Macalla Farm

Macalla Farm is the organic farm and retreat centre on Clare Island, off Ireland's west coast, that used to be known as Clare Island Retreat Centre. It runs Sati Yoga and meditation retreats, some of them silent, plus summer vegetarian cooking courses. It suits people who want a quiet, simple, island stay with home-grown food rather than a spa.

What it's like

If you knew this place as Clare Island Yoga Retreat Centre, it's still here. It now goes by Macalla Farm, named after the hill on the land, and it describes itself as one of Ireland's first retreat centres, with residential courses running since 2001.

Clare Island lies off the Mayo coast near Westport, and the farm is on the lighthouse road, about a 30-minute walk from the harbour. The yoga room looks across the water to Croagh Patrick. Cars aren't much use on the island, so expect walking, weather and a lot of sky.

The heart of the place is the farm itself. Ciara Cullen came to the island in the 1980s and took on the farm in 1989, and she and Christophe Mouze have shaped it over the decades since. Their children, Theo and Maude, now help run the farm and the Stone Barn Café. Volunteers have helped on the land since 2004.

Food is a big part of a stay. The farm says it grows almost all of its own vegetables, keeps bees and ducks, and makes its own bread, jams, pickles, kimchi, yoghurt and cheese in the milking season. Dry goods are mostly organic. Sustainability isn't a slogan here either: they've planted more than 3,000 native trees, heat water with solar panels and stoves, and use natural building materials such as hemp and lime.

The programs

The main offering is Sati Yoga, a style that grew out of ashtanga vinyasa. The centre describes it as a slower, process-focused practice that blends classical yoga with early Buddhist teaching, mindfulness, breathwork and somatic work. Retreats come in a few shapes:

• Long weekend retreats, often around Irish bank holidays
• Five-night retreats
• Week-long retreats, including silent weeks
• Retreats with visiting teachers, such as a summer solstice week
• Vegetarian and vegan cooking and fermentation courses in July and August

The 2026 calendar ran from late May through the end of August, so this is mainly a summer destination. Check the course calendar on the website for the coming season.

Pricing works on a sliding scale with three tiers, so people who can pay more help keep places open for those who can't. Single rooms are limited to the standard and supporter tiers. If money is tight, the farm says it's open to talking about payment plans.

Who it suits (and who it doesn't)

It suits you if you want a real retreat in the old sense: practice, simple living, good food grown a few steps away, and walks on a rugged Atlantic island. It's a good fit for people interested in mindfulness and Buddhist-influenced practice, and for anyone curious about how a small regenerative farm actually works.

It's not for you if you want a pool, room service or spa treatments. Weather on the west coast of Ireland changes fast, the island is small and quiet, and the schedule follows the farm's rhythm. Accommodation is described simply as comfortable.

Getting there

You'll take a ferry from Roonagh Pier, near Louisburgh, for a crossing of about 20 minutes. The Inishturk boat leaves from the same pier, so double-check which one you're boarding.

Westport is the nearest town, around 14 miles from the pier. By train it's roughly three and a half hours from Dublin Heuston to Westport, and buses also link Westport with Dublin, Galway, Sligo and Knock. Ireland West Airport Knock is under an hour from Westport. From Westport, you can drive or take a taxi to Roonagh and leave your car in the pier car park.

If you take the ferry the farm names for your course, it arranges your transfer from the island harbour. Arrive on a different sailing and you'll need to sort your own way up.