Deepening mindfulness, clarity & ease in uncertain times.

Page is being proofed and edited. Bookings open. 😊

Where is our retreat?

We will gather at

Drumalis Retreat & Conference Centre
47 Glenarm Road, Larne, Co. Antrim
https://www.drumalis.co.uk

There are bus and train routes to Belfast Central station from many parts of Ireland. From Belfast central train station there are hourly trains to Larne and the retreat centre is a 15 minute walk from larne train station or there are taxis outside the station.

Brief details

Arrival is Friday 25th April from 3pm and departure on Tuesday 29th April .

Four nights accommodation , 3 meals a day and the mindfulness support of Monastic sisters and brothers from Plum Village, France.(https://plumvillage.org ) .

In 2012, 17 monastics from Plum village stayed in Drumalis and offered events organized by the local sangha.

We are delighted to be here on retreat at Drumalis.

All rooms are booked as sole occupancy. You can decide to share a room (twin or double), please name the person you want to share with and ensure they book via eventbrite. Please let us know if you plan to share your room with your friend or partner.

The cost per person remains the same. We pay a fixed cost per person and the retreat is priced to cover basic costs.

We would be delighted If you decided to share a room with a friend or partner as it means a few more people may be able to attend the retreat.

What we will do together?
As Thày has taught, the qualities of mindfulness, ease and clarity are available within us, already present in our store consciousness. This is an invitation to cultivate and unearth these wholesome seeds in the midst of the uncertain and distracting world we are living in.

The retreat will offer opportunities for sitting meditation, walking meditation, eating meditation, relaxation and other mindfulness practices of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Daily inspirational teachings will be offered by the Monastic Sisters and Brothers and other sangha members. There will be many of opportunities to explore the area with its hidden beaches and woodland walks. This is a wonderful opportunity to nourish yourself with mindfulnes and care.
Periods of sacred silence are planned at meals and from 8:30 pm till 8:30 am.

All adult practitioners are welcome, from absolute beginners to experienced practitioners.

A full orientation to the practice will be offered on the Friday Evening.

Drumalis is a retreat centre in Larne, County Antrim owned and managed by the Sisters of the Cross and Passion. The ministry of the house is one of reconciliation and nurturing. The resident Sisters offer an organised programme of retreats and workshops. When not wholly used for retreat purposes, the facilities at Drumalis provide an excellent venue for groups to organise their own events.

The grounds, gardens and accommodation is beautiful and hotel standard.

​

Retreats with a monastic presence fill quickly. We have 35 bedrooms available. we have also created 10 non residential spaces for people that may want to attend daily and sleep off site. Professional chefs will prepare vegan food for our meals.

Attending the retreat means you will be asked to help prepare the meditation room, the dining room or some other activity. This mindful activity builds connection and community.

About the Monastic's guiding this retreat.

Sister Thuận Nghiêm was ordained as a novice nun on May 18th 2000 in the “Plumeria” family. She received full ordination as a bhikshuni in January 2003, and the Lamp Transmission from Thầy, to become a Dharma Teacher, in January 2009. Originally from Vietnam, she and her family immigrated to America in 1990, living in the eastern state of Pennsylvania. It is from Thầy’ s book ‘Old Path white cloud’ that she aspired to ordain despite the fact that she has never learned, practiced mindfulness or attended any Mindfulness retreat before.

She is an active member of our international community and has lived in Lower Hamlet, France; Green Mountain Dharma Center, Vermont; Deer Park Monastery, California; Asia Institute of Applied Buddhism, Hongkong and currently in New Hamlet, France.

She has deep love for nature, holistic healing, the Earth and Oceans. She likes to build lay sangha as well as monastic sangha wherever she resides. She invests her time and energy into training young monastics. She likes to be surrounded by the practitioners who are young and not so young, who aspire to walk on this path of Mindfulness. She likes hiking and hammock meditation.

Brother Phạm Hạnh, whose name means "Holy Life," is a Dutch-born monastic who was ordained in Plum Village, France, in 2012 and became a Dharma teacher in 2022. He enjoys exploring the mind, the world, and machines, bringing curiosity and care to both his practice and daily life. His teachings include a trauma-sensitive approach, helping others find healing through mindfulness. He also enjoys hands-on work, from making tempeh to transforming household items into coffee roasters, always looking for ways to support the community.

Sister Sĩ Nghiêm, (“True Adornment with Schloarship”) was ordained in 2008 in the Plum Tree Family and received the Lamp Transmission to become a Dharma Teacher in 2016. She was born and grew up in Hong Kong. The seed of being a monastic in her started to sprout during her first visit to Plum Village France in 2006. Seeing the transformation in herself and others have inspired her to join the community and to share the practice with people around the world. After living and serving in the New Hamlet, Plum Village Hong Kong and Maison de L'Inspir, she has just moved back to Plum Village and is now residing in the Lower Hamlet.

Br Niệm Hòa, Br Harmony or Br Tom as many of the Irish Sangha know him, is originally from Westmeath but was living in Dublin where he joined the Wake Up Dublin and Suaimhneas sanghas in 2017. After 2 years his spiritual path led him to plum village for the rains retreat in 2019 and he ordained in October 2020.He is most happy when he can practice serving in the community and is delighted to finally have an opportunity to connect so deeply and to share the dharma with his home Sangha on the Irish tour 2025

To book for this retreat use this Eventbrite page. Contact for retreat queries is via mindfulnessday.mi@gmail.com. (Do not contact the retreat centre as they are not handling the bookings or queries for the retreat.) We would also ask that you contact us through the above e-mail, so we can efficiently deal with your enquiry.

What is the refund policy ? We invite you to insure your retreat with an insurance company in case of you needing to cancel for any reason. Similar to holiday insurance. All cancellations must be submitted by e-mail to mindfulnessday.mi@gmail.com. Refunds may take 2 weeks to process.

The refund schedule is as follows:

Cancelled before or on the 11th April: amount paid less €50.

Cancelled 12th April to 20th April: amount paid less €150.

Cancelled on or after 21 April : no refund as from this date we may be able to backfill the place.

We also look together as a team at all refund request.

We look forward to being on retreat with you

Mindfulness Ireland Organising team.

A note about our events

This retreat is organized by volunteers who also pay to attend the retreat. Some volunteers will be visible and many others are behind the scenes supporting this event. When you attend a retreat, you too support the community, your contribution matters and you presence aids collective transformation. People offer service as part of their practice of being there for others and to help deepen collective understanding, harmony and peace.

This voluntary service means we can continue to offer retreats.