HCAP Training Workshop, Carlow

What to Expect

HCAP is the Hunter Competence Assessment Programme, run in Ireland by the Deer Alliance. It is the recognised competence standard for deer hunting here: the National Parks and Wildlife Service treats it as essential for first-time deer hunting licence applicants, and it is required before anyone can hunt on Coillte forest property. This Carlow date is a closed workshop organised through Farm Business Skillnet, the training arm attached to the IFA, and booked on Eventbrite by Celine Reynolds.

The day runs from 10am to 5pm at the Woodford Dolmen Hotel and is the classroom half of the programme. Candidates work through the Stalker Training Manual material and sit the multiple choice examination. The separate range test, taken at a designated shooting range, is a further stage of the programme and is not part of this day. The Eventbrite listing advertises the course at €130, the subsidised rate that Farm Business Skillnet has long applied to HCAP places for IFA and IFA Countryside members, and it was already flagged as almost full when checked in August. Refunds are available up to seven days before the date.

Good to Know

• Saturday 29 August 2026, 10.00am to 5.00pm
• Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, R93 N207
• €130 per place, subsidised through Farm Business Skillnet
• Covers the classroom workshop and the HCAP multiple choice exam
• The range test is a separate stage held at a designated range
• Listed as almost full, so book before travelling
• Refunds accepted up to seven days before the workshop

Getting There

The Woodford Dolmen Hotel is on the Kilkenny Road (R448) at the southern end of Carlow town beside the River Barrow, with free parking on site, which matters for a course that runs a full seven hours. From the M9 take Junction 5 and follow signs for Carlow town centre, then turn onto the Kilkenny Road. From Kilkenny or Bagenalstown the R448 brings you straight to the door. Carlow railway station, on the Dublin to Waterford line, is at the far side of the town and a short taxi ride from the hotel.