Minister O’Donovan announces launch of new “All Right All Night” online safety training
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From: Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
- Published on: 8 April 2025
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
- 5,000 free one-hour online courses available for over 18s
- initiative aims to promote a safer experience for young people when socialising at night
The Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, has today announced the launch of a new online safety training resource for young people. The All Right All Night training programme is a safety initiative which is funded by the department’s Night-Time Economy Unit and developed by the Bystander Intervention Team in University College Cork.
The All Right All Night programme, aimed at teens and young adults, helps young people recognise problematic behaviour, whilst developing the skills and capacity to make safe and effective interventions to keep each other safe on a night out. The All Right All Night programme has been successfully piloted in schools, youth clubs and sports clubs across the country and is now rolling out nationwide. Through the workshops, participants gain a clear understanding of the diversity of lived experiences, and in so doing promote respect and inclusivity.
This latest element of the programme, provides bystander intervention training condensed into a one-hour online training course. 5,000 places will be made available free of charge to people aged 18-24.
Speaking today, Minister O’Donovan said:
“I am pleased today to be announcing this important Night-Time Economy safety initiative. The All Right All Night training programme promotes a safer night-time environment for young people, which is a key priority of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce. Initiatives like All Right All Night are so important in providing young people with the tools how to safely intervene or get help should anything arise when socialising at night.
“I want to encourage young people to take part in this important training which has the potential to make a positive difference in our society and bring about a real change in attitudes and behaviours, particularly in a night-time context.”
Professor Louise Crowley from UCC said:
“The Bystander team at University College Cork is excited to bring the impactful All Right All Night training to the online platform, making it immediately available to 18–24-year-olds across Ireland and allowing us to upscale our reach and maximise the programme impact. “The ability to better recognise problematic behaviour and the associated capacity to make safe and effective interventions will encourage and enable participants to contribute to an improved culture of respect and safety for all young people on nights out.”
Those interested in learning more about bystander intervention or the new All Right All Night online training can find details on the All Right All Night website.
Notes
Supporting the work of the UCC Bystander Intervention Programme’s All Right All Night campaign is a Night-Time Economy initiative that emerged from a recommendation in the original Report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce and subsequent youth forums at which young people highlighted the issue of safety as being of key concern when it came to engaging with the Night-Time Economy. The young people specifically mentioned the bystander training programme in third level colleges and felt it should be accessible to more young people. The risk of harassment or assault featured as a considerable barrier to enjoying night-time activities.
Funding was provided by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to develop a bespoke training course aimed at young people aged 16-24 and deliver in-person workshops for young people in schools, youth clubs and sports clubs. The Team has also delivered a number of Train the Trainer programmes to help build capacity in order to reach as many young people as possible.
The announcement of today’s initiative is a direct outcome of this process which will see the delivery of a new online training programme which aims to reach a large number of young people aged 18-24 right across the country.
Background to the UCC Bystander Intervention Programme
The UCC Bystander Intervention programme is led by Professor Louise Crowley of the School of Law, and was piloted at UCC for two years with Law, Nursing and Midwifery and Applied Psychology students in 2016. Students in the workshops were empowered to consider and act on their shared responsibilities in building a culture of zero tolerance to prevent and combat sexual harassment and violence, both on and off campus. The UCC Bystander Intervention Programme is adapted from the Intervention Initiative (Fenton, Mott, McCartan, & Rumney, 2014) which was created at the University of the West of England, funded by Public Health England.
Professor Louise Crowley, and Programme Manager Céline Griffin have vast experience and an award winning reputation for the creation and delivery of bespoke workshops and training that educate participants to better understand and identify acts of sexual harassment and violence, to develop respectful interactions and relationships and to support the development of the necessary skills to empower them to both cultivate and activate their capacity as bystanders to demand a safe and respectful environment through safe and effective interventions.