Susan Quirke (2026)

31/12/2025

Thank you 🪷

20/12/2025

"The way out is in"... Tomorrow, Sunday December 21st is the Winter Solstice here in Ireland, which marks the longest night of the year. A moment in time when darkness has fully arrived, and a pause before the turning towards the light begins. Here in Ireland, the Irish word for Solstice is “Grianstad”, meaning “sun stand still”, or “sun stop”.

The earth here in the northern hemisphere is now resting on the surface layers, and from that place of rest, there is a deep exhale. The Solstice reminds us that cycles are not linear. There are times for growth and visibility, and there are times for pulling energy inwards, letting go of what no longer serves us, and in that letting go renewal naturally starts to ripple beneath the surface.

At a human level, the Solstice invites us to befriend the dark rather than resist it. I sometimes love to meditate in the dark. I love being in total blackout darkness. I actually crave it. It can be so relieving, the silence of it and lack of stimulation feels like medicine to my being. The darkness and stillness also invites us to meet ourselves in a different way, to sit with what is unresolved, tender, or uncertain, without needing to fix or bypass it. But to lean into it. To tend to whatever needs tending in our hearts. To let yourself go there... to not be afraid of the dark.

In meditation, we practice this same gentle artform every time we sit. Meditation is a practice of surrender, being fully present with ourselves, meeting ourselves with compassion. It can feel so liberating to simply be present with what is, to allow and accept without resistance. When we stop fighting what is here, whatever our reality is, something in us softens. The nervous system settles. We can just let go into truth. When we do this we start to feel more deeply attuned with ourselves at a primal level. A deeper wisdom and intelligence then has space to emerge when we can just let go of trying to control it all.

Nature is the greatest teacher, and the Solstice offers us wisdom, reminding us that rest, standing still, and stillness itself are not a failure. Stillness is not stagnation. It is alive with potentiality. And even in the darkest moments, the turning toward the light is already underway.

Thích Nhất Hạnh who was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, and master teacher illustrated this movement inwards so beautifully in this image. He capture is all in one sentence: 'The way out is in.'

If you are wanting to learn how to go within and to meditate properly, details are on my website: www.SusanQuirke.com

Any questions, I'm here. Happy Solstice to you and all yours.

07/12/2025

I’ve been looking forward to being 44 for decades, which is a bit mad. I have no idea why. The day has landed. I wanted to name it here on this wild app where we get to see little glimpses into each others lives.

Who knows what this year will bring, but one thing I know for sure is the deep gratitude I have for my body, my life, my marriage, love, family, friends, my work. The incredibly dark and heartbreaking times that broke me open, and all the breadcrumbs, beauty and gorgeousness that has carried me through, every drop of life has brought me to this moment.

The truth is that I've spent decades investigating the inner territory of consciousness like a dog with a bone. Consummed with wanting to know the truth of the soul's path. I've felt choiceless but to spend many thousands of hours in meditation and spiritual practices. All of which slowly and lovingly burned through layers that needed to burn, and also carved open a pathway inwards, to the innermost part of my being which is eternal. We're all designed to experience this knowingness. It's encoded within each one of us.

I know that the part of me that was never born and will never die, the essence of my being, is here and well and running the show. And alongside that lives the sweetness of incarnating again into this storyline, into the full spectrum of being fully human. Getting stuck in. Feeling it all.

"Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another." Einstein knew the truth.

I hold it all with equal reverence and craic! ... the knowingness of our eternal nature, our shared divinity and interconnectedness, and the awe of being gifted a life to live fully in this body on earth. Surrendering into the mystery of it with compassion in my heart for all of us. It's not always easy being here.

What a privilege it is to age and to be here with you all.

Grateful for holidays with my beautiful husband Ruairí all this week ♥️ the best pressie of all.

Just landed home to Ireland, I needed to be on the land for this day. I love Ireland so much.

Love to you all, and thanks for the sweet messages I have been receiving, I so appreciate them.

X Susan

01/12/2025

It’s an honour to offer The Peace Retreat on the gorgeous west coast of Ireland to welcome in the New Year.

We’re nearly fully booked, so if you’ve been thinking about it and would like to reserve a room for you or a couple of friends and begin 2026 with deep intentionality in the company of a warm, brilliant community, we’d love to have you with us. It will be beautiful.

Join us:
The Common Knowledge Centre, Co. Clare

January 2nd–4th, 2026

Retreat Highlights

✨ Daily yoga practices with Dearbhla: Vinyasa plus deeply relaxing and restorative Yin yoga – open to all levels
✨ Susan’s ‘Learn How to Meditate for Life' Course: The Being Technique’ – with ongoing invitation to Susan’s free weekly online community meditation gatherings post retreat
✨ Céilí dancing to welcome the New Year, with local Kilfenora céilí teacher – great craic!
✨ Fire ceremony – release what no longer serves, invite in what does
✨ Nature walks, book in for a sauna or deep massage, or simply cosy up by the stove with a cuppa and rest
✨ Nourishing vegetarian meals cooked by a very special chef

We’ve kept prices as low and accessible as possible, ranging from €390 – €790.

To book: email dearbhlaglynn@gmail.com or susanquirke@gmail.com

Full details: www.mindoneanother.com and www.SusanQuirke.com/retreats

Any questions at all, let us know 🤍

Susan and Dearbhla

30/11/2025

Daily meditation taught me to never abandon my own inner knowing, to never abandon my Self. That I am worthy of that.

After a period of steady Vedic Meditation teaching and gorgeous deep work with many souls throughout the land, I felt a truth making itself known inside me while sending an email recently, as a tightness and constriction in my chest. I stopped, listened in. It said step back… you need deep rest.

Old me, pre-meditation me, would have overridden that inner knowing. Pushed on through. Been the 'good girl'. That is what led me to burn out in the past. I no longer abandon myself now. I read the signals live, and act immediately. The love is too deep not to.

My teaching and one to one work is all about showing up for others with clarity, love, and full presence. But that offering can only flow when I’m listening inwardly and honouring what my own body, mind, and heart needs. Embodying what I teach. Congruence.

We live in a capitalist society that pushes us forward relentlessly, rewarding the doing while neglecting the being. It’s a culture that leaves many of us depleted or on the edge of burnout. The amount of people telling me recently that they are close to burnout is quite serious. When did we stop listening in and acting on our inner signals? Our bodies and beings are always communicating with us. Are you listening?

I want to extend a gentle invitation to you reading these words, if they resonate. Notice the subtle ways your body speaks, the tightness in your chest, the knowing in your gut, the constriction, the expansion, the warmth of love in your chest, your Yes, your No. These signals are not inconveniences, they are the soul's guidance. They are wisdom. They are protection. They are love in action.

Our bodies and consciousness are the most sophisticated and sacred technologies we have.

I hope that as the Christmas season begins, you carve out moments to rest when you know you need to. Winter is meant to be a time of hibernation, nature’s intelligence at play.

I invite you to not abandon your own inner knowing, to no longer abandon your Self. To know you are worthy of this, and that it is a gift to the whole.

Love Susan x

12/11/2025

More Presidential hugs, but this time with our brilliant new President Catherine Connolly at last night's inauguration in Dublin Castle.

So proud of my husband Ruairí McKiernan who played a part in the grassroots campaign to support Catherine to become elected into this sacred role on our land of Éire. Two bright lights. 🌟🌟

Ruairí has such immense Soul Force imbued with fierce light, often working away quietly behind the scenes. I see what he does, and how he does it everyday. I've never witnessed greater integrity, humility, power, wisdom, grace, dynamism or creativity like what pours through Ruairí when he gets stuck into something he believes in.

Catherine was blessed to have him back her, as we are blessed to have her courage and dignity to step into this mythic role.

There is so much beauty flourishing on our land right now. Can you feel it? So many incredible souls shining brightly, doing what we came here to do. What a time to be alive. I love Ireland and our people so deeply.

Shared with love,
Susan

09/11/2025

Beautiful post from my husband Ruairí McKiernan on his time with our wonderful President Michael D. Higgins and his brilliant wife Sabina. Such bright souls 🌟🌟

07/11/2025

Tune into RTÉ Radio 1 tomorrow 🌟 My husband Ruairí McKiernan who served on our wonderful President Michael D. Higgins Council of State for 7 years, has been invited on to a panel to chat about Michael D on the Brendan O' Connor show tomorrow, Saturday morning. Listen in around noon. 🌟

Just 7 people from Ireland are chosen as appointees to be on the President's Council, who sit alongside others including all past Presidents, all former Taoisigh, among others. A huge honour for Ruairí, and President Michael D Higgins was blessed to have him too.

❤️

05/11/2025

Such a beautiful surprise to see Irish rugby legend Conor Murray write about our meditation work together in The Irish Times last weekend.

It was a pure joy to be invited into the Irish camp to work with the Irish rugby team, and to then continue working with some of the players individually.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of supporting people from many diverse backgrounds, including international elite athletes, GAA stars, musicians on world tour, activists, community and business leaders, many of whom are in the public eye.

My role is to help people go within, to access their own inner knowing, and to become more fully themselves in the world. Much of this work happens quietly behind the scenes. It is often deeply personal, private, and sacred, and confidentiality is a vital part of it. Most people I work with choose not to share publicly, and I deeply respect and honour that.

That’s why I was especially touched by Conor’s openness and generosity of spirit in sharing how our work together supported him. He is an authentic leader and his words will no doubt inspire others to explore new ways of supporting themselves through meditation and other practices that feel resonant.

Meditation ultimately helps people move into deeper states of awareness and remain steady and centered in their own being, no matter what pressures they face. It cultivates creativity, wisdom, and flow states, and also massively helps to release stress and anxiety.

I’m grateful for the trust that allows this work to unfold quietly, deeply, and from the heart.

Lastly, I love seeing meditation increasingly becoming part of everyday conversation. It offers profound benefits, helping us connect with the stillness, calm, clarity, and deep inner peace that already lives within each one of us.

It is a practice of liberation, and a joy to teach.

Thank you 🌟

If you’d like to learn how to meditate with me, you’ll find all the details on my website: www.SusanQuirke.com I teach both public and private courses (one-to-one and also groups).

Any questions, I’m here.

23/10/2025

It’s a privilege to be in Ennistymon, Co. Clare this week, teaching Vedic Meditation, the practice that fundamentally changed my life.

To teach others how to turn inward, to go within their own being's to discover the stillness within, is the greatest honour of my life.

Vedic Meditation is a practice of liberation. It supports us to access the deepest level of our being, reconnecting us with the essence of who and what we truly are.

It causes a steady stabilisation of deeper states of awareness and supports us to find the clarity and peace that lies within all of us.

Having a practice that anchors us into Self every day helps us navigate the demands and challenges of life with greater power, cababilty, and compassion.

It is a practice of being. We are human beings not human doings.

All my current courses are fully booked out but I'll be teaching just one more public course in Dublin and Co. Clare this year and I have just 2 more slots available in 2025 for anyone who wishes to book me for a private course in your home, I travel to peoples homes all throughout Ireland to teach this powerful practice

Any questions, I'm here.

With love, Susan

www.SusanQuirke.com

21/10/2025

With the constant attempts to smear Catherine Connolly’s good name, by God has she shown the bravery, wisdom, and integrity to continue to embody it.

The arrows and daggers come for her daily, but she remains dignified, warm, clear, and true.

And she has had to be fierce to fight the dark arts of the political and media establishment trying to tear her down.

Look, no one is perfect. We are all human, we all have flaws. This isn’t about putting someone on a pedestal of perfection. That is not reality.

This is about having someone hold the role of President on the land of Éire who has wisdom, integrity, a background built over decades of genuinely serving the public, someone who is independent and knows who she is rather than being told what to say, someone who seeks to unite and not divide, someone who speaks our native tongue, someone who shines love through her presence.

Catherine has worked as a cleaner, a nurse’s aide, a clinical psychologist, a teacher, and a barrister. She was elected to Galway City Council and served as Mayor of Galway. She was later elected to Dáil Éireann and became the first woman ever to hold the position of Leas-Cheann Comhairle. The stories I have heard locally on the ground about how she has supported people quietly behind the scenes are beautiful

Pure and fierce she is. I hope she steps into the role.

May the light arts of love win over the dark arts of smear and fear.

Last thing, it was in my meditation this morning that it came to me to search for the meaning of Catherine Connolly’s name. Spontaneous insight can come like that in meditation, one of its many gifts. I’m glad I did.

G'wan Catherine .connollytd We are with you! 🌟

With Love,
Susan

Susan Quirke

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