Program Reviews

I truly could not recommend this gap year program more. I have had an amazing time over the last three months and I am so grateful for my time in Bundoran. Despite the restrictions present due to Covid-19, I cannot thank the Irish Gap Year staff enough for continuing to provide us with an active, fun, and lively environment on a daily basis. I have had so many incredible experiences that I will cherish for years to come. I was continually blown away by the amazing views both right outside my back door as well as through our travels around the country. I found myself so excited every morning to participate in all of the activities planned for the day including surfing, hiking, cliff jumping, rock climbing, kayaking, camping, volunteering, as well as more. Additionally, I am so glad to have had the opportunity to participate in numerous leadership workshops in order to gain important skills that will benefit me in college and beyond as well as learn more about myself as a person and leader. I had a great time living with peers in a beautiful house right on the coast and I am so thankful for all of the meaningful friendships I have formed. Thank you Irish Gap Year for providing a comfortable environment to try new activities, step outside of my comfort zone, and help me learn more about myself and my passions over these past three months - I have had the time of my life!

I had a blast on the Adventure and Leadership Program in the fall of 2020. Even though our trip was affected by COVID, with a two week quarantine and level five restrictions, it was still amazing. Each day I woke up excited for the adventures ahead of me. We did so many outdoor activities, such as surfing, hiking, kayaking, and many more. Throughout the program we did a lot of volunteering: working on a community garden, working at a local farm, picking up trash on the beaches. From sustainability to using power tools, I learned so much during each volunteering experience. The town of Bundoran was a beautiful place to live for three months and I am glad I have had this experience. I would highly recommend this program for anyone looking push their comfort zones and have a ton of fun in the outdoors everyday.

I enjoyed my time in the Irish gap year. Our activities even during lock down were of a wide variety that allowed me to push my comfort levels and try things I would normally not do, like hiking Croagh Patrick. Even though we were not able to go to most of the cities and were mostly restricted to Bundoran the Irish gap year leaders were able to adapt to the conditions and find fun and creative activities that kept us busy. These experiences will stay with me for the rest of my life and will push me to do more things that make me push my boundaries. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is hesitant about college or would like to take a quick break from college.

OThe Adventure and Leadership program that Irish Gap Year runs has been one of the most interesting and worthwhile experiences of my life. We spent most of days surfing, hiking, and exploring the scenic northwest coast of Ireland. I learned so much and met some amazing people. Going into this program I wanted to have an open mind and be open to change due to the ever present COVID-19. Anyone from the US are required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival, but in all honesty, even though it wasn’t the most ideal, I am grateful that I had that time to adjust to a new place and create bonds with people in smaller groups. When we moved into Bundrowes I was so excited!! I was not disappointed either. The rest of group was welcoming and I thought that the way the leaders eased us into the actual program was well thought out. It was helpful that they did not start us off with a intense hike. The rest of the program moved smoothly, at least to me. There were some bumps in the road, like Ireland going into Level 5, however, I think that we made the most of it. We were still able to do a lot. It was a fantastic 3 months and I would highly recommend this gap year program.

I was in the Fall 2020 program, and because of COVID, we definitely didn’t get the full experience. The pubs were closed the whole trip, we ended up having to be in restricted movement for almost a month, and the country went into Level 5 lockdown (we could only go 5km from our house), so we only went on 2 trips. We also couldn’t interact with the community at all, which was disappointing, and we didn’t have a chance to rock climb or zipline.
Despite all of the limits of the program related to safety and laws, I had a blast! We went surfing, kayaking, cliff jumping, hiking, biking, and walking, as well as doing some art (since we couldn’t do parts of our scheduled trip, we got to do jewelry making, acting, videography, and found art workshops), working on a farm, volunteering (picking up trash and planning and building a community park), doing leadership workshops, and learning about soil science, farming, and sustainable living. The group dynamic was wonderful (the adventure group was like a family by the end, and we had a friendly rivalry with the arts group, including a prank war), and Bundrowes House is a very nice place to live. There are always quiet rooms where you can chill out, but there’s always something happening somewhere else. We had some pop-up pub nights in the house because we couldn’t go to real pubs; everybody did party tricks, the staff acted as bartenders, and we had some different themes.
I tried a bunch of stuff for the first time on the trip. Learning to surf, living with people so different from me, and trying alcohol, among other things, taught me so much about myself and what motivates me. I also learned about Irish history and culture, geology, and environmental science. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone interested in having a fun and productive gap year.
I made an Instagram page on which I posted about everything we did, if anyone wants to see more pictures: @ali.on.the.emerald.isle

The Irish gap year program is the best place I could have been given the global covid situation. There were very supportive staff and the activites, though severely restricted due to the pandemic, were made the most of by the staff. We went hiking, surfing, and were still able to visit Galway before Ireland went into lockdown. The program is also structured in a way that fosters a really strong group dynamic. It pushes everyones' comfort zones whether it is with flexability, kayaking or dealing with living with others.

I was apart of the Fall 2020 Adventure group. Halfway through our program Ireland was put into level 5 lockdown restricting our movement to 5k from our house. Even with these tight restrictions for half the program it still managed to be loads of fun and enjoyable. If the pub culture is not enough to bring you too Ireland, then the town of bundoran should. The reason the 5k restrictions never seemed daunting was because of how amazing the area is. Great surfing beaches and amazing hikes are within distance always making the trip fun.

I am sure in a normal year Irish Gap Year would be an amazing and fascinating experience, and before Ireland imposed a lockdown with a restriction of 5km, it was. The trips and hikes we did were amazing and it was overall an outstanding experience. However, after lockdown was imposed some activities created to fill our days were fun, such as pub night, while other activities such as acting and making planters out of plastic bottles could sometimes be uninteresting and tedious. The people at IGY are wonderful and the other gap students are truly amazing.

Ryan, Killian, and the other leaders provided a great experience for my peers and I, despite the downsides of the pandemic, because they encouraged us to adopt a positive attitude. Through this mindset, I believe we all learned a very valuable life lesson that we will carry with us forever. Our day to day lives were filled with lots of art workshops, free time to work on our final exhibition, and fun outdoor activities like cliff diving, surfing, and hiking. I will miss those times I spent in Bundoran! Thank you Irish Gap year!

Taking any type of gap year is a massive leap of faith. But trust me when I say your fears will dissipate when you meet the good-natured and dedicated people who run this program. After three months of exploring the Emerald Isle, I must admit, Bundoran, Ireland is a second home. Our time spent across the Atlantic was filled with wonderful workshops led by local artists, trips to cities, and unreal walks and hikes through the country-side. Accommodations were extremely comfortable and making friends is easier than you can imagine. My advice is to talk to people, the locals, the bartenders hearing their stories can alone make your experience richer. I wouldn't trade my time here for anything in the world and I truly recommend it for any student.