'Huge blow' as Cork Irish college won't open for a third year

Summer courses at Coláiste na Mumhan in West Cork were fully booked, but staffing and Covid issues have forced the school to close again

Coláiste na Mumhan

The country’s oldest Irish college will be closed for a third consecutive year due to the effects of the pandemic, with the cancellation of this summer’s courses a “huge blow” to students, staff, and the Gaeltacht community.

Following two years of Covid-enforced closure, Coláiste na Mumhan, founded in Béal Átha ’n Ghaorthaidh, Co Cork, in 1904, was due to reopen in June for the first of this year’s residential courses for 12 to 18-year-olds, which was almost at capacity.