Emily Ip, Maebh Ní Bhrolcháin and Emer Ní Thuathaigh take a few minutes to practise their dance steps for a talent competition. "A haon, a dó, a trí," they count themselves in. Other students saunter over to see, writes Catherine Foley

After three weeks, it is close to the end of another Irish-language summer course at Coláiste na Rinne (Ring College) in the Co Waterford Gaeltacht.

The course is "ar fheabhas" (brilliant), according to Róisín Ní Sheach (13) from Dundrum, Dublin. Cáit Ní Shúilleabháinn (14), from Slieverue, Co Kilkenny, is happy she has come. "I didn't like Irish at school," she says. "Now I'm after getting good at it. When you are in school, it's all about the grammar. Here it's easy to talk. It's nice to know your original language."

"It's fun making friends," says Killian O'Leary (15) from Cork. What are the phrases he'll remember most? "Stop ag pleidhchíocht (messing) and ciúnas (quiet)," he says with a laugh. One boy says he misses his iPod and Sky Sport, another misses his dog, but, all in all, this group of students are a happy bunch who say the best part of their stay is making friends.

Other highlights include the céilí, sports, and talking to the teachers and the cinnirí (prefects). "There are very few fresh authentic experiences through Irish and you get something like that in a Gaeltacht. You interact with life through Irish," says Mathúin Ó Caoimh, principal of the summer course. The appeal of an Irish college, says Liam Suipéil, manager of Ring college, which celebrates its 100 birthday this year, is that "it's a whole social learning experience ".

Demand for places on an Irish summer course is increasing, says Gearóid Ó Brosnacháin, chairman of Concos, Comhchoiste Náistiúnta na gColáistí Samhraidh, a federation which represents 75 per cent of all Irish-language summer colleges. Approximately 24,000 people attend summer college each year, according to Government figures. According to Ó Brosnacháin, there have been changes over the years as colleges aim to cater for the different needs, such as special courses aimed at students preparing for their Leaving Cert oral Irish exam. Young people on Gaeltacht courses probably have less freedom today, compared with earlier times, he says. "But that's a sign of the times. The colleges are in loco parentis. It's very important that they be in a safe environment."

Demand for these courses is growing, says Suipéil, who began working at Coláiste na Rinne in 1971. Where there used to be up to 800 students over the summer months, they now get more than 1,000, he says. The courses have evolved into an Irish rite of passage. It's a time to have fun, to dance, to leave home for the first time and experience home-sickness.

Gaeltacht communities are used to the annual influx of young people. "The place gets people involved," says Ó Caoimh.

"People have invested an enormous amount of themselves into this. There's a sense of ownership and a sense of belonging."