Arcadia Ireland

Coming into my semester with Arcadia in Dublin, I was a bit wary of identifying as a transgender, non-binary student. Living abroad is often nerve-wracking enough without being away from your usual support systems and in an unfamiliar environment. Having…

This week I'm going to share an article written by one of the students who studied in Spain back in 2019. She talks about a "new kind of homesickness" which she goes on to call "culture-sickness". To quote the student she says  "I feel culture-sick.…

One of my fondest teenage memories is when I shaved my hair and pierced my nose! I was sixteen years old and I wanted to reinvent myself into something “different”. My inspiration was Sinead O’Connor (my idol) and it was during a Late Late show moment…

Before February draws to a close, I wanted to share some of my thoughts about Black History Month and its significance in contemporary Ireland. In Ireland, our observance of Black History Month and our relationship to and understanding of the concept…

Many of us have been feeling the January blues these last few weeks. In the darkest, coldest time of the year, with the light and warmth and conviviality of the Christmas season behind us for another twelve months and springtime nowhere in sight, many…

I spent last Thursday evening updating my LinkedIn profile. It’s not something I often do; in fact, I was horrified to discover that my profile was about two jobs behind on the reality of my life. Last week’s return to the platform after a long absence…

“Who passed away. Who departed this life. […] More interesting if they told you what they were. So and So, wheelwright. I travelled for cork lino. I paid five shillings in the pound. Or a woman’s with her saucepan. I cooked good Irish stew.” – James…

The Arcadia community in Ireland has been growing over the last couple of weeks. As I type this, I am conscious that new students are now settling for the semester at their homes-from-home in Belfast, Cork, Galway, the Irish Parliament in Dublin and the…

This week we welcomed University of Galway and Burren College of Art students. In no particular order here are just some of the highlights of our 48 hours with these amazing students! We cooked traditional soda bread in Howth Visited, toured…