For those who enjoy exploring life under water and don't mind the cold, there are diving schools which provide snorkelling and scuba diving courses for young people over the summer.

Atlantic Diving School in Galway (tel: (091) 553065) offers snorkelling courses for children of eight and over for three days for £85. The course lasts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all equipment is provided.

A scuba-diving course for the over-12s runs for five days and costs £335. Participants get a certificate at the end for competency in diving. In Dublin, Oceantec (tel: (01) 280 1083) also provides snorkelling courses for young people aged eight and upwards. It lasts a week, costs £65 and at the end of the week the children are taken on a boat ride to Dalkey Island to see the seal colony.

Dance

The Brendan Scully School of Dance (tel: (01) 878 0095) in Parnell Street, Dublin, offers week-long courses during July. All types of dance are catered for, including freestyle, latin, ballroom and hip-hop. Children who have never danced in their lives are welcome and organisers say it is another great way for children to get confidence.

Donna's Dance Studio (tel: (021) 963173) in Cork similarly offers all types of dance for both older and younger children. Donna Daly Blyth, who runs the school, says the atmosphere is relaxed and is "project-orientated": groups work towards a performance.

Safari

Summer camps for children between four and 11 are run at the Fota Wildlife Park (tel: (021) 812678) in Cork during July. Children learn about animal habitat, explore conservation trails and even get to feed giraffes. The camps cost £50, last a week and run between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.