A special message to Gaisce participants from President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly!
In celebration of everyone who is working towards or has completed their Gaisce Award, President Catherine Connolly has shared a special message to recognise and congratulate your achievement. Completing a Gaisce Award, whether at Bronze, Silver or Gold, is a remarkable accomplishment, and we hope all our Awardees are taking the time to celebrate this milestone and reflect on everything that you have achieved. Maith Thú!
Gaisce Welcomes Oberstown to Ratra House for Gaisce Award Ceremony!
On May 7th, we had the pleasure of welcoming residents of Oberstown Children Detention Campus to Ratra House for their first-ever Gaisce ceremony outside of the Oberstown campus. Across participants, Gaisce was delighted to present Bronze and Silver Awards to young people from Oberstown, with support from members of our Gaisce team, Vincent Teo, representing the Gaisce Council, and management and support workers from Oberstown. It was a wonderful and joyous occasion, with Damien Hernon, Director of Oberstown, congratulating Award recipients for their dedication, resilience, and hard work throughout their Gaisce journey, and speaking of the strong relationship between Gaisce and Oberstown: “The journey of the Awardees today is creating a legacy mindset which will pave the way
Gaisce Summer 2026 PAL E-Zine is here!
We’re delighted to share that Gaisce’s Summer PAL E-Zine is now live! . In this edition of the Gaisce PAL E-Zine, we’ll be saying Maith Thú to participants, whether they’ve reached the finish line or are still taking on their Gaisce journey. . We’ll let you know how we celebrated the launch of the new Gaisce Strategic Plan, share some of the exciting events we held such as our Youth Justice Award Ceremony at the Department of Justice, and hear from our Youth Ambassadors as they continue on their journey of personal development and strengthened their confidence, skills and
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
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
Celebrating our 2024 Gaisce Gold Awardees!
One of the highlights in the Gaisce calendar is our annual Gaisce Gold Award ceremony, with this year’s event taking place on November 21st, 2024. President Michael D. Higgins proudly awarded 73 exceptional young people with their Gaisce Gold Award Medals, The Gold Awardees this year represent 17 counties and collectively completed more than 3,458 hours of volunteering throughout their Gaisce journey. 16 of the 73 awardees came through access and inclusion pathways. Gaisce participants this year mastered many skills, activities and projects, from learning Irish Sign Language and Chinese to hiking some of Ireland’s most challenging peaks, volunteering in
See Your Bees Photography Competition Winners
Lidl Ireland has teamed up with Gaisce - The President's Award to offer bee-spotters an epic chance to win Lidl Ireland vouchers and if you're currently a Gaisce Participant, to win an ADVENTURE JOURNEY for your whole group! SEE YOUR BEES PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION WINNERS National Winner Chloe Winters – Galway – 23 Regional Winners Georgina Brennan-Stynes – Carlow – age 45 Roisin Reilly – Cavan – age 22 Fintan Conway – Clare – age 15 Bridget Bransfield – Cork – age 29 Amy Keating – Galway – age 18 Cecylia Blaszczok – Donegal – age 60 Keely Early –
From Planting Bulbs for Bees to Global Citizenship: Over 75 young people receive Gaisce Gold Award honour for inspirational and outstanding contribution to society GalleryFrom Planting Bulbs for Bees to Global Citizenship: Over 75 young people receive Gaisce Gold Award honour for inspirational and outstanding contribution to society
From Planting Bulbs for Bees to Global Citizenship: Over 75 young people receive Gaisce Gold Award honour for inspirational and outstanding contribution to society
President Higgins presents awards to participants at first in-person ceremony in three years. Over 25,000 hours of personal development and community involvement recognised at awards ceremony. 5th July, 2022: 79 young people from across Ireland have been commended for their outstanding commitment to personal development and contribution to society at the Gaisce Gold Award ceremony today. President Michael D Higgins delivered the Gaisce Gold Award to each recipient at a ceremony which took place at Áras an Uachtaráin – the first Gaisce Gold Award Ceremony to take place in three years. Combined, recipients invested more than 25,000 hours in personal development and voluntary activities to achieve these awards.
The Impact of Gaisce – The President’s Award on young adults in Irish prisons
In April 2022 Silvia Gagliardi and Orlaith Rice at UCD completed an evaluation report on ‘The Impact of Gaisce – The President’s Award on young adults in Irish prisons'. This report provides a qualitative evaluation of ‘Gaisce – The President’s Award’ for young adults in Irish prisons. Building on previous research on Gaisce, this report makes space for a vulnerable and marginalised group to provide their own feedback on the programme they participate in while in custody. Both strengths and limitations in undertaking a positive youth development programme in prison are identified, and recommendations detailed. To download a copy of
