Program Reviews

This program was a lot more chill than the program I did the first semester through Pacific Discovery which I appreciated. The amount of freedom we had was good. One thing that was a little annoying was that the town center is a mile away and we had no access to bikes. The leaders were good. The communication could have been a little better between the leaders and the group. Bundoran is a nice town but very small, so visiting cities like Belfast and Dublin is great. The staff are obsessed with surfing and we got to go surfing several times which was fun.

Quite honestly, I was extremely satisfied with IGY’s A&L program. I don’t know what else I could have asked for from my three months but I know I will come away from this program a more confident, happy, and adventurous person. The Irish Gap Year staff are all absolutely PHENOMENAL. Especially my individual group leaders (shout out Niall and Ryan) felt more like mentors or big brothers rather than someone paid to take care of you. They were both incredibly friendly and always wanted the best for you. The housing was truly home sweet home and I will be incredibly sad to move out of ❤️Portbeg❤️ in a few days. The location of the town is also a highlight of this program. I absolutely loved Bundoran and I think it’s a truly rare opportunity to be able to spend 3 months in the countryside of Ireland. This program is absolutely amazing for cultural immersion and I feel like I truly lived in Ireland. You get to know some of the locals and where all the best spots are in town really quickly and besides the fact that the houses are a little far away from town, the walk there is always beautiful with an option to walk along the costal cliffs. The program runs where you split your time between Bundoran and exploring cities and towns. The overnight trips are all awesome and have a good mix of tours and structured activities and free time.

In terms of things you did, I loved the variety of activities that the staff planned for us and although whether or not you loved something depended on the person, I think they planned a good mix of things so that everyone was happy. I was personally very happy with the surfing, and town exploration parts! If you go on this program make your leaders take you back to ulster folk park>>>

Overall, I came into this program with high hopes and was not disappointed. Everyone at IGY really wants the best for you and I think I grew a lot physically and mentally in this program. I even got covid in the early weeks of the program and their accommodation of that was spectacular. They brought me food everyday and set me up in an apartment where they would check in on me from a distance and make sure I wasn’t going stir crazy. Truly exceeded all my expectations. I would recommend this program for anyone looking to learn about Irish history and culture and have an amazing time living with other gappers in the countryside. I’ll be very sad to leave but I know I’ll be back sometime!

I was a part of the Adventure and Leadership Program in the spring of 2022. I had a great time on the program and had a positive experience with Irish Gap Year. I would say that the best part of this program was the cultural immersion. Living in a small town really gave you a sense of the community in rural Ireland. Bundoran was also incredibly beautiful and you always had close access to beautiful hikes and great outdoor activities. My personal favorite part of the program was the trips to cities. We were given enough independence to have fun and explore the city by ourselves while also having set out activities. The independent housing style was also great. It definitely is not without trials living in a house with 7 strangers and no adults, but it become a space where we could all come together and hang out. The independence that they gave us was definitely a draw for me to join the program. Our leaders were supportive yet understanding that we were young adults who were free to make their own decisions. For young people looking to take a gap year abroad that focuses on travel and adventure, I would definitely recommend this program.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go on the IGY adventure and leadership program. It was the perfect blend of independence while still feeling safe and cared for in a foreign country. Bundoran and Ireland in general was a great location to spend 3 months learning about yourself, appreciating nature, creating friendships, and getting to travel. I really appreciated how all the staff, no matter what job position they were in, were always there for you and were all really fun and easy to get along with. We got to do so many fun activities and had a lot of input into our schedule which was great. Some of our favorite activities were surfing, hiking, community service with Liquid Therapy, going out in town, and rock climbing. The housing was good because we were separated into 2 separate houses, 7 of us in each, so we were sometimes all together but also could spend some time alone when we needed to. We hung out in both the houses every day and ate our meals together. After long days out it was so nice to come home to a hot meal prepared for us. The food was pretty good and also they bought us whatever groceries we wanted, so we were always well fed. Overall, coming on IGY is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am leaving with so many life long friends, a fondness and increased knowledge for a new country, a greater understanding of myself, and have had such a peaceful and fun time before I head off to college.

The opportunities given to immerse yourself in the culture of Ireland and travel to not only big cities but small scenic towns made IGY a worthwhile experience. Group Leaders do their best to ensure a positive time in Ireland and surfing with Liquid Therapy was a highlight of the 3 month long trip. The opportunity to plan a student lead trip to Dublin highlighted the leadership aspect plus you’re provided dinner almost every night. Hiking and camping is a big part of your time on IGY and I definitely enjoyed all of it. Most importantly Nial=🐐

Good balance of workshops and travel, the only major issue was that the latter always seemed to be interrupting the former a bit. Workshop instructors were wonderful local artists who were very insightful and a joy to be taught by. I really felt like they helped me grow as an artist a great deal throughout the program. Group leaders were great as well, and were generally easy to talk to. Students were given a generous amount of free time to explore, both in Bundoran and in the places we visited, which was nice. There were still plenty of organized tours and events, which were absolutely fascinating, I just appreciate that they were appropriately balanced with time to explore locations ourselves, because if they hadn’t been it would’ve been kind of stifling. The exhibition at the end provided a really good end goal to work towards, and ended up being really fun on it’s on merits.

It’s a lot of fun to be in. The staff were really nice to work with. I learned a lot of art skills. The instructors were great. Ireland is a beautiful place to travel in and all together the trips were well planned. We went to Dublin and toured the Guinness factory as well as a historically important prison. We went to Belfast and got a street art tour as well as a black taxi tour. We went to Galway and go to learn about local history and see to the Aran islands. We went to Doolin and saw the cliffs of Moher.

Irish Gap Year was a great experience for me. Ireland's scenery is breathtaking in all types of weather and the staff are very friendly. The program is well made with trips to most of the major spots in the country and some of the smaller places for fun activities. The programs good for people of all experiences with art, tutors are friendly and experienced. Well balanced program between giving students freedom and being strict. Sometimes staff are a little dramatic. The main setting for the program is perfect for getting students used to living on their own, letting students walk into town and, for the most part, take care of their own living quarters.
(Phil's a legend)
Highly recomend Irelands grass for its softness, perfect for naps or picnics on good days by the cliff walk. Also recomend bringing electronics and leaving plenty of space on your phone for downloading and photos.

Accommodations: Stayed in Portbeg Holiday Homes with half in one house and half in the other. Very clean, housekeeping comes once a week. We had a fridge, dishwasher, microwave, washer and dryer. We have the option of having our laundry done for us.

Food: Five days a week dinner is made for us, the quality is acceptable. Groceries are bought for us.

Staff: A nice, supportive group of people. Very helpful and available when we need them.

Trips: Got to see Dublin, Belfast, Galway, Doolin, Derry, and Dingle. Good balance between planned activities and free time to explore. Stayed in upscale hostels.

Workshops: Art workshops were lots of fun, our instructors were very nice and helpful. Tried plenty of new mediums, though I wish we had been given more Focus Workshops to work on what we wanted in preparation for our expo.

Doing this program was a very last minute decision for me, but I am so glad that I decided to come to Ireland! We explored so many different counties within Ireland and to be able to live in Bundoran was an amazing experience. Bundoran is a quaint town and we live within walking distance from downtown which is really nice. I got along great with my housemates, the rest of the arts group, and also the adventure group. I was a bit worried about doing an arts program having never really done art before, but with the help of the tutors I learned to create art that I was really proud of!