Connecting at #CongRegation – Lisa Riemers | Content and communications consultant

In November I went to hang out with ~97 complete strangers, 1 comms pro who’d told me about it, 1 client I’d not yet met in person, and 1 person who pulled together an incredible unconference, #CongRegation, in the village of Cong in the West of Ireland. I came home feeling remarkably restored, and it’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts on it.

Down a back street in an Irish village, following a man wearing a tweed jacket. The houses look small and old. It's overcast. — Not reflective of the weekend, but perhaps what I was expecting when I heard of Cong

The logistics:

How I heard about #CongRegation

Early November, I met Padraig McKeon at Turbocharge and we talked, amongst other things, about CongRegation. If I recall correctly, he described it as an unconference where you spend the weekend talking to others and sharing stories, then go to the pub to continue the conversation? I was hooked immediately on the idea.

It transpired that the degrees of Irish separation appear to hit differently too; Padraig knows Dermot who I’ve been working with remotely this year. As we chatted, it turned out that they’re also both regular attendees at Congregation! I spoke to Dermot a few days later, who was also kind enough to give me a bit of a run-down of a bit more detail of what to expect.

Later I submitted my blog post on the subject of chaos, a subject dear to my heart. Eoin confirmed I had a spot so I made my travel arrangements and was good to go!

How I got there

On Friday 28th November, I flew from Stansted to Knock (aka confusingly advertised as the West of Ireland airport on the screens at the airport), picked up my hire car from the airport, and drove to the outskirts of Cong. I was staying in a lovely B&B, Ballnamona House that was an 8 minute drive, or 1 hour’s walk, into the centre. After my Ryanair flight was inevitably delayed, Joan kindly made sure I got to Ashford Castle on time for the first part of the event.

I then made use of taxis to get to and from the village as I didn’t much fancy the stomp, particularly as I’d once again injured my toe, although not as badly as the last time I flew with a broken foot.

What I saw at #CongRegation

A night at Ashford Castle

I love getting to explore new places, and Ashford Castle might be the fanciest hotel I’ve ever had the privilege of visiting. It’s been renovated to a really high standard (and is apparently where Rory McIlroy got married).

Beautiful enormous Christmas tree bedecked with white lights and tasteful decorations. It's in a big room in an old castle and it is as high as the first floor / gallery view — Enormous beautiful Christmas tree that scales two floors past the gallery / mezzanine

I walked in past the massive Christmas tree to a drinks reception in the Billiard Room, with a full size table taking a large proportion of the space.

Hand lettered wooden old-timey looking sign with cinema, billiards and rest rooms — Cinema, billiards or rest rooms? What a decision

We made our way up to the beautifully appointed cinema, helped ourselves to popcorn, and settled in to hear from 4 speakers about chaos, after a glorious introduction from Eoin.

Man standing on a stage in a vintage cinema setting. There's a popcorn machine at the back and people sitting in the audience — Eoin on stage in the cinema at Ashford Castle

The first speaker was William O’Connor, a neuroscientist who explained, amongst other things, the concept of neuroplasticity which finally clicked, as it’s something I’ve been learning about over the last few years.

William O’Connor on stage with some suggested reading

I first heard of the concept of neuroplasticity when I went to hear Ruby Wax talking about mental health as part of her shows related to her books Sane New World and Frazzled.

Not the show I saw, but a pretty good representation of some of what Ruby covered

I also got reminded of musician John Callaghan’s brilliant track Let the Paths Grow Over; a song I’ve heard many times over the years, but it only properly clicked for me when we went to see his excellent gig at the Comedy Museum a few months ago.

John Callaghan’s song Let The Paths Grow Over, which touches on neuroplasticity

The second speaker, Roisin O’Connor talked about chaos, determinism and the illusion of disorder from a mathematical perspective.

A young woman on stage in front of a slide that looks like multiple neon paths tracing a wonky infinity loop — Roisin on stage standing in front of a slide that looks a bit like an infinity loop

The third speaker Billie “Bee” Byran, aka Caymandrogyne brought witchcraft to the stage, talking about chaos magic, and how we can harness our powers to bring method to the madness of life.

A woman standing on a stage, dressed in black, wearing abundant silver jewellery, in front of a slide that gives a definition of magic being "the art and science of causing change in consciousness at will" by Dion Fortune — Bee Byran on stage talking about chaos magic

The last speaker of the night was a musician Shane Wearen, sharing stories on musical chaos.

Amongst other things, Shane covered some really cool ways to make sounds, like this electronic chess board that triggered tones, that also made me think of John Callaghan, too.

Before we left the castle, Dermot kindly obliged me with a selfie for our first in-person meeting by that massive Christmas tree.

It looks like we’ve both been photoshopped into this but it gives a sense of scale!

Onwards to the pub

We headed into the village off to Danaghers, the pub which I was to become quite well acquainted with over the weekend.

Irish pub and hotel lit by Christmas Lights. — Danaghers Hotel, lit up with Christmas lights

I started off with a pint of Guinness.

As promised, the conversations, like the beer, flowed well into the night. I also tried Smithwicks Irish Ale too. I got my taxi home well after midnight, and slept like a log.

The actual unconference bit

On Saturday morning we convened in Cong for the CongRegation to properly begin. Around 100 people descended upon a hotel to gather their thoughts – and their lanyards – ahead of a fabulous welcome from Eoin.

A smiling man stands on stage waving his hands in a welcoming manner — Eoin gave a brilliant welcoming speech explaining the format of the day

Everyone was given a number sticker, and a lanyard that was a bit like a bingo card, so you can work out where you’re going to be throughout the day. With 4 timeslots and 8 venues, we were divided into groups, set up in a way we’d have a different gang each time. A marvel for someone who came alone, as you’re thrown in with different faces, and a clear place to be.

The bingo-card-style lanyard which told you where you need to be

As was pointed out by a few, the cords either weren’t quite long enough this year or the print not quite large and clear enough to be easily read by all (definitely not a victim of the success of the event over the years meaning eyes are ageing). Taking a photo and zooming in was one way folks who’d neglected to bring reading glasses were using assistive tech.

CongRegating…

The first session was in the back room of a brilliant historic bookshop (which is sadly due to close in January). This was probably my favourite session of the day; we spoke about different aspects of chaos from geopolitical to staying sane and connected as adults to misinformation and connecting with young people and lots of things in between. A really broad range of folks with different backgrounds from dairy farming to digital to working with young people in a social setting.

Sitting in the back room of a historic book shop

Moving between venues

Throughout the rest of the day the conversation flowed. Split across venues around the village, we were lucky with the weather and it was a lovely way to support local venues and get to really know the area. Every session was different, and perhaps slightly influenced by the surroundings, too.

Cong is a remarkable destination. The event has a remarkable feeling to it. The perfect blend of facilitation and serendipity to make some really wonderful connections. What an absolute treat to be able to spend the weekend hanging out with the sort of folks who want to spend the weekend hanging out with people and chatting. Ostensibly around a topic, which this year was chaos, but I suspect many would be equally happy talking about order.

Bearded man wearing a beanie hat on a hazy morning — Stopped to have a chat with this photographer chap who was making a brew in his car boot

The evening bit

We went off in groups to get our dinner, and reconvened back in Danaghers for some evening activities. I *loved* spending some time in the pub, sketching with charcoal…

A group of people sitting around a table sketching. There's a drawing on the table of a woman with curly hair and a glass of wine — Sitting in the pub, sketching, with a pint, 3 of my favourite things

Man holding a sketch of him that isn't entirely unlike him — Andrew holding my sketch of him

A sketch of 3 men standing in an Irish pub, held up in view of the subjects — Capturing Eoin continuing the conversation

Later in the evening we moved next door for a lovely open mic session. We had musicians, poetry and more. And I surprised myself by recalling the poem “The Chaos” by Gerard Nolst Trenité. I remembered it being on the wall at school and loving it as a teenager, and found it on my phone to read out in front of everyone. No mean feat at the best of times, let alone when you’ve had a few Guinness, but I think I did okay!

Open Mic Night, where I later also surprised myself by taking the mic!

The morning after

Again we were incredibly lucky with the morning weather. I woke to a glorious sunrise.

Sunrise over a field, with a farmhouse and road in view and a few sheep — Sunrise over a field by the B&B where I stayed.

Sunday morning found a few of us congregating at the old abbey.

Aine and Shane at the abbey, before we found The Others.

We were randomly paired up and set a challenge from Inga Turcan to think about and discuss with our partners, while we went for a walk into the woods.

A group of people gathering in the car park by the ruins, being briefed by Inga

We walked through the grounds of the abbey, across a bridge, and through this amazing arch which depicts the last High King of Ireland Rory O Conor [Ruaidr Ua Conchobair]. Apparently, when it was carved, the sculptor basically made him in his own likeness, but with a beard.

Stone arch with a carving of a bearded king, through the archway you can see three people walking in the distance — The last (and original) King, Cong

A close up pic of some remarkable moss on a tree

By the end of the weekend I was tired, but in the best way. A weekend of exploring, connecting, chatting, drinking, sketching, walking and just, well, being. I felt incredibly restored and am 100% down for any future CongRegations should they continue to occur. Thank you to Padraig, Eoin, Dermot and everyone for a brilliant weekend.

If that’s not detailed enough, check out my full photo album from the weekend including some videos in and around Congregation.