What is a Swap Shop?

A Swap Shop is a free and local exchange where staff and students donate items they no longer want and make it it available for you to take away.  As new students to Cork we want to help you to furnish your apartment and feel more at home without having to spend a fortune.  Every penny counts when you are a student after all!

 Why did you start it?

Every year when thousands of our international students move out of on-campus accommodation they are told to leave their apartments completely clear.  Often, students don't have anywhere to put the stuff they've acquired, resulting in perfectly good utensils like pots, pans, cutlery, plates, and mugs being thrown in the skip and going straight to landfill.

In 2018, the Presidents Strageic Plan had just been launched and so we wanted to contribute at a grassroots level to help further UCC's sustainability mission.  We came up with the idea of the Swap Shop and have been going from strength to strength ever since. 

When are you open for donations?

The Swap Shop is open all year round for students to donate their preloved items to us, instead of throwing them out. We collect, we santitise, we organise and we store!

When can I take items?

We open for students to take donations usually in September and January every year.

There is a €3 entry fee which is donated to our charity partner Cork DAWG, a local dog shelter.

Venue:  International Office UCC, Roseleigh, Western Road

Successes

Read more about our story and how we became the first University Swap Shop in Ireland.

€10,000 UCC Living Laboratory Seed Fund Recipient 2019.

Student Affairs Ireland National Poster Project Winner 2019.

YayCork article.

Echo online article.

€1,000 Cork City Council Waste Prevention Grant Recipient 2023.

UCC Green Podcast here.

UCC Innovates newsletter feature coming soon.

UCC TV feature.

Raised over €2000 for Cork DAWG.