Coláiste

Coláiste Uí Chomhraidhe successfully operated as an Irish summer residential college for over 100 years from 1912 until its closure in 2017. It has declined over several years from approximately 2010 onwards in terms of its physical infrastructure and services, coupled with significant pressures for increased modern fire and safety standards, lead to a reduction in student numbers and to its eventual closure.

In 2020 a new board of directors of the college understood the need to look at a wider remit for the college, outside its sole function as an Irish language facility, to ensure a future that was both viable and sustainable. The landscape has changed for this type of Language College and simply re-creating the same operational model with a similar offer has little chance of survival in today’s competitive market. Expectations are different now from what was experienced in the previous century and summer language colleges need to go through the necessary transformations. This has been recognised and is fully reflected in this feasibility study.

In 2021 the board of Coláiste Uí Chomhraidhe in Carrigaholt agreed to undertake a detailed body of work that would make an honest assessment of the building condition, its history and importance to the local community, and examine any potential future uses and opportunities that would deliver a sustainable long term future.

The feasibility study undertaken throughout 2022 with a very robust community engagement process that included a number of forums for different sectoral interests in the village and also the wider Loop Head Peninsula communities. It involved examining and shortlisting a number of different business options, and creating a full business case for the preferred future operational model of the Colaiste as a multipurpose residential training facility at the campus just outside the village.

This work was completed and is available in the report on this page