Arcadia Ireland

When you checked the start and end dates of your Arcadia Ireland programme, you probably noticed that there were dates for "Éalú" included in the list. This is our signature community weekend which all students studying with Arcadia in Ireland are automatically registered for - whether you are studying in Dublin, Cork, Belfast, or wherever, we are taking you on a weekend of "escape" to connect with your fellow students and explore a different part of the island.

Fall 2024 Éalú was this past weekend and it was as fun as ever - even if we were unlucky enough to have rain on Saturday! We got the party started on Friday night with a ceili, featuring a set dancing lesson so we could learn a few traditional dances.

On Saturday we started the day at the majestic Cliffs of Moher, a bucket list item for anyone coming to Ireland. Then students had a choice - to take a beginners' surfing lesson on the world famous beach at Lahinch; or to visit Caherconnell, where a demonstration of how farmers use dogs to herd sheep was followed by a visit to the site of an archaeological dig. A difficult choice but a winner either way!

This weekend is not just about fun, it's also about building up our Arcadia community. All weekend, students had the chance to reconnect with fellow students who they had not seen since orientation and discover new friendships and connections across our programmes. On Saturday night we put these new connections to the test with our trivia quiz.

Éalú can look different every semester but some things are always the same: it's a lot of fun; it's uniquely Irish; and we all slept very soundly when we got home on Sunday night!