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Irish Chapter Cultural Exchanges

Student Exchange

The Irish Chapter developed their student exchanges in 2012. Today, St. Charles High has an exchange with Scoil Mhuire in Buncrana while St. Charles West has an exchange with Carndonagh Community School in Carndonagh. Students from Ireland stay with host families during even number years while students from St. Charles visit Inishowen during odd number years.

The St. Charles Sister Cities student exchanges are a popular and fun way to grow, learn and expand minds beyond any classroom. While in St. Charles, students from Ireland will attend school on several days, as well as attend field trips arranged and paid for by the Irish Chapter. Field trips may include such places as The Gateway Arch, The City Museum, Daniel Boone’s Home, or the First State Capitol Building.

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While in Ireland, students from St. Charles will have the opportunity to visit Irish classrooms, and they might visit the Glenevin Waterfall, the Giant Causeway, a fort, a castle or cross the Carrick-A-Ridge Rope Bridge. The Irish Chapter helps with the trip to Ireland by paying the airfare of chaperones as well as paying for the bus transportation from Dublin to Inishowen and back.  Students pay only their airfare, but extra money is encouraged for souvenirs, and extra “teenage” spending money.

If your child attends St. Charles High or St. Charles West, please consider being a host family and making a difference in the life of your child and a student from Ireland. We need at least 10 families from St. Charles High and St. Charles West to open their homes and the hearts to help make this big wide world a wee bit smaller. Thank you for your consideration.

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Adult Exchanges

The Irish Chapter has arranged and set up two different adult exchanges. Both exchanges included stops at some of Ireland’s iconic tourist attractions with the final stop ending in Inishowen with a warm welcome from a multitude of host families.

Cultural Exchanges

The Irish Chapter is proud to have welcomed Simon Peters to the Missouri River Irish Festival. Simon is a country-western singer/songwriter with Nashville aspirations. His St. Charles friends, now family, wish him well and we do our best to encourage and assist him in his endeavors.

The Irish Chapter was able to host six An Garda Siochána (police officers) in May of 2026. Per Chief Superintendent Goretti Sheridan: “The exchange provided us with a unique opportunity to learn from our policing colleagues in St. Charles. Equally important were the friendships that were formed and the cultural experiences that allowed us to experience the warmth and character of your community…The exchange strengthened the bonds between (Inishowen) Donegal and St. Charles and demonstrated the value of international cooperation, and goodwill. We are deeply grateful for the tremendous effort you invested in organizing such a successful program.”

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