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Our volunteering journey began in 2006.

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When the Irish Heritage Trust was set up

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to bring some of Ireland's most precious historic properties

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and their stories to life for the the benefit and enjoyment

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of generations current and future.

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Our volunteers, working alongside our staff and

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conservation specialists, allowed the Trust to carry out

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a wide range of activities, such as gardening,

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tour guiding, customer service, and restoration projects

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at all properties in the Trust's care.

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We asked our volunteers why they decided

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to give their time and experience in volunteering for the

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Irish Heritage Trust, and this is what they had to say.

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The benefits I find here is to get so much satisfaction

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from going into all these things, looking at them, sorting out little problems, and you're always learning

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Well, I come away with satisfaction that maybe somebody's

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learned something, I've learned something

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to anyone that's interested in volunteering here, I would say, definitely

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do something about it, because you will get so much out of it.

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It gives you so much satisfaction.

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And as I say, you're part of the history of a wonderful house.

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I think I've learned quite a few skills.

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And even the cleaning process has intrigued me,

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you know, that we don't jump and grab the thing

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on the shelf in the shop, you know, that you just approach things differently

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because that's very much giving care and attention to the items in the house

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and then they're cherished and they're taken care of and

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that has fascinated me as well because you know, like that, you don't think of these things.

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Now, the other reason I'm volunteering, I think, is to actually

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get out and try something different.

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So I'm actually working on an old bicycle, which we discovered

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in the basement of Strokestown Park House.

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I'm taking it apart and stripping it down.

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What I get out of volunteering here is I live on my own.

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I'm retired.

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So I get to meet a diverse amount of people.

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It's nice that you meet people from all countries, you meet people from all walks of life.

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And it's interesting.

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I love history

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It's lovely for to be part of the history of this house

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And it's an occupation, it gets my head together, it's physical and

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the reason for getting all the house two days a week.

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My great chance to be

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useful to this community

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And I want to help this community and Irish people

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We as volunteers, I think, can give a

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lot back to the likes of Strokestown and these houses

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I think a more important thing is often for somebody who's retired up myself

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is to actually get out and meet people.

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I think it's so easily, particularly coming out of COVID, to actually

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stay at home and not do an awful lot.

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But the routine of coming here once a week I think is great.

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And of course, I've also made friends here because we're

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socializing together and we're meeting to do tours and meetings at garden volunteers, et cetera.

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So I've met a larger circular friends here as well, and that's been great.

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I just got on so well with them all and it's a happy place to come to and I just enjoy it.

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See then we get to know everybody else in the house.

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We kind of feel part of the house.

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And we've great fun as well along the way.

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You know, the job is made so much more enjoyable because we're

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interactive with one another and, you know, we're good friends.

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We used to just be Friday, but now I come Thursdays as well as Fridays

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Well, if you think you've come into volunteer or something that you're considering, I'd say go for it.

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You know, give it a go

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To all our volunteers at Irish Heritage Trust,

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we celebrate you to day and we thank you