I went to a rest retreat for exhausted single mothers in Connemara - here's what you need to know

Yvonne Reddin visits Connemara to try a tranquil solution to the burnout single parents can experience

The Old Knitting Factory retreat in Connemara

“I am sitting at a table looking out a window at the most stunning sunset, mesmerised by the shimmering pathway of gold along the lake from the sun setting behind a mountain in the distance. What strikes me about this piece of paradise outside Galway city is the tranquillity and serenity of this hidden gem and the sheer silence. Allowing myself to just sit and look out across the lake, listening to the sounds of the ripples in the water, watching the night bugs dancing around the trees and the sound of my children laughing, is the medicine I needed; a spoonful of Connemara air and my camping chair facing the lake watching the glorious sunset.” 

This is not an opening paragraph for a story, it is really where I began to write this article about my time visiting a ‘rest retreat’ just an hour from the bustle of Galway city and over three hours from Dublin.

As a single mother, you don’t realise the enormous responsibility upon you daily and how demanding it can be, keeping every facet of parenting intact. 

Along with the parental sentiments and worries, there is never really enough time spent on the person you used to be pre-parenthood. This person that needs to be nurtured too and finding ways to do this, while also including your children, is limited. 

An ad for a ‘rest residency’ for single mothers caught my eye straight away on social media - “Applications are now open for a free one-week stay in the Old Knitting Factory’s residency space, including a cash stipend to apply to childcare costs. 

"The residency is open to single mothers and other twice-marginalized single parents. Come enjoy the beauty and peace of Connemara, and take some time to rest and honor yourself and your children.

"Inspired by the work of The Nap Ministry, Adrienne Maree Brown, and The Mae House, I am offering it as a rest residency, meaning that you don’t have to be an artist to apply; you just have to be a single mom (or other twice-marginalized single parent) who could use some rest. Applications to include a brief statement (up to 500 words, shorter is fine!) on why this residency would be useful to you and your children.” 

View from the garden at Old Knitting Factory retreat in Connemara. The retreat is run by New York Times bestselling author and writing teacher, Betsy Cornwell. Photo: Yvonne Reddin

I had never come across ‘rest retreats’ for single parents and to be able to bring your children too, was a bonus. The whole issue for me and many parents are childcare costs and I feel my income is not at the stage yet where I can justify paying a small fortune on this financial requirement. 

So, bringing my children with me has to be a priority and at the top of my ‘things to do’ list or more to the point ‘things I want to do’ list. 

In the meantime, I contacted Betsy Cornwell, the owner of the rest retreat, and asked if I could come on a two-day visit and experience this resting place and highlight it for other mothers who may also need a rest. Thankfully, she agreed and my bags were packed in 10 minutes.

The Old Knitting Factory is in Carraroe in Connemara, about an hour outside Galway city. The drive along the coast brings you through the seaside spots of Salthill, Silver Strand, Bearna, Furbough, Spiddal, Cartron and more.

Yvonne Reddin at Gurteen beach, Roundstone with her two children.

It’s hard not to pull in at them all and jump in the clear aqua sea. The Old Knitting Factory is situated lakeside and is home for New York Times bestselling author and writing teacher, Betsy Cornwell.

Betsy is from New Hampshire in the United States but has been living in Ireland for over a decade now. She understands the challenges of single parenting only too well, having been one for a long period and which has now led her to focus on turning The Old Knitting Factory into a rest and arts residency centre.

We talked about the residency application she offered on her social media, and she was shocked at how many people applied. This is the second residency offering, and there were approx. 180 applications in 2022, this year there were over 700. 

A huge increase and demand have altered Betsy’s agenda for this residency offering and she is now looking into offering fully funded retreats as often as she can on a lottery system. 

Why so many applications this year? Betsy thinks it may be the idea that a rest retreat resonated with so many exhausted single parents. 

In the beginning, the Factory was initially an arts residency and then as Betsy became a single parent, she found herself unable to attend numerous writing residencies and events because of the lack of child care and the inability to bring her child along.

We shared our parallel views on the stigma around single motherhood still and the negative attention it tends to convey. 

The importance of having a space that celebrates single motherhood instead was something Betsy envisioned with The Old Knitting Factory and is now accomplishing. 

We are both like two lionesses, proud of our single parenthood achievements and understanding each other’s frustrations and narratives as only single parents can.

Betsy says a lot of her friends were raised by single mothers and feels that they are better people for it. 

We continue our conversation about being role models to our children and hoping that it is enough to instill in our children and for them to grow into autonomous adults.

New York Times bestselling author and writing teacher, Betsy Cornwell with Yvonne Reddin at Old Knitting Factory retreat in Connemara

I wonder what Betsy needs to keep this place feasible and to grow into something that society and communities need and not just in Connemara. 

Crowdfunding to pay local tradesmen like electricians, builders, gardeners are essential requirements she needs now. 

To update this house without altering some of its original structure, is on Betsy’s long list. 

She funds it from her book sales and crowdfunding by telling the story of the house and she also offers Patreon membership plans for people which include many benefits of mentorship, retreat stays and lots more.

This space is for both writers and single parents who write or who would like to and don’t have the time. Believe me, you will not want to scroll on your phone, post, comment, check, scroll, etc as you will be inspired to write or just sit by the lake and breathe. If you would like to support or donate to The Old Knitting Factory, here is a link and you will be amazed at what you get in return. 

Betsy is a big believer in giving as she describes she has been lucky to find this unique location and call it home. 

Betsy is also a wonderful writing teacher; I have attended a workshop and highly recommend any creative to attend. 

She will be teaching her next weekend retreat at Kylemore Abbey in October, she says, “It's called "Healing Through Narrative and Place" and it's the only way the general public gets to spend the night in the abbey itself, and they have a fabulous chef and we do our writing in the Victorian walled garden — it's truly a fabulous time.” 

I would like to finish with a quote from author Anne Lamott whom Betsy shared with me, “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”