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.