Arcadia Ireland

We have some excellent co-curricular activities planned for the Spring 2017 semester! Take a look at what's on offer within your program and other regions.

Registration opens December 1st in your Arcadia Passport and closes on Wednesday, January 25th.
All events have limited spaces to sign up early to avoid disappointment!

Regions!

Important: Arcadia events are planned regionally and are open to all students on Arcadia Ireland programs. If attending a co-curricular event outside of your study region, you will be responsible for your own transportation and accommodation costs, and you will need to make your own way to collection points. If attending events in your region, the event will either take place close by or transport will be included. Events are only open to Arcadia program participants. Please note that dates, times and prices are subject to change.

SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & SKYE WEEKEND

THEME: global/innovation  IRELAND
REGION: ALL

A four-day weekend excursion to explore the beautiful and fascinating history of the Highlands and Skye Island with one night in Edinburgh, one in Broadford and another in Inverness. Beginning with a free day in the vibrant city of Edinburgh, followed by a trip through the spectacular Trossachs National Park and desolate Rannoch Moor to enter the Scottish Highlands, visiting The Battlefield of Culloden, The Falls of Dochart, Glencoe, and Donan Castle. On Skye, we will explore the ancient iron-age Dun Beag Broch, 13th-century Dunvegan Castle and its ties to the Viking invasions as well as the geological wonders of Mealt Falls and Kilt Rock. On the last day of the trip, we will visit the ruins of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness (keeping an eye out for any lake monsters!) and the Battlefield of Culloden before touring the Blair Athol Whiskey Distillery and returning to Edinburgh.

AN CÚIRT AR PHOBAL

THEME: LOCAL IRELAND
ALL REGIONS – NO REGISTRATION 

An Cúairt ar Phobal meaning Visit to the Community is the Arcadia program homestay weekend. All students are invited to participate in this co-curricular activity, where they have the opportunity to spend two nights with an Irish family away from their program locations. This activity not only allows you to feel a part of an Irish family but allows the opportunity to engage in a range of host community exploration tasks and reflect on the weekend with a co-curricular learning certificate. This weekend is all about experiencing a typical weekend with a typical Irish family, a fantastic and truly authentic experience. It is a great chance to interact with Irish people, to get a real sense of rural Ireland, its customs, and its simplicity. An Cúairt ar Phobal weekend is not so much about doing a lot of activity; it’s more about experiencing something. This experience can be as simple as sitting in front of the fire, drinking tea and chatting with your Irish hosts.

BELFAST AND ANTRIM COAST WEEKEND

THEMES: GLOBAL/INNOVATION IRELAND; ACTIVE IRELAND; IMAGINED IRELAND; LOCAL IRELAND
ALL REGIONS – *QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST STUDENTs REGISTER FOR WEEKEND SEPARATELY

Always the most popular activity of the semester, this weekend reunites the Arcadia community from across the Island of Ireland for a fantastic weekend in Belfast. Students travelling from the Republic of Ireland will enjoy 2 nights’ accommodation in a City Center hotel with breakfast, 2 dinners, 1 lunch, all bus transfers, and entry to the Titanic Experience, a trip to the Giant’s Causeway, a City Tour of Belfast and a lecture on the Murals of Northern Ireland. We welcome all Belfast students to register this event separately on passport and join the rest of the Arcadia group for the duration of the weekend.

Nestled on the north coast below Cave Hill and the Black Mountain, Belfast is a dynamic city where the hospitality is legendary and the warmth of the people is genuine. We will visit the Titanic Quarter, where the tragically-fated streamliner was built. You will also have time to explore the Queens University neighborhood. The spectacular landscape of Ireland's North Coast, highlighted by a visit to the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will show you first-hand the culturally rich heritage and beautiful landscape of Northern Ireland. You will be introduced to the political and social history of Belfast city through a fascinating talk on the internationally-renowned murals of Belfast as well as an exciting tour of the city led by local academics.

DUBLIN FOOD TRAIL

THEMES: LOCAL IRELAND; GLOBAL/INNOVATION IRELAND
REGION: DUBLIN & MAYNOOTH

Join Arcadia staff on this award-winning Dublin walking tour, the Dublin Tasting Trail. We will visit a range of bakeries, food halls, street markets, cheesemongers, delicatessens and other speciality shops. You'll meet artisans whose families have traded for generations producing great food as well as new arrivals to the food scene bringing new international tastes and food ideas to the Irish table. And you will taste Irish produce served in both traditional and contemporary styles. As you enjoy the food, you'll also learn a little about the culture and history of each neighborhood. Those familiar with the city will be amazed to discover food outlets and tasty modern surprises they never knew existed and visitors will leave with an insider and up-to-date knowledge of the best of what is happening in foodie Ireland.

ARCADIA CULTURE NIGHT

THEMES: IMAGINED IRELAND
REGION: DUBLIN & MAYNOOTH

Get cultured with Arcadia at Dublin’s most famous venue! Theatre is a big part of life in Dublin, restaurants across the city offer pre-theatre menu's and Irish people like to make the most of their evenings with a fancy meal first! We will begin the evening with a three-course meal in a popular Dublin restaurant, followed by a live performance of Arlington by renowned Irish playwright Enda Walsh in The Abbey Theatre. Premiered only this year at the Galway International Arts Festival, Arlington has received wide praise both nationally and internationally, with the Guardian stating 'Dance, art and poetry explode in Enda Walsh’s brave new world … a new form of comprehensive, category-defying theatre.'  

The Abbey is Ireland's national theatre, central to Irish culture and founded by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory prior to Irish Independence. The Abbey Theatre was a key part of the Irish Cultural Revival and the formation of Irish literary ethos as we know it today. A trip to the Abbey Theatre is a truly great experience!

GAME OF THRONES FILMING LOCATIONS

THEMES: GLOBAL/INNOVATION IRELAND; ACTIVE IRELAND
REGION: DUBLIN & MAYNOOTH

Game of Thrones is now one of the most popular and highest grossing series of all time and Northern Ireland is one of the main filming locations for the series! This tour involves trekking from Winterfell to one of Walder Frey's Twins, past Robb's Camp in the Riverlands and on to where Brienne confronted three Stark soldiers. The afternoon trek is into Tollymore Forest, to the bridge where the Starks found a dead dire wolf and her pups, finally ending up in Winterfell.

Director of Arcadia Ireland, Tom Kelley writes "Ireland is a great location for "Game of Thrones". The landscape, the weather, the sky all contribute to the imagined Westeros. And Westeros is just Ireland flipped upside down, just compare the maps."

CORK FOOD TRAIL

THEMES: GLOBAL/INNOVATION IRELAND
REGION: UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK STUDENTS

Known as the culinary capital of Ireland, Cork city has some fabulous food on offer! Join Arcadia staff on this award-winning Cork Tasting Trail. We will visit a range of bakeries, food halls, street markets, cheesemongers, delicatessens and other specialty shops. You'll meet artisans whose families have traded for generations producing great food as well as new arrivals to the food scene bringing new international tastes and food ideas to the Irish table. Those familiar with the city will be amazed to discover food outlets and tasty modern surprises they never knew existed and visitors will leave with an insider and up-to-date knowledge of the best of what is happening in foodie Ireland.

KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK

THEMES: IMAGINED IRELAND; ACTIVE IRELAND
REGION: UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK & UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK STUDENTS

Voted 'Ireland’s Best Day out' a trip to Killarney National Park is not to be missed. Nestled in the country’s largest mountain range, it is home to an aboriginal forest, walkways, rivers, stately homes, cycle paths, disused mines, golf courses, waterfalls, bat caves, and islands populated by swimming deer, and well-preserved castles. We begin with a tour of Muckross house; a beautiful 19th-century Victorian mansion with expansive gardens in the center of the park. The afternoon will embark on a guided two-hour hike around the picturesque Killarney Lakes, taking in Torc waterfall and maybe spotting a few deer. There will be lots of opportunities to take beautiful photos!

RUGBY MATCH

THEMES: ACTIVE IRELAND; GLOBAL IRELAND
REGION: UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK STUDENTS

Join Arcadia staff for an evening of Munster Rugby at Thomond Park, the home ground of Munster Rugby and one of the most successful and best-supported rugby clubs in the world. You cannot leave Limerick without an appreciation for this sport and what it means to the region and the hearts and minds of its people. The atmosphere in Limerick on a match day is infectious! So put on some red and join us for an evening of the best of local culture. Munster will be playing the Welsh Scarlets – a great team! 

CULTURAL CAPITAL – INNOVATION IN OLD IRELAND 

THEMES: IMAGINED IRELAND; LOCAL IRELAND; INNOVATION/GLOBAL IRELAND
REGION: NUI GALWAY & Burren college STUDENTS

Get a genuine insight into Irish culture and nature in the Connemara Gaeltacht! Focusing on sustainability and innovation, Arcadia students and staff engage in a wide variety of activities in a restored 17th-century farmhouse. Students learn about the origins and beauty of the Irish language, through song and poem. This evening includes an introduction to the concept of foraging (gathering wild food supplies), local foods, herbs and seaweeds and their uses, as well as a brown bread making demonstration and tasting.
Students will have an opportunity to engage with nature and ecology; learning about the Irish bogland formation, turf harvesting, sphagnum moss and its uses. You will also be introduced to rush-craft and how to make a Brigid’s Cross. Finally, students will experience Irish music, traditional instruments, sean-nós songs and participate in an Irish (céilé) dance! An all-round fantastic night!

CROAGH PATRICK PILGRIMAGE

THEMES: SPIRITUAL IRELAND; ACTIVE IRELAND
REGION: NUI GALWAY & BURREN COLLEGE  STUDENTS

Engage with the sacred and secular! Join us for an Arcadia Adventure up Croagh Patrick – one of Ireland’s most famous and sacred mountains. Croagh Patrick is best known for its association with Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, who is said to have fasted for 40 days and banished snakes from the land at the summit in 441 AD. Locally known as ‘the Reek’, Croagh Patrick has been a pilgrimage destination since pre-Christian times. Each year thousands of Pilgrims climb to the summit, many of them in their bare feet. Don’t worry we’ll be keeping our shoes on! Croagh Patrick is more of a hike than a climb, is accessible for people of all ages and the rewards at the summit are well worth the trip!

ARCADIA CULTURE NIGHT – BELFAST

THEMES: IMAGINED IRELAND
REGION: QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST

Join us for an evening of food and ballet at the iconic Grand Opera House Belfast. Part of Belfast life since it opened in 1895, the Grand Opera House has provided a stunning setting for world class productions for over a century. We will begin with a meal in a popular Belfast restaurant, followed by a performance of Christopher Hampson's magical Hansel & Gretel, performed by Scotland’s national dance company. A truly magical evening – not to be missed!

Arcadia Dublin Center will also add free events throughout the semester. Past student events include; Photography & Video Competitions, Cookery Contests , Pancake Tuesday, Hot Chocolate mornings, Poetry Competitions, Charity Fun Runs and Exam Stress- Buster walks.

Important

Remember most events are regionally run! You are invited to attend events outside of your region but you are responsible for your own transport to the pick-up point.
Please note: There is a limited number of attendees on each event and the registration deadline for all Spring activities is Wednesday, January 25th.

Learn more about Co-Curricular Themes & Excursions in Ireland.