We are Liam and Niamh Colfer and our children are Ellen and Alex. We are from the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford in Ireland sunny South East. In 2018, we decided to go on an adventure and so we packed in our jobs and packed our belongings into our campervan and we hit the ferry to France to explore Europe. It was then we set up our blog and livin’ off the Hook became our brand. We were livin’ off the Hook not just physically living off the Hook Peninsula but also living an alternative holistic lifestyle while home-schooling the children. We left with the intention of learning about the world, meeting new people and also to find a little piece of land where we could settle and start our own retreat business however due to the pandemic we decided to come back after two years on the road. We came back to the Hook only to discover our perfect location was on our doorstep all along. Just a few kilometres from our home we found an old garden center which we never knew was there and passing by you still wouldn’t know it was here and so became… The Secret Garden.
Now we’re back, living on the Hook and starting from scratch building up our business on the Hook Peninsula while still home-schooling Ellen and Alex. Ellen and Alex have forged a new hobby in gardening and have been managing our polytunel growing all kinds of herbs and vegetables. We are very passionate about nature, outdoor living, health and well-being and we are learning as we go in our new surroundings. At the Secret Garden, we have built a state of the art geodesic dome where we offer a variety of group and private classes including personal training, yoga, breath coaching and strength and mobility training, hiit classes as well some exciting events and workshops.
I’m a qualified personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach and certified yoga alliance professionals yoga teacher RYT-500. I have worked from our own gym studio on the Hook where I worked with clients in one to one and in semi private groups of up to three people for several years before we went travelling and now I’m back working from our geodesic dome studio just outside Fethard-on-Sea. With a focus on alignment and mobility I use a variety of training styles including yoga, gymnastics, mobility development, myo-fascial release techniques, breath-work, weight lifting and body weight training. My interest in movement naturally led me towards training to become a yoga teacher. I have taught yoga at various locations around Europe over the passed three years including one of the most beautiful yoga retreat centers in the world Suryalila Retreat Center where I trained and qualified as a yoga alliance international teacher E-RYT 200 in the Frog Lotus school of yoga and through Durga Yoga Ireland to gain my advanced teacher training certification RYT 500. I teach Vinyasa Flow, Yin & Restorative yoga. With a passion for movement and spirituality I love combining elements of Celtic mythology and eastern philosophy. I bring an authentic, non-judgmental teaching style with a compassion-centered approach. In my yoga classes, I love to combine creative sequencing, a spirit of playfulness and a dose of inspiration to help you deepen your yoga practice and to keep you coming back to your mat.
Liam grew up here on the Hook and spent most of his life building boats and houses as well as maintaining helicopters and lighthouses both in Ireland, throughout Europe and Australia. He has always been passionate about sustainability and working with the Earth’s natural cycles and combines all the knowledge and inspiration that he has picked up from the places he has traveled to and from the unique and wonderful projects he has worked on in Ireland and in Spain gaining a wealth of knowledge from his studies in medieval architecture and from his years of travelling, living off grid and studying ancient builds and learning new techniques. He has been studying breath work for the past seven years and is a yoga alliance certified breath coach. Realising the power of the breath he teaches conscious breath work here on the Hook and online. His teaching style is in the Irish tradition, passing on knowledge through music, stories and a bit of craic. He brings his creative energy into every class and inspires others to take the plunge. As well as building projects and breath coaching, Liam is a qualified regional tour guide of Ireland and takes small groups on hiking tours around the Hook, Fethard and Tintern.
