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Category Archives: Irish University
Normalized No More: Gaining Perspective from Irish Prisons
The first time I stepped foot on Rikers Island, New York’s main jail complex, was in 2012 for a college course. I was struck by the long bridge, big fences, high walls, and sharp barbed wire. The old, run-down buildings, … Continue reading
Posted in University College Cork
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Diplomacy – the Irish way
As I approach the midpoint of my year in Ireland, I am both surprised how fast the first half went by and looking forward to all that is to come in 2018. The “homestretch” of last semester saw me mostly … Continue reading
Posted in University College Dublin
Tagged Brexit, diplomacy, International Relations
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Silent “M”s and Silent Nights: an Ode to “oments”
“Where are my international students?” Unable to escape the subsequent prodding and nudging by the giggling sopranos around me, I warily raise my hand. The director turns his attention to it, unfortunately and apparently the only hand in the room. … Continue reading
How does humanity express hope
I am now approaching the end of my fifth month in Dublin and I can hardly believe how quickly the time has gone. It feels like just yesterday that I got on a plane to fly to Ireland for the … Continue reading
Posted in Medicine, University College Dublin
Tagged hope, literature, medicine, Travel, UCD
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Viewpoints
It’s said that “you don’t know what you don’t know,” and five months into living in Ireland, that is becoming more apparent to me every day. One of the most enjoyable parts of studying public policy at UCD is the … Continue reading
Out and Proud in Ireland’s LGBT+ Community
Two months ago, I moved to Dublin from the greater New York City area and have been thoroughly enjoying settling in to my residence at UCD. I walked out early one morning from my apartment to a full rainbow across … Continue reading
Posted in University College Dublin
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Simplicity: Accepting Ireland’s Charge
Sea-soaked air settled into my lungs as I disembarked my bus to the unfamiliar din of chatter; I am definitely not in Kansas anymore. Groan-worthy clichés aside, Cork – Ireland’s second-largest city at 119,230 residents – is more densely inhabited … Continue reading
Change
Ireland has been a place lately defined by dramatic change. The change brought by surging wealth developed during the Celtic Tiger years, when the country catapulted from one of the economic under-performers of Europe to the shining star that countries … Continue reading
Meeting the Road
I used to run in Haiti under a sun made of fire. As I would pass along the road, a flurry of bare feet, brown eyes, and small arms would emerge from the frames of palm-thatched houses. Although their legs … Continue reading
The Journey Begins
I first visited Ireland with my family when I was ten years old. As a young boy who had never left his country, coming from a small isolated family of four, the experience changed my outlook. That visit, I learned … Continue reading
An Irish Quote
“I can be perfectly happy by myself. With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?” — Oscar Wilde, De Profundis A little over a year ago I bought a journal in The Coop in Harvard … Continue reading
Posted in class of 2016, Travels on the Island, University College Dublin
Tagged dublin, end of the year, glendalough, hikes, journal, Oscar Wilde, quotes, reflection, rugby, wisdom
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Half-Irishmen, Stouts, and the Dilemma of Belonging
I occupy a strange identity space here in Ireland. I’ve never lived somewhere where the vast majority of people look very much like me, yet lead lives quite different than my own. I have red hair, a red-ish beard, and … Continue reading