Foróige is an Irish organisation whose purpose is "to enable young people to involve themselves consciously and actively in their development and in the development of society". Macra na Tuaithe, the youth branch of Macra na Feirme, was formed on . In 1981, the organisation changed its name to ''Foróige'', derived from ''forbairt na hóige'', which means "development of youth".

History

The first club

The first club was formed in the town of

Mooncoin Mooncoin () is a census town in County Kilkenny, in Ireland. The population was 1,175 in 2016. Historically part of the Gaelic kingdom of Osraige, today it is in the far south of the county of Kilkenny, located in the valley of the River Suir ...

, Co. Kilkenny on where the local school held a youth club for the schoolchildren. As this was a success, another 12 pilot clubs came together and in 1953, Macra na Tuaithe was created.

Funding and grants

In 1958, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in America secured a £30,000 grant to help fund an expansion of Macra na Tuaithe activities. In 1963, the organisation received its first funding from the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Expansion and name change

In 1971, Macra na Tuaithe began its expansion into urban areas with the opening of a permanent headquarters in Dublin, and developed the decision to build more Foróige clubs in urban areas. The first national conference for the organisation's volunteers took place in

Termonfeckin Termonfeckin or Termonfechin () is a small village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is within the parish of the same name, and lies north-east of Drogheda. The population of the village tripled in the 20 years between the 1996 and 201 ...

, County Louth and this still continues today. In 1981, Marca na Tuaithe was renamed ''Foróige'' and the result of this change was to facilitate further expansion into growing urban areas.

Change of governance

In 2015, Foróige changed its governance from an association into a company limited by guarantee. This change enhanced the role the volunteers play in the organisation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foroige Youth organisations based in the Republic of Ireland Non-profit organisations based in Ireland Organizations established in 1952 1952 establishments in Ireland