{"id":497659,"date":"2026-06-13T10:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T10:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/497659\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T10:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T10:45:14","slug":"meet-the-irish-college-class-of-summer-2026-students-dont-really-miss-the-phone-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/497659\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Irish college class of summer 2026: \u2018Students don\u2019t really miss the phone\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Hickey (16), from Laois is attending Irish college in Corca Dhuibhne on the Dingle<\/a> peninsula so he can communicate better with his Kerry<\/a> grandfather. <\/p>\n

\u201cI came to Irish college because my grandad loves Irish and is an Irish speaker<\/a>. He is from here originally. I don\u2019t have a lot of Irish so I am here to improve my Irish,\u201d he says, speaking the language fluently. <\/p>\n

Of his experience so far, he says \u201cI like it all,\u201d but adds that a particular highlight is \u201cplaying sport on the beach\u201d. <\/p>\n

Hickey is one of the tens of thousands of students who attend Irish college each summer. Students take classes, lodge with local families, and take part in sports and c\u00e9il\u00eds. A two-week course in the Gaeltacht<\/a> can set a family back some \u20ac1,200, with this fee covering meals, housing, lessons and activities. <\/p>\n

The Irish college system, which is older than the State itself, dates back about 120 years and is increasing in popularity. <\/p>\n

According to the Department of Education, 18,332 students attended official Irish colleges in the Gaeltacht in 2022, rising to 22,753 students in 2024. The number of daily speakers of Irish may be dwindling with each census, but the demand for these immersive language courses keeps growing. What are students and families hoping to get out of a two-week stay in the Gaeltacht? <\/p>\n

Improving spoken language skills is at the top of the agenda for many students.<\/p>\n

Lucy Flynn (17), from Limerick, says she came to Corca Dhuibhne after transition year \u201cbecause we weren\u2019t speaking a lot of Irish in fourth year\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"StudentsStudents in Irish college in Ballyferriter, Dingle Peninsula: R\u00f3is\u00edn N\u00ed Raoghaill, Sophie Gallagher, Lisa Holmes, Ciara Looby, David Hickey, Sophie McMahon and Lucy Flynn. Photo: Nick Bradshaw\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Another student, Lisa Holmes (17), from Dublin, says that the language immersion is helpful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re learning a lot because we are learning Irish in school and then after class we are speaking Irish; either when we do sport or during lunch.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMy bean an t\u00ed [the \u2018woman of the house\u2019 who hosts students] is really nice and a good cook and we have great chats,\u201d says R\u00f3is\u00edn N\u00ed Raoghaill (17), from Kildare. <\/p>\n

There appears to be a consensus among students about the importance of the language. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really important subject because it\u2019s our native language and it\u2019s important to keep it alive. I think my Irish is improving and it\u2019s so nice to learn new phrases and richer Irish,\u201d says Flynn. <\/p>\n

Sophie McMahon (15), also from Limerick, adds: \u201cI think Irish is important. I didn\u2019t go to a Gaelscoil primary school but now I am going to a Gaelchol\u00e1iste and now I think it\u2019s important to keep it [Irish] alive in Ireland.\u201d <\/p>\n

Even though every day is the same structure, each day is different<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Lucy Flynn<\/p>\n

Another appealing aspect of Irish college appears to be the routine it provides. <\/p>\n

The students we speak to are woken in their shared room, where they sleep in bunk beds, at 8am. <\/p>\n

\"StudentsStudents in Irish college in Mhuir\u00edoch, Dingle Peninsula: Ellie N\u00ed Sh\u00e9, Rhian Mac Comhaill, Sadie N\u00ed Anrag\u00e1in and Doireann De Barra, Sadie N\u00ed Anrag\u00e1in and Photograph: Nick Bradshaw\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

It is then something of a race as the teenagers shower, eat breakfast and collect their packed lunches before a bus comes to collect them at 9.30am for their classes, which start at 10am and run till 1pm. <\/p>\n

After the hour for lunch, there\u2019s afternoon sports \u2013 usually on the beach, if the weather permits it, but there are contingency plans; Zumba in the sports hall, kayaking in the rain or a trip to the Dingle aquarium. <\/p>\n

Then it\u2019s back to the house from 5-7pm, where the students squeeze in dinnertime, getting ready for the evening c\u00e9il\u00eds and importantly, a precious hour for phone time during which students can ring their parents and check their social media, before heading off to the sports hall for the dance at 7.30pm until 9.30pm. <\/p>\n

In spite of the limited phone access, the teenagers seem to overwhelmingly enjoy the routine.<\/p>\n

\"StudentsStudents attending Irish college in Ballyferriter, on the Dingle Peninsula. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

\u201cI like the structure of each day, but even though every day is the same structure, each day is different,\u201d says Flynn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are different themes for the c\u00e9il\u00eds and we learn something different in the classes each day.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI love the schedule because we are so busy but also it\u2019s fun. It\u2019s good to meet people from other counties too,\u201d adds Holmes.<\/p>\n

When asked if students miss their parents there is a resounding \u201cno\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are too busy,\u201d says Holmes. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe on the first day [we missed them] but there\u2019s just so much going on you don\u2019t have time to miss them,\u201d says Sophie Gallagher (17), from Dublin. <\/p>\n

But among the younger students, who are in second year of secondary school going into third year in September, there is a bit more hesitancy when asked if they missed their parents. <\/p>\n

My family told me it was great and really fun<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Rhian Mac Comhaill<\/p>\n

Doireann De Barra (14), from Cork, says: \u201cI talk to my parents every day so I am not missing them an awful lot but it\u2019s nice to hear them every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadie N\u00ed Anrag\u00e1in (14), also from Cork, says it\u2019s not so much that they miss home, but perhaps wish that they could bring their parents with them to the Gaeltacht. <\/p>\n

Ellie N\u00ed Sh\u00e9 (14), from Cork, agrees. \u201cI don\u2019t want to leave the Gaeltacht but I want to see my parents.\u201d <\/p>\n

Meet the Irish college class of summer 2026: \u2018Students don\u2019t really miss the phone\u2019 <\/p>\n

While some students might miss their families, a lot of them received encouragement to go from them. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy cousins said that Irish college was loads of fun and I wanted to improve my Irish,\u201d says De Barra. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy family told me it was great and really fun,\u201d says Rhian Mac Comhaill. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I also wanted to make new friends,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\"StudentsStudents gather into groups for team kayaking. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

For the junior cycle group, the biggest highlight is by far the c\u00e9il\u00eds, with themes such as \u201cblack and white\u201d on the first night, \u201cpink\u201d the night before, and this evening\u2019s theme will be \u201cmulticoloured\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the Young Offenders theme and at the end of next week, there will be boys as girls and girls as boys. It\u2019s really nice learning new dances,\u201d says De Barra. <\/p>\n

Aingeal Ph\u00e1id U\u00ed Ghrif\u00edn is peeling potatoes for dinner this evening. It is one of the many tasks the bean an t\u00ed needs to do to make sure her students are fed and looked after. Tonight\u2019s dinner is bangers and mash. <\/p>\n

\u201cA typical day starts at 6.30am,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cI get up and do my workout in the morning before I call the students. Normally I get them up at 8 o\u2019clock. I get them up for breakfast. They have their showers, packed lunch, I get them ready for school. They normally leave around 9.30am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AingealAingeal Ph\u00e1id U\u00ed Ghrif\u00edn: ‘The students don\u2019t really miss the phone because they are kept so busy.’ Photograph: Nick Bradshaw\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

The students, who lodge with U\u00ed Ghrif\u00edn, could range from 13 years of age to adult trainee teachers. <\/p>\n

After they head off for their day\u2019s Irish lessons, she does not see them again until dinner time. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe students don\u2019t really miss the phone because they are kept so busy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I notice the girls tend to miss it a bit more than the boys at first.\u201d<\/p>\n

After dinner and phone time, the students head straight back to the hall for the evening\u2019s c\u00e9il\u00ed, before coming home for a cup of tea and a biscuit before bed. <\/p>\n

I love having that kind of activity in the house; coming and going and the bit of noise around the place<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Aingeal Phaid U\u00ed Ghrif\u00edn<\/p>\n

\u201cI send them off to bed and normally I would have lights out about 11pm at night. Then I would wait for another hour for them to settle, to make sure that they are asleep, so that I can get a night\u2019s sleep. But you never get a good night\u2019s sleep when they are in the house. It\u2019s like having a newborn baby in the house. You\u2019re always listening out.\u201d <\/p>\n

She says that being a bean an t\u00ed is \u201cbasically a 24 hour job\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou are always worried in case one of them might be sick or one of them might need you throughout the night. And it\u2019s a long old day.\u201d <\/p>\n

Despite this, she loves the \u201ccomhluadar\u201d or the \u201ccompanionship\u201d of the students in the house. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love having that kind of activity in the house; coming and going and the bit of noise around the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hard work. There\u2019s no job that\u2019s easy about it but it\u2019s a rewarding job. Especially when you get students back after being here a few years and they will come visit and say: \u2018Oh my God, I had such a good time when I stayed with you\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"SeánSe\u00e1n C\u00e9itinn says Irish college is ‘almost a rite of passage for the kids’. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n C\u00e9itinn teaches in Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in Dingle as well as at Col\u00e1ist\u00ed Chorca Dhuibhne during the summer months. He is from Cork originally, but speaks Irish with a strong west Kerry cain\u00faint, or dialect. He says that the advantages of sending your child to Irish college are not just academic, but personal. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost a rite of passage for the kids,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an emphasis on the language but there\u2019s also an emphasis on personal growth. We have a points system here where we run a competition among students from all the different houses, and the house with the most points gets a party at the end of the college.\u201d<\/p>\n

However the duaiseanna, or prizes, are not only awarded for speaking Irish, \u201cbut also if you\u2019re cleaning up or if you\u2019re nice with a person\u201d. <\/p>\n

Among the prizes are Ceolt\u00f3ir an Ch\u00farsa (best musician), Rinceoir an Ch\u00farsa (best dancer) and Scol\u00e1ire is m\u00f3 feabhais (most improved student). <\/p>\n

\u201cWe also have an award for the best student of the course, it doesn\u2019t go to the best Gaeilgeoir but the best person. We are very strict on that \u2013 if people are rotten to each other there\u2019s a penalty because it\u2019s about personal development as well,” says C\u00e9itinn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you come here, you do a lot of work on yourself. If you come here and do well, it stands to you in the future. It\u2019s a brilliant thing to be able to say you will have memories for life from the fortnight you spent in the Gaeltacht.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"GovernmentGovernment figures show 22,753 students attended Irish college in 2024. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Some Gaeltacht teachers like to put a strong emphasis on studying for state examinations but C\u00e9itinn likes to place an emphasis on written and spoken Irish. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also important to see Irish as a language instead of a subject because they are inside in classes doing reading comprehensions, but here it\u2019s used as a language. They see the teachers, the mn\u00e1 t\u00ed (women of the houses), people in the shop, people all over speaking and enjoying Irish as a living language. It\u2019s very important to encourage Irish, to advance Irish and to grow Irish.\u201d <\/p>\n

Nathanna cainte is fearr \u2013 Favourite phrases: <\/p>\n

\u201cI loved the phrase: \u2018Bainnean ciall leis.\u2019 It makes sense. It\u2019s really useful in sentences.\u201d \u2013 Lisa Holmes (17), Dublin<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the seanfhocal (proverb) \u2018marbh le tae, marbh gan \u00e9\u2019 which means dead with tea and dead without tea. My bean an t\u00ed says it every night to me.\u201d \u2013 R\u00f3is\u00edn N\u00ed Raoghaill (17), Kildare<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Sin rud n\u00e1 feadar\u2019 \u2013 I don\u2019t know, that\u2019s very useful for the oral exam and in general conversation.\u201d \u2013 Sophie Gallagher (17), Dublin <\/p>\n

\u201cI learned the phrase \u2018T\u00edr gan teanga, t\u00edr gan anam\u2019 [a country without a language is a country without a soul]. I like this seanfhocal because I think it will be useful in essays and for the Leaving Cert.\u201d \u2013 Ciara Looby (17), Dublin<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the phrase \u2018ag deanamh iarrachta\u2019 \u2013 making an effort. I don\u2019t know why. It\u2019s useful.\u201d \u2013 David Hickey (16), Laois<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned a new phrase for football which is \u2018caid\u2019. I had never knew that there was another name for Gaelic football.\u201d \u2013 Ellie N\u00ed Sh\u00e9 (14), Cork<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Caid\u2019 was a new one for me as well. In Cork we say \u2018peil ghaelach\u2019.\u201d \u2013 Rhian Mac Comhaill (14), Cork<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned the phrase \u2018giobal\u2019 which is an old clothes rag that you use for cleaning.\u201d \u2013 Doireann De Barra (14), Cork<\/p>\n

\u201cI am learning the difference between the Irish in Kerry and Cork. Like they say \u2018bh\u00edos\u2019 here instead of \u2018bh\u00ed m\u00e9\u2019.\u201d- Sadie N\u00ed Anrag\u00e1in (14), Cork<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David Hickey (16), from Laois is attending Irish college in Corca Dhuibhne on the Dingle peninsula so he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6466,16088,15339,61,60,34095,7727,43,976],"class_list":["post-497659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-department-of-education","tag-dingle","tag-gaeltacht","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-language","tag-kerry","tag-news","tag-weekendreview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}