Camping it up

Whether your son or daughter is into cookery or camogie, film or French, there's a summer camp to match their talent, writes Louise Holden

Unless you are blessed with rural relations who have acres of land and patience to match, you'll need to find somewhere safe to offload your children this summer. Of course it's for their benefit. Horse riding is character forming.

Marie O'Reilly is editor of Primary Times and she has seen the summer camp market grow from a couple of Irish colleges and a back garden tennis camp to a smorgasbord of pony clubs, gastrocamps, mini-Fame Academies and film-making workshops. "Every year the choice gets bigger and the quality gets higher," says O'Reilly. "There's something out there for every fidgety kid this summer." Read on for a sample of camp culture this summer.

Music and dance

National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-4170000. Children's summer series featuring various music workshops in August for all ages. Storytelling workshops in August aimed at six- to 12-year-olds.

Walton's New School of Music, 69 South Great George's Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-4781884. Music for Me: five two-hour sessions of fun and music-making for ages five to seven (Saturdays 10am-noon starting July 2nd).

Ballet Ireland School of the Ghouls. Ballet Ireland joins the Haunting Academy at a theatre near you for Summer School 2005, a spooky investigation into the training system for ghosties, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night. Included in the week are workshops centred in dance, drama, mime and music, the essential components that make ballet. Running throughout July and August at various centres: Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray (01-2724302); Civic Theatre, Tallaght (01-4627477); An Grianán, Letterkenny (074 9120777); Burnavon Arts Centre, Cookstown (028-86769949 048-86769949 from Republic); Glór Irish Music Centre, Ennis (065-6845370; Moat Theatre, Naas (045-883030); Tipperary Excel, Tipperary (062-80520).

Irish Academy of Dramatic Arts, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Tel: 01-2302691 or see www.irishacad.com

Summer camps for acting, dancing, singing and film-making for one or two weeks. Camps available for children from four to 18 years.

National Performing Arts School, The Factory, 35a Barrow Street, Dublin 4. www.npas.ie Tel: 01 6684035. Summer programmes include classes in drama, singing, musical theatre, jazz dance, street dance, funk, hip hop, improvisation, roleplay and tap, plus workshops in TV and film production. Courses, for seven- to 11-year-olds and 12- to 18-year-olds, run from 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday. There will also be a "mini summer school" for four- to six-year-olds. This run 10am-12.30pm, Monday to Friday. The street dance and funk workshop for 12- to 20-year-olds runs from 4pm-6pm, Monday to Friday.

Limerick Summer Music on the Shannon, University Concert Hall (UCH), Limerick. Tel: 065-7087566, e-mail: summermusic.shannon@uch.ie or see www.summermusicontheshannon.com

The 12th annual Summer Music on the Shannon Music School takes place at UCH at the University of Limerick from July 25th to August 14th. Facilities there comprise a 1,000-seat concert hall, fully equipped teaching and rehearsal studios, and student housing, dining and recreation areas, including an Olympic-sized swimming pool. One- and two-week programmes available from July 25th include junior, intermediate and senior instrumental ones and a youth opera theatre (in association with Opera Ireland) for those aged eight and over.

Film and theatre

Gaiety School of Acting, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-6799277. The programme includes one- and two-week drama courses, a week-long make-a-movie course for 11- to 19-year-olds and drama and film courses for ages 16 and during July and August. Venues this year are the school's Temple Bar headquarters, Dublin; Sutton Park School, St Fintan's Road, Dublin 13; Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow; Cork Opera House and Forkin Crane, Cork city; Kenmare, Co Kerry and Killarney, Co Kerry.

Limerick CentreStage Summer Camp, tel: 061-302220, www.centrestageireland.com

CentreStage youth theatre (above) for 16 to 20-year-olds with programmes on May 4th, June 15th (evenings), June 20th to 24th and June 27th to 30th (full days), working with Terry Prachett's comedy Mort. Musical Theatre youth summer camp for 12- to 18-year-olds, working with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, July 4th-22nd. Junior Musical Theatre summer camp for seven- to 11-year-olds, working with The Lion King, July 11th-22nd.

Cookery

Food Active Summer Camp (086 8066111). www.foodactive.ie

One- or two-week cooking and nutrition course with sports/activity in the afternoons. Run by well-known chef and caterer Garth McColgan and instructors include Derry Clarke. Runs weekly from June until August at St Conleth's College, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, 9.30am-4.30pm. New school open in Sacred Heart Secondary School in Westport. Mornings: cookery, nutrition, food label reading, shopping guide, culinary excursions and wild food foraging. Afternoons: soccer, basketball and tag rugby.

Busy Bee Summer School of Cooking, Ballinclea Heights, Killiney, Co Dublin. Tel: 01-2858674, e-mail busybeeschool@eircom.net

Courses run weekly from June 7th to mid-August. Children aged 11-16 can learn culinary secrets at this cookery school run by Bee Mannix-Walsh.

Sport

Pepsi Summer Soccer Schools, countrywide, July 27th to August 26th. Tel: 1890-653653. The soccer stars of the future are trained by qualified FAI coaches in venues throughout the country. Week-long soccer schools are open to boys and girls aged seven to 15. Also special programme for goalkeepers and girls-only weekends.

Soccer and rugby courses, c/o David Deering, 45 Deerpark Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin. Tel: 01-2882111 and 087 2516351. Intensive soccer and rugby coaching for children aged five to 14 from June to early August at RFC, Stradbrook Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin; St Mary's RFC, Templeville Road, Templeogue, Dublin; and Wanderers FC, Merrion Road, Dublin 4.

Tennis Multisports Exercise for Kids (TMEK) Rathdown School, Dublin. Tel: 087-4166100). Summer camps from July 4th to August 20th. Sports include soccer, tag rugby, athletics, hockey and basketball.

Parks Tennis c/o Kay Lonegan, 142 Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3. Tel: 01-8338711. Tennis lessons throughout July at courts in public parks, schools and community centres throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Mick Smyth Tennis Camp, 4 Mountown Park, Terenure, Dublin 12. Tel: 01-4505341. This tennis camp with indoor facilities based at Terenure College is for beginners, intermediate and advanced players aged six to 18. Runs 2.30pm-4.30pm, July 4th to August 19th. All coaches are qualified Tennis Ireland coaches.

National Basketball Arena. Tel: 01-4590211. Week-long senior and junior camps: July 11th to 15th, July 18th to 22nd and August 15th to 19th.

Westwood Club, Leopardstown Racecourse, Foxrock, Dublin 18, Tel: 01-2191827 and Clontarf, Dublin 3, Tel: 01-8530353. Week-long multi-activity camps between June 27th and August from 10am-3pm include basketball, swimming, soccer and hip hop for ages four to 12.

Irish Sailing Association. Tel: 01-2800239 or see www.sailing.ie

Young sailors and windsurfers can take lessons at one of the many sailing centres throughout the Republic.

Glenans Irish Sailing Club. Tel: 01-6611481. Courses for students aged 14 to 17 in July at centres in Co Mayo and Co Cork.

Multi-Sports Camp, Airfield Trust, Upper Kilmacud Road, Dundrum, Dublin 14. Tel: 01-2984301. Week-long camps between July 11th and August 5th, 10am to 2pm. Nature and farm trails, unihoc, benchball, volleyball, soccer, orienteering, treasure hunts and assault courses are included in this adventure camp for ages five to 12.

Playstation Leinster GAA, Tel: 0502-82000 or see www.leinstergaa.ie

Summer camps in July and August. Activities include skills coaching, games and competitions. Star GAA players visit the camps every year. Camps cater mainly for hurling/camogie or Gaelic and ladies' football. There are also combined camps. For information, and for Munster, Ulster and Connacht camps, contact local county games promotion officers.

Newpark School Summer Camps, Blackrock, Dublin. Tel: 01-2883720 or see www.newparksportscentre.ie

Swimming, gymnastics, uni-hoc, indoor soccer, basketball, table tennis, orienteering, arts and crafts, Kung Fu.

Delphi Adventure Holidays. Tel: 01-4907522 or see www.delphiadventureholidays.ie

Kids on their own or families can go on week-long adventure holidays in the famous Delphi Centre in Leenane, Co Galway. Activities include windsurfing, surfing and sailing.

Languages

EIL Ireland. Tel: 1850-292939, e-mail info@eilireland.org

Spend part of your summer living abroad and learning a language - France, Germany, Spain, China, Russia or Japan. Live with a local family or in a residence. All schools certified. Leaving Certificate preparation courses in France.

Coláiste Uisce, Cuain Eil, Belmullet, Co Mayo. Tel: 097-8211. The only centre in Ireland mixing adventure sports with Irish in the north Mayo Gaeltacht. Windsurfing, sailing, canoeing as Gaeilge. Two-week courses begin on June 3rd.

Gael Linn Summer Irish Schools. Tel: LoCall 1890-675675; 01-6751200. Gaeltacht summer colleges in the Cork, Donegal and Mayo Gaeltachts with three-week residential courses in June, July and August for students aged 11 to 18. Pilot film module in the Mayo course from June 9th to July 1st. Two-week sports course in the Cork Gaeltacht in August. Irish-language courses in Dublin for those sitting Leaving or Junior Certificate exams in 2006. These are non-residential, 10-day courses in June, July and August, 9.30am-12.45pm, Monday to Friday.

Ógras, 6 Sráid Fhearchair, Dublin. Tel: 01 4751487. Irish-language summer camps include those for eight- to 13-year-olds in July and August in counties Dublin, Donegal, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Waterford, Tipperary and Meath.

Art and photography workshops

National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-6633518. Children's summer club includes Little Masters workshops for ages three to six (July 4th-8th and July 11th-15th) and Kids Art Attack for ages seven to 12 (week-long courses).

Pine Forest Art Centre, Glencullen, Kilternan, Co Dublin. Tel: 01-2941220. Two-week courses in June, July and August for ages five to 12 and 13 to 16. Also two-week or four-week portfolio preparation courses for ages 17 to 19 in August.

Draíocht Arts Centre, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. Tel: 01-8852622. Multi-disciplinary programme from June 21st to July 29th for children aged five to 17 including dance, arts, digital photography and quilting. Spreacha festival: Fingal international arts festival for children from June 13th to 18th, theatre performances, puppetry, storytelling, visual art exhibitions for children aged three to 12.

Botanic Art School, Prospect Avenue, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Tel: 01-8304720. Five-day summer art camps for children aged seven to 12 during July and August include clay, printing, papier maché, drawing and a field trip to the nearby Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. The course concludes with an exhibition of the students' work.

Equestrian camps

Hazelbrook Equestrian Centre, Clane, Co Kildare. Tel: 087 8502261

Summer pony camps in July and August, Tuesday-Friday, 10am-4pm. Own your own pony for a week with lessons, lectures, gymkhana, treasure hunt, show, party and prizegiving.

Association of Irish Riding Establishments. Tel: 045-431584 or see www.aire.ie

This organisation provides details of trekking, trail-riding centres and riding schools for young people keen to learn to ride, or to improve their equestrian skills.

The summer issue of Primary Times, complete with a free guide to summer camps, is out this month. Regional versions of Primary Times are published in Dublin, Meath/Wicklow/Kildare, Cork/Waterford and Mayo/Galway.

See www.primarytimesireland.com