Arcadia Ireland

This past weekend we had our bi-annual three day trip to Belfast and the Antrim coast. Always a favourite of the semester, this event a great opportunity for students to venture North to Belfast.

On Friday morning the Galway and Cork students were up bright and early for their journey to Dublin, everyone met up in the Arcadia Center in Temple Bar to board our coach for the weekend. First stop was The Titanic Experience, Europe’s most popular attraction and for good reason! Sitting in the heart of Belfast's revamped and re-imaged docklands 'The Titanic Quarter,' the impressive massive building allows visitors to travel down through the story of the ship with the help of interactive guides, holograms, 3D imagery, video and a mini- ride.

Following Titanic we checked into our hotel and enjoyed a group meal, where Resident Director Tom Kelley welcomed everyone. Students were free for the evening, with our hotel located in the heart of the 'Queens Quarter' there were lots of student hot spots to be explored.

Saturday we had an early start, following a proper Ulster Fry (with potato bread and everything!) we set off further north again to The Giants Causeway. A local guide, Thérése, joined us for the trip giving us insight into the countryside we were passing through. The Causeway its self was stunning – as always! Saturday afternoon students were free to explore Belfast city, and before being dropped to the iconic St. Georges Market, Thérése gave them a few tips of what to check out. There was plenty of time for shopping - Belfast is now considered one of the most affordable cities in the UK, this is even more so the case for students coming from the Euro zone. 

The next morning we slept a little later, and were met at our hotel by Prof. Bill Rolston, a local academic and expert in the political murals of Northern Ireland. Bill has a gift of being able to explain the complex political history of Ireland in mere minutes before getting into the stories and significance of the murals. After Bill's talk, we met up with Thérése again (a fellow academic, and expert in Irish history) and embarked on a tour of Belfast city, including the murals and separation walls. After a quick lunch we were once again on our way back down South.

Thanks to everyone for such a great weekend!!