Adventure and Leadership Program: Semester Length, Fall and Spring Cohorts

Irish Gap Year was a great experience for preparing for college and exploring Irish. The staff is very helpful and the program is well planned out to explore various aspects of Irish culture. The various cities we traveled to were enjoyable, yet I wish we had spent more time in Dublin, and that the last few weeks were not packed with trips. I really I enjoyed the surfing and pubs during the weekend, along with all of the Irish cuisine. There were many places to explore that we weren't able to get to but even more than we did explore.

I had a positive overall experience with Irish Gap Year. The town of Bundoran is beautiful and there are many local shops to visit. There was a lot of down time to explore and sometimes I felt I had more time than things to do. We did a myriad of different activities such as surfing, hiking, camping, and farming. Another positive part of the program is that I met many new people, some of which are my new best friends; being part of a group like this has taught me how to work with different types of individuals and how to handle difficult social situations. Overall I enjoyed exploring Ireland and experiencing different adventure activities.

This program was a fun combination of travel, while creating the opportunity to gain familiarity with particular places. Because we lived in Bundoran, and would only take short, two-three night trips to other places, I was able to make tons of friends a connections in the town. I felt like I was able to really integrate into their lifestyle. It was nice to have a sense of home, while also getting to see all of the other Irish highlights. Gallway and Dublin were two of my personal favorites, as they were a great change of pace and we took some awesome tours. My favorite adventure based activity was the hike we took on the cliffs of Moher. Truly phenomenal stuff.

This experience was very influential on the growth of my leadership skills and personal growth. I felt like the staff had a great deal of fun with us which made it better to be around them and trust them. I would recommend this trip to people who are looking to get out of their comfort zone physically as I was pushed to my limit multiple times on the hikes and with the weather. I would say the housing situation was also great based on the house itself, however I would have preferred a better mix of people who were more on top of housekeeping vs people who were comfortable living with lower standards. I learned to become comfortable with living with conflict around me at a lot of times. The actual sites we visited were always beautiful and interesting. I greatly enjoyed the surfing and the beaches we visited and will definitely be taking that knowledge back home to practice more.

Deciding to go on this trip was one of the best decisions of my life. I got everything I wanted and more out of this program. I didn’t think that it would be as much fun as it was. You get to see such beautiful spots in Ireland some that you wouldn’t even think would exist. While I was here on our student led trip we visited the Muckross house and saw some 10,000 year old great Irish elk antlers. I also found some friends that I’ll never forget. If you’re on the edge of going on a gap year jdoit

I loved the program. I love the fact that we were left alone like adults, but at the same time having tons of fun doing all the activities we were given, I loved the surfing, hiking and even the leadership workshops were fun. I think that the leaders did an amazing job and that was one of my favorite parts of the program. There was a nice mix of free time and activities and I really enjoyed that. It is interesting spending a whole 3 months with people you have never met before. I had a ton of fun and I highly recommend this program for people who love the outdoors.

The activities were all loads of fun and there was never a time when I felt bored. My favorite activity was surfing which we got to do plenty of throughout the program. The program leaders were all really fun to hang out with and seemed to really enjoy what they do. This program was a great way to learn and put to use interpersonal skills especially after COVID. I feel much more prepared for college and beyond and I’ve made friends that I plan to keep in touch with long after the program has ended.

Irish Gap Year has been an extremely rewarding experience for me. While the program has pushed me out of my comfort zones (as I’m sure it’s designed to), I have never felt like I was being thrown off the deep end. The program created a safe space where I could push myself more.
For potential gappers in the future, this program will provide you with unique and fulfilling experiences. You will see and do things you probably never thought you’d do.