Arcadia Ireland

Each semester we travel up to Belfast in Northern Ireland, as part of our Co-Curricular program. The idea behind our co-curricular trips is to help each group of study abroad students to really engage with and experience the culture of the island. Northern Ireland never lets us down, from the Titanic Experience, to Mural tours of Belfast city, the Giants Causeway and the Game of Thrones filming locations, the amazing experiences are endless!

From Dublin, it’s incredibly easy to get to (only 2 hours in a bus or train), perfect for a day trip! Last Saturday we did just that, leaving Dublin bright and early, we were at the Titanic Experience in the old shipbuilding Quarter of Belfast by mid-morning. The Titanic Experience is a bit of a masterpiece, the building itself is just incredible and allows for a real interactive stroll through history.

After lunch in a very Titanic-themed restaurant we met up with a local academic, Therese to give us a bit of background on more recent history, the Troubles of Northern Ireland, and to show us some of political murals Belfast is famous for. Therese herself is a lecturer of history in Queens University Belfast so we were in good hands.

Afterwards as we said goodbye to Therese and began our journey back to the Republic, I was happy to hear the students chatting about some of what she had told them. This tour allows for real insight into a recent political and cultural experience, this is what study abroad learning is all about.

We were back in Dublin by five o’clock with almost six hours of sunlight left – you gotta love the Irish summers!