An Óige – the Irish Youth Hostel Association – is to reopen the Knockree Youth Hostel, in Co Wicklow, for bookings for the first time since the Covid crisis.
The hostel – located along the Wicklow Way hiking trail – is due to reopen to the public on August 1.
It has been closed for nearly four years, having been shut for the duration of the pandemic.
James Barry, Chairperson of An Óige said: “We are delighted to be able to finally begin welcoming guests back to Knockree Youth Hostel. Reopening the hostel has been a long time coming and has been far from straightforward. Knockree has always been one of our main hostels and one that has always been very popular with hikers, scout, guide and Gaisce groups. So, we can’t wait for it to finally reopen after all this time.”
Knockree Youth Hostel will be the fourth An Óige hostel to reopen since the pandemic, with Glendalough International and Glenmalure Youth Hostel, both in Wicklow, and Ben Lettery Hostel in Connemara, having all reopened last summer.
The organisation is planning on reopening more of its hostels in the future.
“As always, we will continue to work hard on being able to reopen more of our hostels in the near future. For the moment, we are taking things slowly and putting our maximum effort into making sure each hostel that reopens is operating at peak performance.”, Mr Barry said.
