An Óige

An Óige (Irish: [ənˠ ˈoːɟə]; meaning "Youth"), or the Irish Youth Hostel Association (IYHA), is a non-profit organisation providing youth hostel accommodation across Ireland. An Óige is a member of Hostelling International.

An Óige

Irish Youth Hostel Association
Established	7 May 1931
Founders	Thekla Beere, Marion Tweedy, C.E. (Terry) Trench
Founded at	Dublin, Ireland
Type	Youth organization
Legal status	Non-profit
Focus	To encourage youths to appreciate the Irish countryside through hostelling.
Headquarters	Dublin, Ireland
Location	61 Mountjoy Street (closed as an An Óige hostel in 2019)
Coordinates	53.356°N 6.268°W / 53.356; -6.268
Region served	Ireland
Affiliations	Hostelling International
Website	anoige.ie

Background

An Óige's headquarters hostel, on Mountjoy Street in Dublin, closed in 2019. As of August 2022 it is a private hostel

An Óige was founded on 7 May 1931 by an organising committee which included Thekla Beere, Shane Bodkin, and Chalmers (Terry) Trench.^[1][2] The group had been inspired by the success of the Jugendherbergen in Germany.^[2] An Óige's first youth hostel was opened at Lough Dan, near Roundwood, in County Wicklow.^[2] An Óige was formed as a membership-based organisation and at its peak had some 15,000 members and ran 55 hostels.^[2] It is now a member of Hostelling International.

Around the year 1990, the organisation bought the former convent school and orphanage complex at 60-61 Mountjoy Street, built circa 1865, and remodelled it for use as a hostel.^[3] This became used as the main headquarters for An Óige.

As of 2017, the organisation operated 24 youth hostels in Ireland.^[4] In May 2019, An Óige closed the Dublin International Youth Hostel, which was then its main/headquarters facility and reportedly accounted for 60% of its revenue at the time.^[5] By late 2019, An Óige was running 18 hostels, with franchise rights to a further 10.^[5] During 2020, all hostels remained closed, as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.^[6]

In October 2019 the site of the former Headquarters on Mountjoy Street was put on the market at a guide price of €5 million.^[7] As of August 2022, the site is now in use as a private hostel named Leevin Hostel Mountjoy.^[8]

Objectives

An Óige, the Irish Youth Hostel Association, has a number of charitable aims. These include to support a "love and appreciation of the countryside" by providing "simple hostel accommodation for [people] whilst on their travels", to foster an appreciation of Irish culture and heritage, to co-operate with Irish organisations which seek to preserve the countryside and walking routes, and to foster associations with similar organisations in other countries.^[9]

The organisation is a registered charity in Ireland.^[10]