Coláiste Comhraidhe Irish College

Coláiste Chomhraidhe is the Residential Irish College in Carrigaholt in the Loop  Head Peninsula in West Clare. It was founded over 100 years ago and has  been a successful Summer College for thousands of young school children for many           years. However, the building is now showing the ravages of time and the College  Board  have exhausted its assets in repairs to keep it open. It is now in serious need of major  refurbishment to bring it in line with health and safety regulations, as   last year, it was forced to close temporarily while awaiting response from the Department of the Gaeltacht to an application for funding. Unfortunately, the Department     advised that it could not commit capital funding to the College as it was   outside the official Gaeltacht. The Board have now applied to Clare County           Council for help in renovating the College, which is an important asset to the
Region.  The loss of the College would be a serious blow to the local Community, who have benefited from the revenue from it over the years. The cost of the renovation programme is estimated at over  €1,000,000, a significant portion of this
will have to be raised through funding raising by the Local Community. 
We are sure that there are many people who attended the College down through 
the years , and who have many happy memories of their time there, would like to help in its restoration. We need their help  to ensure that this important College
can be made into a hub for the local Community and for visitors to enjoy the
beauty, heritage and culture of the Loop Head Peninsula. 
The Development Plan for the College is to make a centre of learning   throughout the year so that that it can benefit the entire local population.
The funds are needed as soon as possible to start the process of restoring
Coláiste Chomhraidhe.