In 1937 Prof. J.B. Whelehan, the then Chief Scout, together with the National Executive Board of CBSI (later Scouting Ireland (CSI)), decided to purchase a campsite.
The funding for the purchase of Larch Hill came from the 3,000 pounds profit the association made from non-Scout fares on the 1934 pilgrimage to Rome, and a 500-pound donation from the Knights of Saint Columbanus [REF].