Scouting and Guiding in Ireland began six months after Baden Powell founded the first Scouts' association near the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The first Scouting groups in Ireland were founded in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. These were both established near British Army bases which resulted in Catholic boys not joining these groups. A Catholic Scouting group was set up by Tom Farrell, a curate, in 1927. The first Guiding group was established in Ireland in 1911 in

Harold's Cross Harold's Cross () is an affluent urban village and inner suburb on the south side of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district D6W. The River Poddle runs through it, though largely in an underground culvert, and it holds a major cemetery, Mou ...

, a year after Powell's sister, Agnes Baden-Powell, founded the first

Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

Association. The Scout and Guide movement in Ireland are now served by a number of groups.

Scouting

Scouting Ireland Scouting Ireland ( ga, Gasóga na hÉireann) is one of the largest youth movements on the island of Ireland, a voluntary educational movement for young people with over 45,000 members, including over 11,000 adult volunteers . Of the 750,000 peo ...

, the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

recognized Scouting association of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

. They also operate in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

The Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...

, recognized Scouting association in the United Kingdom operating only in Northern Ireland *

Baden-Powell Scouts' Association The Baden-Powell Scouts' Association (''B-PSA'') is a worldwide youth organisation originating in the United Kingdom, with friendly relationships with similar traditional scouting organisations in various countries. Baden-Powell Scouting focuses ...

, member of the

World Federation of Independent Scouts The World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS) is a non-governmental international Scouting organization with over 7 million members in 151 affiliated Scout organizations in 65 countries. WFIS was formed in Laubach, Germany Germany ...

operating in Northern Ireland

Guiding

* the

Council of Irish Guiding Associations The Council of Irish Guiding Associations ( ga, Comhairle Bantreoraithe na hÉireann) is the national Guiding federation of the Republic of Ireland. Guiding in Ireland started in 1911, and Ireland became a member of the World Association of Girl ...

, member of the

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 152 countries. It was established in 1928 in Parád, Hungary, and has its ...

, a federation consisting of: ** the

Catholic Guides of Ireland The Catholic Guides of Ireland ( ga, Banóglaigh Catoilicí na hÉireann) is one of the two Guiding organisations in the Republic of Ireland. It has members in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Catholic Guides of Ireland began i ...

, an all island association ** the

Irish Girl Guides The Irish Girl Guides ( ga, Treoracha Cailíní na hÉireann) is a Girl Guides organisation in the Republic of Ireland. Together with the Catholic Guides of Ireland, it forms the Council of Irish Guiding Associations. Whereas the Catholic Gui ...

only serving the Republic of Ireland *

Girlguiding Ulster Girlguiding Ulster is one of the nine regions of Girlguiding UK. Its headquarters are at Lorne House, County Down. In 2006, there were approximately 500 units across Northern Ireland. In 1974, the Guides' headquarters in Belfast were burned down. ...

, a branch of

Girlguiding UK Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association, previously named The Girl Guides Association and is the national guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest girl-only youth organisation. Girlguiding is a char ...

operates only in Northern Ireland

References

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