Trusted by Ireland’s leading recovery organisations
Colin has partnered with Coolmine since 2017 and hundreds of our clients have directly benefited from his compassion and work. Pauline McKeownChief Executive, Coolmine Therapeutic Community
Colin has established an environment centred on dignity, healing and long-term wellness. Gerry CarrollAiseiri
Three Retreats. One Purpose.
Recovery looks different for everyone. Our three programmes are built around the people who need them, not the other way around.
Achill Wild: For 18-25s
Young adults in recovery need more than conversation, they need momentum, challenge, and a community that gets it. Achill Wild is an adventure-led programme on Ireland’s Atlantic coast, designed for 18-25 year olds who are ready to build a life they don’t want to escape from.
Deerstone: For Women
Women in recovery carry more than most people know. Deerstone is a women-only programme that creates the space to put that weight down, and to build, from that point, a life that actually sustains you. Trauma-aware, nature-led, and genuinely transformative.
Kilkenny: For Men
Recovery asks a particular kind of courage from men, and rarely gives them the space to show it. Kilkenny is a private programme for men who are ready to do the deeper work, set within the grounds of one of Ireland’s most distinguished estates. Discreet, structured, and built for lasting change.
Most people leave treatment ready. Then life returns.
The environment you worked so hard to leave is still there, the same pressures, the same patterns, the same moments that made escape feel necessary. Relapse doesn’t happen because people stop trying. It happens because trying isn’t enough without the right structure around it.
Pelagus retreats take you out of that environment entirely. Into nature. Into challenge. Into an experience that shifts something at a level that conversation alone rarely reaches.
Every guest arrives at a turning point. Every guest leaves with a plan.
How Pelagus Works
We begin before you arrive. Every guest has a personal conversation with our team before the retreat starts, to understand where you are in your recovery, what you need most, and how to build a programme that is genuinely yours.
During the retreat, you move through a carefully designed sequence of adventure, therapeutic work, and reflection. Every element is chosen to challenge, restore, and equip, not just for the retreat, but for the life you’re returning to.
By the time you leave, you have more than an experience. You have a Recovery Map, a practical, personal plan for the months ahead, and a peer accountability structure that continues beyond departure.
The Pelagus Method
Adventure, therapy, and nature, working together to protect your recovery and rebuild your life.
Relapse Prevention
The foundation of everything we do. Our relapse prevention approach is practical, evidence-informed, and built around real life, not a classroom. Skills are developed in nature, on the water, and in honest conversation, making them second nature long after the retreat ends.
Mindfulness & Presence
Daily practices that build calm, emotional regulation, and self-awareness from the inside out. Through guided mindfulness, immersion in nature, and complementary therapies including acupuncture, yoga, and Qi Gong, guests learn to return to presence wherever they are.
Recovery Coaching
Delivered in intimate small-group sessions of no more than six guests, in serene natural settings. Topics covered include triggers and cravings, emotional regulation, high-risk situations, and values-based living, the foundations of a life that lasts.
OUR RETREATS
Achill Wild Retreat, Ireland
An adventure-led recovery retreat on Achill Island, designed for young adults aged 18-25 to reclaim their lives. Through surfing, hiking, coasteering, and immersive therapeutic support, Achill Wild combines challenge, movement, and connection to build resilience and emotional growth. Raw, real, and transformative.
Deerstone Retreat, Ireland
A women-only recovery retreat set in a quiet, nature-rich environment in Co. Wicklow. Through guided movement, therapeutic practice, and genuine connection with other women, Deerstone supports recovery while rebuilding identity, confidence, and purpose. Trauma-aware, compassionate, and designed for lasting change.
Kilkenny Retreat, Ireland
A discreet luxury recovery retreat in Ireland’s southeast, blending nature, movement, and expert care to support lasting change. Set across five star grounds, guests follow the Pelagus Method through immersive, personalised experiences, including golf, sailing, hiking, and equine therapy. Designed for privacy and excellence. Built for transformation.
Every Pelagus retreat begins with a conversation.
We take the time to make sure this is right for you, and that you arrive ready for what it offers.
Bespoke, Discreet, Transformative
No two guests are the same. No two programmes ever are either.
Every element of your retreat is built around where you are in your recovery, and the life you are returning to.
Personalised Experiences
Bespoke Wellbeing
Nutritional Recovery
Seamless Arrival
Equine Therapy
Personalised Experiences
Bespoke Wellbeing
Nutritional Recovery
Seamless Arrival
Equine Therapy
Whatever brings you here, and however long you’ve been thinking about it, we’re glad you’ve arrived. Every enquiry is handled with complete discretion. No pressure, no obligation. Just an honest conversation about whether Pelagus is the right fit for you.
