self-acceptance. This weekend will explore the things that help us accept ourselves as we are.

Thurs 26 – Mon 30 Sept

Private Retreat (German Bus Tour)

Fri 4 – Sun 6 October

Introduction to Contemplative Ecology

The change in our climate, the loss of the diversity of life on Earth, the extinction of many species, along with advances in physics, evolutionary biology and ecology, have led many to begin to reconsider our place in the cosmic reality we, in the Christian tradition, call creation. This is challenging, scary, exhilarating and ultimately vital for the future of all life.

This retreat will introduce the fundamental theory and practises of what many are now calling Contemplative Ecology. The wisdom that moves us towards an ever deeper life, growing in awareness of our entanglement in creation, and allowing tend and keep paradise, our common home. Our hope for this weekend is that you will be inspired and leave with a deeper sense of your own place within this vast and beautiful creation, and grounded in the Incarnation, so embody it in your local communities.

Fri 4 – Sun 6 October

Wellbeing

Facilitator: Lorraine Rooney

Fri 11 – Sun 13 October

Annie Deery

Fri 18 – Sun 20 October

John Bell

Thurs 24 – Sun 27 October

Cursillo (Men)

Cursillo is a short course to develop one’s relationship with Christ through an adult understanding of the Christian faith.

Thurs 31 Oct – Sun 3 Nov

Cursillo (Women)

Cursillo is a short course to develop one’s relationship with Christ through an adult understanding of the Christian faith.

Fri 8 – Sun 10 Nov

Engaging with the Earth Community

Tiredness. Frustration. Hopelessness. Helplessness. Confusion. These are just some of the ways that many of us are feeling in the midst of the Earth Crisis. Our times place us in a situation unlike any that has gone before. However, we do have the knowledge and skills we need to not only cope with these difficult emotions, but to transform our responses to it in such a way that will empower us.

Over these 3 days, we would like to create a space where you can explore the impact of the Earth Crisis on your own emotional, mental, and physical life. This will be done through small community sharing, time in nature, and introductions to useful practices like Mindfulness and Biospirituality.

Fri 15 – Sun 17 Nov

Bereavement II

See Bereavement I above – only those who have attended Bereavement I will be eligible for this retreat.

Facilitator: Fr. Philip Baxter and John Keane

Fri 6 – Sun 8 Dec

Advent Retreat: A God with Skin On

Prepare for Christmas by taking time to reflect on what the birth of Jesus means for our humanity.

Facilitator: Philip McParland