Retreating from the rat race

A New Life Claire Harrison tells Sylvia Thompson about her journey from London-based publishing and PR work to managing a Wicklow…

A New LifeClaire Harrison tells Sylvia Thompson about her journey from London-based publishing and PR work to managing a Wicklow retreat

Claire Harrison (44) describes herself as someone who is happiest working in the background.

"I'm at my most productive tweaking things, although I do have a certain commitment to being a public face on occasion," says Ms Harrison, who is the manager of Chrysalis, a retreat centre based in a former rectory near Donard, Co Wicklow.

Ms Harrison is an eloquent speaker who emanates a calm confidence so it comes as no surprise to learn that she took a degree in English at St Andrew's University in Scotland and worked in publishing in London for several years before deciding to completely abandon city life in search for a more meaningful existence.

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What is surprising, however, is that when she gave in her notice at work, rented out her flat in Kingston and ended a steady relationship, she had absolutely no idea what lay ahead of her.

"I grew up in England with Irish parents and came on holidays here as a child so, when it did get to the stage of thinking how do I make a change in my life, Ireland seemed a very natural destination," she explains.

However, before she reached these shores, she travelled extensively and even returned to a new job in London before finally leaving the city for good.

"After working for five years with the publishing house Sidgwick & Jackson, I got the travel bug, bought a single ticket to Sydney, Australia, and spent the next 18 months on my own - taking the time-honoured route from Bali to Katmandu, travelling through all countries in between."

Ms Harrison now believes her personal turning point came during a 10-day meditation course in Thailand.

"It was the first time I decided to consciously stop and look inwards and, at the end of it, I felt I had found what I was travelling for - I remember walking out of the monastery with a sense of integration, a sense of calmness and acceptance of whatever life would bring to me. I think life has moved on now and with emails and mobile phones, it is hard for people to get this feeling of being on their own."

In spite of these new feelings, Ms Harrison returned to London and took a job in a new public relations company, which specialised in book publishing.

"It seemed like a good idea. I was a bit unfocused but I set about being a PR executive responsible for creative campaigns to launch books and other products. At times it was enormous fun and I met interesting people but it was very external world and I began to feel a bit of emptiness.

"It really got to the stage that I was leading two lives: I felt I had to perform during the day and in the evening, I had an internal collapse and then I got geared up again for the next day."

Therein followed another retreat, this time on the Isle of Sky, a remote island off the coast of Scotland, after which Ms Harrison handed in her notice, rented out her flat and bought a one-way ticket to Ireland on the Hollyhead-Dún Laoghaire car ferry.

"My car was like a mobile house. I had a book department, a computer, clothes for any occasion, my duvet and food. I had the feeling that I was like a little snail and everything was coming with me."

Upon arrival in Dún Laoghaire, Ms Harrison drove across the country and booked into a hostel in Kinvara, Co Galway. "I lay in a hammock, typed up my thoughts on the computer, slept, didn't talk to many people and wondered what next?"

A chance meeting resulted in her travelling North to do voluntary work with the Corrymeela Community, a reconciliation centre on the Co Antrim coast. While there, she met someone who told her the founder of Chrysalis, Ms Ann Maria Dunne, needed someone to help out.

"I drove down here the day before my 32nd birthday and Anne Maria invited me to stay the night and, basically, I've never left."

Since then, Ms Harrison has moved from working solely for her board and lodging to being manager of the retreat centre. And, she sees parallels between her own personal growth and the evolution of Chrysalis into one of the most popular retreat centres in Ireland.

"Over time, I have done courses and workshops and have had encounters with people in this therapeutic setting, which have been markers of the changes in my life," she explains.

And of Chrysalis itself, she says: "It was an idea almost ahead of its time - before the big surge of interest in holistic lifestyles, before the scandals in the Catholic Church and before the rise of affluence in Ireland, all of which have encouraged people to look for other supports.

"What Chrysalis offers is the opportunity for people to step out of their busy lives to find a bit of peace and quiet where they can question things and consider changes, which paradoxically was exactly what I was doing when I first arrived."

Details of the Chrysalis 2004 programme of events from Tel:045 404713 or www.chrysalis.ie