First year/Trinity Hall Student Residency Scheme
The application process for the First-Year Irish Language Residency Scheme (An Scéim Cónaithe) is now closed for the 2023-24 academic year. It will open again in April/May 2024 and an application form will be available to download from this page. Please find further information on the Residency Scheme below.
This Scheme is for first-year students. Twelve spaces are offered in Irish language apartments located in Trinity Hall, Dartry, Dublin 6 and a grant payment of €1,000 is provided to each student who participates in the Scheme.
The Scheme is open to students from across Ireland and abroad who are fluent in Irish and wish to speak it on a daily basis. Please note that applications cannot be accepted from students from within the greater Dublin area.
General information
This scheme is administered by the Irish Language Office and Coiste na Gaeilge in partnership with the Junior Dean to promote the Irish language in university life by offering all-Irish accommodation to student speakers who meet the criteria below.
First-year Irish speakers who wish to speak the language in their daily lives are sought. Students are also asked to attend Irish language events and fulfill the commitments below. The student must pay for the cost of their accommodation but will receive a grant payment of €1,000 over the course of the academic year.
One half of the grant (€500) is paid after Christmas and the remaining half (€500) is payed at the end of the academic year. In the event of a student failing to comply with the requirements of the Scheme, the Irish Language Office reserves the right to terminate their participation in the Scheme.
A separate application, outside of the application for the Residency Scheme, should be made to the Accommodation Office if you would like to live in Trinity Hall so that if you don't get a place on the Scheme, you will still have the opportunity to live in university accommodation. You can apply at this link and may wish to include a note in your application that you would like to be placed in the same building as An Scéim Cónaithe apartments, where possible, so that you are close to other Irish speaking students. It is not necessary, however, to have applied for accommodation in Trinity Hall in order to apply for the Irish Language Residency Scheme.
Accommodation
- Twelve places available on the scheme.
- There are two apartments, with six students living in each apartment.
- Each student has their own bedroom and ensuite bathroom. They share the common living spaces e.g. kitchen/living area with the remaining five students.
- Click here for further information on Trinity Hall
Do you fulfill the requirements below?
- You will be a first year undergraduate, fulltime student in Trinity College Dublin in September 2024.
- You would like to share accommodation with other Irish speakers.
- You are an Irish speaker and wish to speak the language in your daily life.
- You do not live in the Greater Dublin area.
Conditions for students of the Scheme
- Irish will be the spoken language in the apartment.
- Attend meetings called by the Irish Language Officer during the academic year.
- Take an active part in Irish life in the university and promote the language and culture in Trinity Hall.
- Organise and facilitate a weekly conversation circle as a group.
- Complete at least one project as a group in both academic terms to promote the Irish language e.g. hold an event or run an awareness campaign.
- Prepare a report and presentation (as a group) for the Irish Language Officer and Coiste na Gaeilge at the end of each teaching term outlining how the projects undertaken.
- Compile a magazine (as a group) at the end of the academic year as a record of the Scheme's activities.
- Support the work of the Irish Language Office e.g. attend events, help with organisation, etc.
- The student must cover the cost of accommodation in Trinity Hall themselves. The Irish Language Office provides a grant of €1,000 for the academic year.
- Sign a form at the beginning of the academic year confirming that you accept the conditions of the scheme.
- Adhere to the rules set out by the Accommodation Office for students in Trinity accommodation.
- Follow the rules and regulations set out by the university and the government in relation coronavirus COVID-19 at all times. It should be noted that these may change over the course of the academic year and must be adhered to.
- Where it is deemed that a student is not in compliance with the conditions of the Scheme or has not complied with the conditions of the Scheme at any point in the academic year, the Irish Language Officer and Coiste na Gaeilge have the right to terminate the student's participation in the Scheme or to not pay the grant, or not pay a part of the grant.
Application Process
April/May
The application process opens and students are invited to complete and submit an application form.
June/July
Applications are shortlisted and students named on the shortlist are invited for interview. Following the interview process, twelve first-year students are selected for Trinity Hall's Irish Language Residency Scheme.
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