It is my great pleasure to introduce our Winter Newsletter. Nothing happens without the commitment and generosity of our members and we start by thanking Elaine Goggin and the Newsletter team for all the work they have done to bring this publication to your inbox.
As we come to the end of another year, The Irish Focusing Network has much to celebrate.
Online Focusing has continued – albeit with smaller numbers attending. We are extremely grateful to our Zoom hosts, whose commitment continues to make these possible. Looking to the future, we think it might be time to review the online provision. If you haven’t already filled out the survey to help us with that planning, you’ll find it here: https://forms.gle/usMaRhGdSWzo6EwC8
Marie McGuigan’s online sessions on Focusing with Poetry continue to bring joy and inspiration, as do the videos which are a popular part of the website. Check out the latest below. If you haven’t already attended the online sessions, let us know if you’d like to do so in the future – it’s a real treat. You can register for future sessions at:
September saw what, we hope, will be the first of many in-person gatherings of the Network at the Margaret Aylward Centre in Glasnevin. Caroline Moore has done a lovely reflection on the day, which you can read in this issue or by clicking here.
We were pleased that the International Focusing Institute chose Dublin as one of the in-person locations for this year’s Focusing Advanced and Certification Weeklong in October. It was particularly nice that this took place in the Dominican Retreat Centre, which was the original home of Focusing in Ireland. This was the first occasion on which the Weeklong was run as a hybrid event. You can get a flavour of how that went from Therese Ryan’s contribution. You can read her reflection by clicking here.
Some of our members have successfully completed work towards accreditation as Focusing professionals, trainers or co-ordinators. We are delighted to be able to celebrate their achievements here too.
Looking ahead to the coming year, we hope that the Network will continue to grow and to support our members in their Focusing practice. As you start to fill up your diary for the coming year, please include some of the following:
Our AGM will take place on 16th January 2023 at 7.30pm. To ensure that everyone can participate, we will hold this online. We have some decisions to make about the way forward and we encourage everyone to come along and help us to plan for the future.
Membership renewal will open at the end of January. We are grateful to all our members for their financial contribution to the Network – you make it all possible. The online system has made joining and renewing your membership much easier – a big thank you to everyone who keeps that show on the road.
We hope to welcome many of you to our next in-person gathering on 4th March 2023. We are grateful to both Marie McGuigan and Therese Ryan for agreeing to lead workshops on the day. Your reflection on the last event has helped us in planning and we are grateful to all who gave us such helpful feedback.
Several of our Focusing Trainers are offering courses over the coming months and we wish them all well in their work to promote Focusing in Ireland. You’ll find details of the courses we know about in the Newsletter. If you’re planning courses or events in the future, remember that we are happy to promote courses run by our members who are accredited trainers.
Our next Newsletter will drop into your inbox sometime in late Spring. Your contributions are what brings this publication to life, and all are welcome. Maybe there’s something you’ve read that you think others might enjoy – could you write a short review and share that with us all? Is there an area of Focusing you would like to explore with others? We’ll put the invitation out there for you – let us know. Is there something you would like to see added to the Newsletter – we welcome all of your suggestions. Email us at
Finally, we wish all our members a happy and peaceful Christmas and all that is good for the coming year. Beannachtaí an tséasúir oraibh go léir. (For our members abroad – “The blessings of the season on you all”)
Margaret Quinn
