Register Now! Roots and Shoots: A Student Volunteering Conference
The Roots and Shoots: Student Volunteering Conference will take place this Friday, 20 March, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Dora Allman Room at University College Cork (UCC) and online from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm The in-person event will be capped at 50 people, but don’t worry! The second half of the conference will be livestreamed, ensuring that students and supporters of volunteering from anywhere in the world can join and connect. This conference celebrates student leadership, bold ideas, and the transformative partnerships that empower campuses to shape a fairer, more sustainable world.
Gaisce Spring 2026 PAL & Participant’s E-Zines are here!
We’re delighted to share that Gaisce’s Spring Participant and PAL Ezines are now live! As 2026 gets underway, both editions are packed with fresh updates, inspiring stories, and essential information to support every step of the Gaisce journey, whether you’re a Participant setting new goals for the year ahead or a PAL guiding and empowering young people in your community. The Spring Participant Ezine encourages readers to refocus and reconnect with their Award journey, offering challenge area ideas, upcoming events, and opportunities like the Gold Portfolio supports and the new Silver Adventure Journey experience. Meanwhile, this season’s PAL Ezine
Join Our Team – Content Creator
Join Our Team! We’re hiring for a Content Creator to join the communications team at Gaisce – The President’s Award! The Content Creator role is central to bringing our impact to life online and offline and connecting with Gaisce stakeholders. This role ensures our content and digital presence is creative, authentic, and engaging- telling the stories are relevant to both youth and adult stakeholders. The role requires specialist and independent decision-making in relation to content creation, optimisation, and platform use bringing technical, analytical, and creative thinking. If you’re interested in applying for this exciting opportunity, check it out here:
Roots and Shoots: Gaisce Gold Residential – Weekend 2
The second and final weekend of the Roots and Shoots: Gaisce Gold Residential in partnership with Student Volunteer Ireland and supported by Irish Aid took place in Connemara, Galway, from 16th to 18th January 2026. We welcomed back 16 fantastic young people to participate in workshops and hear from some incredible guest speakers, all focused on sustainable development goals (SDGs). One standout moment of the weekend was the participants’ project presentations, where they mapped the Sustainable Development Goals within their own communities. This exercise highlighted the wide range of organisations, initiatives and spaces already working towards positive social, environmental and economic change across Ireland. Advocacy and global citizenship were central themes of the weekend. emphasised in an
President Catherine Connolly Celebrates Remarkable Achievements of Ireland’s Young People at Gaisce Gold Award Ceremony
President Catherine Connolly will today present 50 young people with the Gaisce Gold Award at a ceremony in Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA Venues), Royal Hospital Kilmainham. This year’s celebration is especially significant, marking both the 40th anniversary of Gaisce and President Connolly’s first time hosting the prestigious Gaisce Gold Award ceremony. The Gaisce Gold Award ceremony celebrates the remarkable personal development and community impact demonstrated by these young people, who have completed the highest level of the President’s Award. Today’s Awardees join a four-decade legacy of participants who have shaped and strengthened communities across Ireland through
Roots and Shoots: Gaisce Gold Residential – Weekend 1 at Ratra House, Phoenix Park
The first weekend of the two-week Roots and Shoots: Gaisce Gold Residential kicked off at Gaisce HQ in Ratra House, Phoenix Park, from 9th – 11th January 2026. Sixteen young people from all over Ireland joined us from across Ireland, including Meath, Roscommon, Offaly, Dublin, and Westmeath. This group of young people brought an infectious energy and set the tone for an unforgettable weekend. The Gold Residential is often a highlight of the Gold Award journey for Gaisce Participants. It’s an opportunity to step out of your comfort zone, meet new people and take on new challenges during a
A Focal A Day in May: Learn New Irish Words and Phrases
Would you like to challenge yourself to have an extra cúpla focal by the end of May? Yes? Then why not take on the Focal A Day challenge for ‘Be The Arrow’ - simply sign up for free and you’re included! We have teamed up with Áine Ní Gallachóir from Dublin who is a passionate advocate for the Irish language and one of the most creative cultural voices of her generation. A Gaisce Gold Award recipient, Áine is a Be The Arrow champion and will teach the nation ‘Focal A Day’ during May. Aine says, “Every day in May, I
Gaisce Award now available to 2nd Year Secondary School Students!
Do Gaisce in 2nd Year! Gaisce -The President’s Award is now firmly recognised as an integral part of senior cycle education. What may be lesser known is that Gaisce is now available to students in their second year of post primary. The rationale behind introducing Gaisce to younger students is that second year is widely acknowledged as a flash point when some young people disengage from formal education and extra-curricular activities. Enabling younger students to develop in the areas of self-motivation, resilience, and target setting, which the Gaisce programme does, cultivates personal growth and maturity and compliments wellbeing in
