Irish Traveller New Entrants Fund:

Funding has been made available through Bank of Ireland for members of the Traveller Community who are full-time undergraduate new entrants to University of Galway. This funding is available to the aforementioned students who complete the form before 17:00 on Friday 23rd February. The form can be found here: 

Please contact financialaid@universityofgalway.ie if you are having issues completing the form or have any further questions. 

The role of the Traveller Education Officer is to offer support and guidance to Irish Traveller students in Post Primary and as they progress into higher education and throughout their time at the University of Galway. Our Traveller Education Officer is available to Irish Traveller students from Monday to Friday and is situated in the Access Centre, on the ground floor of Áras Uí Chathail. This is a confidential service which offers guidance and support on campus and in the community. The Access Centre welcomes applications from members of the Traveller Community, and we advise making an appointment with our Traveller Education Officer to avail of supports which may be available during the application process.

The Mincéirs Misl'd in Education - Empowering Irish Travellers to transition and build a sense of belonging in Higher Education.

This project is a partnership with various stakeholders, including Irish Traveller organisations and the Irish Traveller community to develop a model to empower the Irish Traveller community to overcome barriers to access, progression, retention, and success in higher education.

Some of the additional supports we have here in the University are listed below:

As part of this we run several initiatives to support Traveller’s progress on to third level education. This includes our Grinds4Mincéirs program for Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied Year 2 students. The grinds take place online with our Professional Master of Education students within the University. The grinds are currently being offered in a range of subject including English, Irish, Maths, History, Biology, Physics and German.

The Educational Transitional Programme was designed to support Traveller, School Leaver, and Mature Students to achieve their individual educational goals. This programme acts as a supportive intervention to eliminate barriers and to ensure a transitional ease for Travellers looking to access higher education. The course runs 4 days per week; 5 ½ hours per day (9.30am – 3.00pm) both online and in Western Traveller & Intercultural Development, Tuam, Galway.

The Michael McDonagh Award for Irish Traveller Ally Excellence recognises the outstanding efforts of staff who has shown leadership in relation to the importance of Irish Traveller history and culture, the full participation of Irish Travellers in education and the advancement of Irish Traveller human rights. This award represents an ideal opportunity to demonstrate our colleague’s appreciation of the legacy of Michael Mc Donagh, the Irish Travelling community, and their commitment to equality, inclusion, and diversity

The University of Galway also plays host to a week of celebration around Traveller Ethnicity Day which takes place on the 1st of March. By holding these events it creates awareness of Traveller History and Culture throughout the University. This is supported through panel discussions, plays and music from different members of the Travelling Community. Workshops are held for school students in topics such as Uni4U, SOS, Youth Academy and Cell Explorers along with Campus Tours and Mincéirs Misled Workshops. Sessions on educational pathways and supports also take place.

Contact Us

Please email annemarie.stokes@universityofgalway.ie or call 086 074 9304 if you have any questions or queries.

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