Meitheal

The Irish word Meitheal describes the old Irish tradition where people in rural communities gathered together on a neighbour’s farm to help save the harvest. They acted as a team and pooled together their skills in order to save the harvest in each of the local farms. The Meitheal often served to strengthen the local community bonds and friendship.

Following on from this, the aim of the Meitheal Youth Leadership Programme is to encourage a team of fifth year students to improve the quality of school life for their fellow students, with a particular focus on first years, by organising activities for them to bond and come together as a first year school community.

It is a great opportunity for fifth year students to grow in self-awareness and confidence while also increasing their awareness of others and their needs. It is essentially about young people doing their best, caring for each other and the students with whom they work.  It acts  to help first years settle in and get to know their year group and know that there is a group of senior students whom they can approach.  

Meitheal is run by the Scala team at the Redemptorist Retreat Centre in Blackrock, Cork. In a growing school community, Meitheal plays an important role in fostering a sense of community between students.