Galway City Council, in partnership with Galway Bay Sailing Club, is delighted to invite applications for ‘Gaeilge Chois Trá’ Scholarships, with six places on offer worth €320 per student. This unique course offers Transition Year and Fifth Year students an opportunity to prepare for the Leaving Cert Irish Oral exam – spending the morning in classes, afternoons on the water and on shore with activities including sailing, swimming, rib rides and pier jumping. Apply online at www.GalwayCity.ie by Sunday 10 May 2026. The Prize Draw will take place week commencing 11 May 2026.
Six scholarships are available to students living and in school in Galway City.
The courses will take place in Galway Bay Sailing Club in Renville and will run from 8-12 June, and 15-19 June, from 9:30am to 4:30pm - offering an unrivalled ‘Gaeltacht experience’, with all the comforts of home in the evenings!
Mayor of the City of Galway, Cllr Mike Cubbard said, “Galway City Council is delighted to support six students in the city to build their confidence as Gaeilge, through fun filled activities in the water and on-shore. Beatha teanga í a labhairt – you have to speak a language to keep it alive.”
A typical day will include Gaeilge classes in the morning, with a Department of Education Leaving Cert examiner, to include tips and tricks to maximise leaving cert points. The rest of the day includes shore and water-based activities to practice oral skills learned. All instructors and trainers are fluent Irish speakers. On water activities are supervised by Irish Sailing qualified instructors.
Water based Activities include Dinghy Sailing; Rib Rides; Swimming; Rafting; and Pier Jumping. Shore based activities include Shore Walks and Foraging; Games; Quizzes; Music and Dance; Tug of War and all wrapped up with a weekly Céilí.
Marcus Ó Conaire, Irish Officer, Galway City Council said, “In a bilingual city and a Gaeltacht Service Town, Galway City Council plays a role in people’s daily lives and experiences of services through Gaeilge. By creating a space where young people can participate in Irish, while also learning new skills on water, Galway Bay Sailing Club are creating a wonderful space for Gaeilge and for fun.”
Johnny Shorten, Training Centre Manager, Galway Bay Sailing Club, said “This is our second year running these courses which are proving to be very popular. They are a great way for young people to experience sailing and water activities, while also brushing up on their Gaeilge and keeping it fresh over the summer break. Located just 7 miles from Galway, our sailing club is renowned for the wide range of training programmes and events we host for participants of all ages”.
Applications are invited online through this link.
Apply by midnight on Sunday 10 May 2026.
The draw will take place week commencing 11 May 2026.
Read more about the Galway Bay Sailing Club Oral Irish Preparation courses at www.GBSC.ie
Read full terms and conditions of the draw below.
Terms and Conditions:
- Entrants into the prize draw shall be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions.
- This draw is open to students living and in school in the Galway City Council local authority area.
- Entrants must enter the prize draw by midnight on Sunday 10 May 2026 through the online form available at www.GalwayCity.ie Entries received outside this time frame will not be considered.
- One entry per student is permitted.
- Students must be completing Transition Year or Fifth Year in May/June 2026.
- Only parents/ guardians may enter the draw on behalf of their student.
- The draw will take place the week commencing Monday 11 May 2026.
- Winners will be selected at random.
- Galway City Council will select one TY or Fifth Year student per course per local electoral area. Please ensure you have selected the correct local electoral area for your home address – East, Central or West, see https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/e94c8f5025784e30ae66e1c24723031c
- The winner will be contacted on details provided in the survey, following the prize draw. If the winner does not respond within 3 working days of being notified by GCC, then the winner’s prize will be forfeited and GCC shall be entitled to select another winner in accordance with the process described above. If a winner rejects their prize, or the entry is invalid or in breach of these Terms and Conditions, the winner’s prize will be forfeited and GCC shall be entitled to select another winner
- Personal information is collected solely for the purposes of running this prize draw, and will not be shared or processed for any other purpose, other than in connection with entry to this draw. Your personal information will be processed in line with GCC’s Data Protection policy. For information on Galway City Council’s Data Protection policy, see www.GalwayCity.ie
- The contact details of the six winners/ their parents/ guardians will be shared with Galway Bay Sailing Club, in order to register for their courses.
- Registration is through Galway Bay Sailing Club, per their Terms and Conditions.
- Before applying, parents/ guardians must satisfy themselves that their student can participate in the course, per the Galway Bay Sailing Club guidance, summarised below. For full details, please see https://www.gbsc.ie
- This course is specifically for Transition and 5th Year students, with a focused emphasis on preparation for the Leaving Certificate Irish Oral Examination. The program supports students in developing confidence, fluency and accuracy in spoken Irish, while familiarising them with the structure, expectations and marking criteria of the oral exam.
- Ability to swim desirable but not essential for partaking in water based activities.
- You must inform in advance if the participant has any known medical conditions, special needs and or behaviour considerations that we should be aware of and or that would impact their ability to participate safely in all the activities.
- Buoyancy aids are provided by GBSC. Wetsuits are available however if sailors have their own wetsuits and boots, that is preferable for their own comfort.
- Sandals, Flip Flops, Crocs or other similar open shoes are NOT recommended. We recommend Runners, Aqua Shoes or Wetsuit Boots.
- Please bring:
- Your own wetsuit (if you have one) booties or old runners
- Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses.
- Towel, change of socks / underwear.
- Warm dry clothing for when you come out of the water.
- A notebook and pen/pencil (for coursework).
- Lunch each day (if your course runs for the full day), water, hot drink
- We advise against wearing of jewellery, rings, necklaces etc. during courses as they can be either lost, become entangled and/or lead to injury.
- The prize is non-exchangeable, non-transferable, and is not redeemable for cash or other prizes
- If winners are unable to participate in their course, the place will be offered to another student.
- GCC retains the right to substitute the prize with another prize of similar value in the event the original prize offered is not available
- Winners’ details will be published online, on social media, and shared with the media through a press release. They will also be published in Galway City Council reports. In entering the prize draw, all entrants consent to same.
- Galway City Council (GCC) takes no responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, misdirected or incomplete, or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason.
- This prize draw is not open to employees of Galway City Council.
- GCC accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss, liabilities, injury or disappointment incurred or suffered by you as a result of entering the Prize Draw or accepting the prize
- Galway City Council will not be held liable for delivery of the course, cancellation of the course, or issues relating to quality of delivery.
- GCC reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, this Prize Draw with or without prior notice due to reasons outside its control (including, without limitation, in the case of anticipated, suspected or actual fraud). The decision of GCC in all matters under its control is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into.
- GCC shall not be liable to you if you/ your student suffer any loss or damage by entering the prize draw (including without limitation any indirect, punitive, special, exemplary, incidental or consequential loss, loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of goodwill that arises out of or in connection with your participation in the prize draw) or from our refusal to allow you take part in the prize draw or our withdrawal of the prize draw or any other failure or inability by you to participate in or benefit from the prize draw for any reason.