A ring of costal mountains forms a timeless landscape. As in a land of Hobbits, at the start of a movie, imagine, you are flying over the green grass that covers innumerous low hills. There you see a river that lazy winds through the hilly landscape. There are some white spots! Do you see it? Sheep! And now the land ends in a beautiful like-on-postcard-seen cliffs. Dark blue see is hitting the rocky coast. Azure sky, full of clouds, seems to be bringing rain. Do you have it? It is Ireland, of course. Now you want to go there, right? We have some suggestions for you how to do a little volunteer work, gather experiences, and see this magnificent small country. An Óige, the Irish Youth Hostel Association (IYHA), provides you, besides all other, also great volunteering options, like helping to run some of the hostels and their maintenance, to organize the clubs and walks and hikes, help with IT, digital marketing, carpentry work… Interested in some other role? No problem. If you have any other skills and interest in volunteering, let them know, it is possible, they find something right for you. However, herby we present you some of the Volunteer Positions.
An Óige’s Marketing Department have started a Media Awareness Project (MAP) and is seeking volunteers who have an interest in writing, public relations and the media to form part of the team for this project. You would join MAP team for 6 months, producing and pitching articles about hostelling, An Óige offerings to the Irish Media and contribute as much time as you can offer.
If you have strong writing skills and a creative mind, good attention to detail, knowledge of MS Office, experience in PR and journalism, and an interest in Ireland, travel, and tourism you are just the person they are looking for. But don't worry if you don't have experiences. They say that enthusiasm and passion go a long way!
Volunteers who have an interest in writing and travel & tourism in Ireland are welcome to form part of the team for this project. Again, you would join MAP team for 6 months. You will gain some experience and hopefully also have your article/s about travel and tourism topics published. You must have strong writing skills, a creative mind, good attention to detail and knowledge of MS Office. The ideal candidate would preferably have some writing experience, however, it is not obligated.
Have an interest in photography and filming what Ireland and An Óige has to offer in hostelling and adventure sports? In this 6 months project you will be contributing to expanding and updating current image library and your images will be used in PR, publicity material and on the website. Ideally you should have a love for nature and the outdoors, a creative mind, knowledge of video editing and be comfortable with Photoshop. If you do not have experiences, but you are passionate and enthusiastic, just apply. It is a good volunteer role for those who are interested in pursuing a media career, in broadening and increasing their experience in the industry and getting some exposure.
An Óige is also looking for volunteers who could be running and managing one of small, self-catering hostels for a week (or more). The hostels are often in idyllic locations away from the tourist tracks. Although volunteer managing can be hard work, there are many rewards like spending your free time exploring the attractions of the local area. It is an ideal way to gain some experience in the area of hostel management in the tourism sector. The role includes costumer service, administration, housekeeping, and providing tourist information, answering telephone queries and looking after the security of the hostel. For this role you have to be 18 years old, have a good customer service skills and a friendly nature, be willing and able to clean and maintain the hostel, experience in hospitality or tourism is a plus.
They also have some other volunteer programs like:
If you can help out, contact Kate Cowan at
kate@anoige.ie by stating (in subject line) for which position you would like to apply. E.g. “Adventure Forum Representative”. More information: click here. Now and then they are also looking for coworkers and interns. Check their
web page.
Every role has it’s own benefits and also some conditions, however, you will surely gain experience in self-governance, customer service, meet new friends, get professional contacts and knowledge in the tourism and hospitality industry as well as a better understanding of how a hostel works. During your stay you'll be based in one of beautifully located hostels around the Irish countryside for at least a week. As far as longer-term volunteers concerns, they get complimentary over-night stays.
