In 1992, Ireland committed to the right of children to participate in decision-making that impacts on their lives. The extent to which this right is upheld for young people in the care of the State who live in residential childcare centres is unknown. A small qualitative case study was carried out in four such centres in the West of Ireland in 2012 which aimed to establish young people's level of participation and the factors which influence it. The findings show that they were relatively satisfied with decision-making in everyday matters though this was fraught with difficulties because of control battles. They had limited involvement in decisions about admission to residential care and the process of admission, family access, education/training and their future plans. These young people were unfamiliar with their right to participate and the majority of social care workers in the study had not received training on participation. Factors were identified as enabling participation or creating obstacles to it. They include the value placed on the voice of the child, the capacity of young people to participate, their access to effective advocates and the nature of the available participatory spaces. The knowledge, skills, values and personalities of relevant professionals were key determinants of youth participation.