Mother's Day away

GO IRELAND:People talk about mothers as if they are one big group but all they have in common is that they gave birth. So this year why not show a little appreciation for the person your mother was before she was mum. SANDRA O'CONNELLrounds up a few suggestions for breaks that might appeal

Sporty Mum

The big event in golf this year is the Solheim Cup, the women’s version of the Ryder Cup. It takes place at Killeen Castle from September 23rd to 25th and it is the most prestigious international team event in women’s professional golf.

The biennial event features the best of US born players from the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) and the best European born players from the LET (Ladies European Tour).

At the time of going to press you could still get a pair of tickets via Ticketmaster for €261.90.

What’s more, to help build her interest, how about booking one of Killeen Castle’s “last chance to play” packages, in advance of the competition?

The package runs from August 29th to September 4th and is in fact anyone’s last chance to play before the course is closed in preparation for the tournament.

The one-night package includes overnight accommodation – not at Killeen but at four-star Dunboyne Castle 15 minutes away – 18 holes on the Jack Nicklaus course at Killeen Castle, lunch or dinner, plus use of the thermal suite and hydrotherapy pool at Dunboyne Castle. She’ll get a souvenir Solheim Cup bag too.

The price here is €215 for a single and €360 for a double.

* killeencastle.ie

Gardening Mum

For a mum whose wonderful raised beds are a source of pride second only to her beautifully raised children, how about organising a garden tour of the Garden County?

The Wicklow Garden Festival is now in its 22nd year and features 32 beautiful and varied private gardens, from Robinsonian and formal to Victorian and Modern.

The festival runs from June 11th to 19th and, if she has the energy and a well thought out itinerary drawn up by thoughtful offspring, she could cut a dash through most of them.

They include Kilruddery House and gardens in Bray, Mount Usher Gardens in Ashford, Kilmacurragh in Kilbride, and the National Garden Exhibition Centre in Kiquade, not to mention, of course, the mammy of them all at Powerscourt.

Among the more unusual is the Shekina Sculpture Garden in Glenmalure, the Dower House and Wrenswood in Ashford plus the wonderful gardening work at nearby Nun’s Cross School.

Make a package of it by booking her into lodgings at another participant, Hunter’s Hotel, where ladies and gentlemen will not and mothers must not take slips. Dinner, bed and breakfast costs €145pps.

visitwicklow.ie

Wise Mum

In recognition of the woman’s wisdom – I mean, just who has answered more of your questions over your lifetime, and hasn’t she always been proved right in the end – pack her off to the Wise Woman event in Leitrim.

Taking place from May 13th to 15th at Ard Nahoo in Dromahir, itself voted one of the top 10 retreats worldwide by the Guardian, the event takes place largely outdoors and is overlooked, suitably enough, by the warrior queen Meabh.

If she’s up for a laugh and open to being a bit “new agey”, she won’t be put off by the fact that the organisers request she packs a colourful scarf, a small torch and a drum or rattle.

Participants start by calling on the four elements of fire, earth, air and water, “and joining them with the above energy of the heavens and the below energy of the earth”. There’s much mention of Irish goddesses and the “divine feminine” too. There’s a “sage smudge” ritual, circle dancing and workshops with names such as dance your feelings. And, why not. The weekend costs €110.

* wisewomanireland.com

Arty Mum

Who is more likely to have had their creative ambitions thwarted by the pram in the hall than your mum? So why not make it up to her with a retreat at Anam Cara in west Cork.

According to Sue Booth-Forbes, who runs it, “every mother who has stayed here has really relaxed into having time to focus on her own creativity without having any of her usual responsibilities to pull her away from her creative work”.

The centre runs week long residential workshop retreats from April through August each year which, for €900, includes a private room with bath, all meals and use of the retreat and its amenities.

These range from a hot tub and sauna to five acres of walking paths and 34 nooks and crannies in which to write or paint, plus a river island with cascades and a labyrinth meadow.

There is evening entertainment, workshop tuition and individual consultation with the workshop retreat leader.

Alternatively, there is also a Beara writing experience weekend writing workshop, with the next one scheduled for April 29th. The cost here is €250.

* anamcararetreat.com

Crafty Mum

No, not that kind of crafty, though she’s likely that too, but if she’s the kind who likes to make things with her hands, how about a weekend’s pottery, ceramic or jewellery-making at Kinsale Ceramics?

It has weekend packages that include two days accommodation at nearby Friar’s Lodge, a four-star guesthouse in the centre of Kinsale. The deal includes BB on Friday and Saturday nights plus one dinner at the nearby Jola’s Restaurant.

With that you get a weekend’s course in pottery, mosaic making, jewellery, stained glass or glass fusing.

The centre is run by Adrian Wistreich, now a ceramic artist but formerly a London publisher who decided to give it all up to throw pots and weekend courses which are, he promises, great fun.

The price is €350pps from June to September.

* kinsaleceramics.com

Pampered Mum

All the stress of bringing up you guys will have put years on your mum. So how about helping to rectify the damage by sending her off for Mother’s Day to a spa?

Monart in Enniscorthy has just won a Conde Nast worldwide spa of the year gong so is worth checking out for that alone.

It is offering a Sunday siesta package, a four-and-a-half hour treat from noon to 4.30pm which includes a choice of facials, detox aromatic wraps, body scrubs and Indian head massage followed by a two-course dinner in its Garden Lounge.

The price is €100pps so, hey, you may as well go too.

* monart.ie

Traditional Mum

Taking mothers for afternoon tea at the Shelbourne is a 185-year-old institution in the capital and, according to the hotel’s marketing staff, the reason it has remained so popular is because the menu really hasn’t changed in all that time.

It’s still a question of open and closed sandwiches, pastries and treats, and the opportunity to linger over it, people watching for as long as you like.

It’s both an event in itself and a perfect antidote to a morning’s shopping.

Afternoon tea costs €29pp if you buy it directly from the hotel, but in these straitened times, it’s worth noting that you can buy a voucher for afternoon tea for two at the Shelbourne online from Goldenmoments.ie (check it out, it’s brill) for €50, and buy her a dry sherry with the savings.

* goldenmoments.ie

Culinary Mum

Not all mums can cook but every mum should be able to bake. If yours can’t it’s not too late to rectify the matter, if only in time to provide the grandkids with the Proustian effects of fresh baked bread.

Pack her off for Mother’s Day to bake at Ballyknocken, a midweek break at TV chef Catherine Fulvio’s Wicklow guesthouse, less than an hour from Dublin city centre. The package includes a two-night stay with breakfast, plus a baking class and a full suite of recipes to take home with you.

The package costs €168pps and, just so it doesn’t seem harsh to send her off on a course after all these years, sweeten things up a little with some of Fulvio’s optional extras, from flowers on arrival (€48) to champagne (€49), a massage (€85) or a champagne breakfast in bed for €17 extra.

* thecookeryschool.ie

Shopping Mum

It isn’t just mums that may be in need of retail therapy these days, the entire country would benefit from it, so why not do your bit for mother, and motherland, by sending her off shopping?

Barberstown Castle is just up the road from all the discounted goodies at Kildare Village outlet centre.

The hotel has a particularly stylish weekend package, including two nights BB and one evening meal. Included in the price is a 90-minute session with an image consultant and personal shopper at Kildare Village, to learn all the tricks of the fashion trade.

After a quick consultation to find out what kind of wardrobe your mum is shopping for, the consultant will review the colours that suit her best, as well as her body shape, and provide tips and feedback about dressing to impress. There’s a 10 per cent discount on purchases too.

The package costs from €235pps.

* barberstowncastle.ie