An Óige (; meaning "Youth"), or the Irish Youth Hostel Association (IYHA), is a non-profit organisation providing

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

accommodation across

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. An Óige is a member of

Hostelling International Hostelling International (HI) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation working with UNESCO and the World Tourism Organisation UNWTO. Formerly known as the International Youth Hostel Federation, Hostelling International has 60 member ...

Background

An Óige was founded on 7 May 1931 by an organising committee which included

Thekla Beere Thekla Beere (1902 – 19 February 1991) was an Irish civil servant who chaired the Ireland's Commission on the Status of Women in 1970 and was secretary of the Department of Transport and Power. She was the first woman to lead a government ...

, Shane Bodkin, and Chalmers (Terry) Trench. The group had been inspired by the success of the Jugendherbergen in Germany. An Óige's first

was opened at

Lough Dan Lough Dan () is a scenic boomerang-shaped ribbon lake largely set on private property, in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. Lough Dan lake lies at the base of Luggala and Knocknacloghoge mountains. The lough is fed by the Cloghoge (draining ...

, near

Roundwood Roundwood, historically known as Tóchar ( , meaning 'the causeway'), is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, Roundwood had a population of 907 people. Geography Roundwood is located where the R755 road joins the ...

, in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. An Óige was formed as a membership-based organisation and at its peak had some 15,000 members and ran 55 hostels. It is now a member of

. Around the year 1990, the organisation bought the former convent school and orphanage complex at 60-61 Mountjoy Street, built circa 1865, and remodelled it for use as a hostel. This became used as the main headquarters for An Óige. As of 2017, the organisation operated 24 youth hostels in

. In May 2019, An Óige closed the Dublin International Youth Hostel, which was then its main/headquarters facility and reportedly accounted for 60% of its revenue at the time. By late 2019, An Óige was running 18 hostels, with franchise rights to a further 10. During 2020, all hostels remained closed, as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. In October 2019 the site of the former Headquarters on Mountjoy Street was put on the market at a guide price of €5 million. As of August 2022, the site is now in use as a private hostel name
Leevin Hostel Mountjoy

Objectives

An Óige, the Irish Youth Hostel Association, has a number of charitable aims. These include to support a "love and appreciation of the countryside" by providing "simple hostel accommodation for eoplewhilst on their travels", to foster an appreciation of Irish culture and heritage, to co-operate with Irish organisations which seek to preserve the countryside and walking routes, and to foster associations with similar organisations in other countries. The organisation is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

in Ireland.

References

External links

An Óige Official website
* Tourism in the Republic of Ireland Backpacking Environmental organisations based in Ireland Hostelling International member associations Non-profit organisations based in the Republic of Ireland {{Ireland-org-stub