Celtic Catalyst: Skills, Cultural Immersion, live like a local!

What is your favorite travel memory?

After finishing college my best friend and I went on a global surf trip, starting in Bali then onto Australia, California, Mexico and Belize. To experience so many cultures and make so many friends (I'm now 44 years old and still friends with them!) the memories are too numerous to count. I loved every second of it.

If I had to choose a favourite it must be when we bought a 1970's VW campervan and travelled the entire East coast of Australia, stopping to surf and sleep where we pleased, meeting travellers from across the world and experience a true sense of freedom.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

I founded Europe Gap Year because it brought together everything I love in life; travelling, working and teaching young people and helping them reach their potential. It has allowed me to show off my homeland of Northern Ireland, its stunning coastlines, countryside, history, myths and legends but most of all its people. My adopted home of Scotland, where I went to college and met my wife is another key element of my programs.

Europe Gap Year has allowed me to develop programs for my students that are personal to me, I involve the friends I have made over the last 25 years who live across Europe and have welcomed me and my students into their lives.

It has allowed me to grow as an individual, I am so inspired by my students, our partners, my team and the people of every country we work with.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

I think my favourite story is from a student who came from Oregon for an Internship with us. He was really nervous about arriving in Ireland by himself, having never met an Irish person. Now his parents want to come and visit to meet all the friends he made! 'the best part of it all was the people, the friendliest happiest people I have ever met'. I loved this, he became a part of the community so quickly, that's what it's all about.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I would pick the Internship. It is just so jam-packed with experiences and learning opportunities. I have been running Internship programs for over 10 years and have made sure this program delivers the highest quality learning experience possible. In addition, the students get to travel across Ireland and Scotland meeting some of my favourite people in the world and have lots of free time to explore with their friends- they even sleep in a Scottish Castle, does it get any better?!

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

I think it is the personal aspect to everything we do and the fact the programs are developed around contacts and friends I have made over 25 years. My friend Quentin, who I lived with in college in Scotland, and his family introducing us to their hometown of Goult in Provence for example. They have allowed me to make connections for programs that would have been impossible otherwise. Or Viscount Kelburn who has invited us to stay in his Scottish castle. Or Fergal Smith, who gave up the life of a professional surfer to open his own farm in South West Ireland. My programs are not plucked from the air, I have personally designed them around the people and places I love and I want to share them with my students.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I believe the biggest factor in a company's success comes down to being authentic, honest, and transparent. Think about it like taking a gap year – it's a huge, life-changing decision, and you'd want to do it with people who truly understand and respect how important that choice is.

In the same way, a successful company needs to be real with its customers and employees. When a company is authentic, it sticks to its values and doesn’t try to be something it's not. Honesty helps build trust, which is essential for any long-lasting relationship, whether it’s with customers or team members. And transparency is key because people appreciate knowing what’s going on behind the scenes—it makes them feel involved and respected.

When a company operates this way, it’s more likely to build strong, lasting connections, grow sustainably, and weather any challenges that come its way.