We offer a range of retreat encounters from single to multiday which combines high quality outdoor pursuits with a blend of experiential faith activities, sharing and exercises offered by a dynamic young retreat team.  We believe that retreats to young people are best provided by young adults so our dedicated team of five trained individuals are all under the age of 25. This team combines with the fully qualified instructors of the Tanagh Outdoor Education Centre to offer a unique experience for your school or parish youth group.

Our activity retreats have an option for full-board accommodation for up to 56 youth of mixed gender.  The range of outdoor activities are considerable and are aimed at providing learning and reflection opportunities, leadership skills and opportunities for creative expression. This centre incorporates both a faith development team and a team of professional outdoor instructors and for that reason is extremely good value for what is on offer.  All retreat givers and instructors are fully Garda/police vetted and operate a strict child protection policy (Safe Guarding our Children 2008).
The retreats are led in a dynamic way, giving the young people an opportunity to hear about the message of the Gospel in their own language. In this way, they are comfortable with the team's challenge to live a life of the Gospel in tough times. But most important of all, they are given a chance to encounter the living Christ in a tangible way.
The retreats consist of different parts that break open the Gospel message in large group presentations, small group discussions, dramas, contemporary Christian music, mass and confession, and prayer time. The team members pray with the each young person, asking for their intentions and prayers to be answered, and inviting them to pray and deepen their relationship with Christ.

In-School and In-Parish Retreats
Sometimes it is not convenient to travel to Damien Centre to undertake the Activity Retreat Programme.  In this case we can offer an in-school or in-parish retreat where the team will agree to come to you and give a retreat at your location.  For this to work effectively some consideration must be given to numbers and venue and opportunity for the young people to have reflection and quiet time as part of the day.  We can still offer the same themes and provide similar dynamic but without the outdoor pursuit element of the day.  We request that all travel and basic sustenance expenses are covered by the requesting school or parish on top of the individual cost per youth on the retreat.