University opens study-abroad center in Ireland
Maureen McKew

National University of Ireland, Galway, hosts first group of students sponsored through Villanova

Beginning the recent spring semester, Villanova students wishing to study at an Irish University, can do so through the University. Previously, they had to make their arrangements through other colleges or universities.

Dr. Thomas Ricks, director International Studies explained the importance of establishing the Villanova Center at the National University of Ireland, Galway (formerly known as University College Galway) and the opportunities this offers to Villanova students.

"For the past 12 years, we have to depend on other institutions to take care of our students. Now we have a center of our own, under the direction of Mary O’Malley, a member of the Galway faculty, who oversees our students three ways. She places the students into housing, helps them select and register for courses and sees them through the Irish higher educational system, which is different from our own," Ricks said.

"In addition," Ricks went on, "Mary O’Malley functions as a faculty member, leading a required Irish studies seminar, open only to Villanova students. The seminar provides a multi-disciplinary survey of Ireland and its culture. It also includes field trips, such as an excursion to the Burren, an ecologically fascinating area of the island, and tours of early medieval monasteries and other sites. Its purpose is to reveal ancient, medieval and modern Ireland. There will be a strong emphasis on the modern period, including a humanities and social sciences."

A third aspect of the Center and the director’s activities will be the identification of students and faculty for exchange programs. Eventually, Ricks foresees, Villanova and Galway will host joint conferences. Already, he’s looking for corporate funding for two projects he has in mind: a three-way partnership with Villanova, Galway and Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to study human rights. He hopes to involve the Villanova School of Law in this project. Another would be an environmental project, again shared by the same three institutions.

The Villanova Center at Galway will also service the needs of students attending the other colleges of the National University of Ireland system: Trinity College, University College Dublin and University College Cork. Ireland is a small island, so it will be relatively easy to combine distance learning for the required seminar with field trips open to all Villanova students studying the National system.

Mary O’Malley brings a unique perspective to her role as director of the Villanova Center. During a briefing visit to Villanova in April, she recalled how she had forged strong ties with the University

"I had met Jim Murphy in Galway many years ago, then came here as a Fulbright Scholar in 1989. While I was here, I taught three courses, then I came back the following year and became a doctoral student at the University in Pennsylvania. I kept in contact with my Villanova friends, including Jim Murphy who, to be fair to him, invited me to every dogfight! I was really delighted to keep up with the gang here in Irish Studies and with Father Shawn Tracy [ Rev. T. Shawn Tracy, O.S.A., ‘63, former director of the Office of Campus Ministry] and the campus ministry people. I often went on retreats with them," she said.

"Back in Ireland, I would meet the Villanova students whom Jim brought over to Galway for the summer program."

When O’Malley learned of Villanova’s intention to set up its center at Villanova she immediately applied for the position of director. Her knowledge of the ways American and Irish universities function would prove as invaluable as her understanding of the cultures of both institutions.

Ireland’s membership in the European Community, its long-standing reputation for excellence in academics, and its thriving economy make the Celtic Tiger’s higher education system very attractive to international students. This has created some interesting challenges for both the American and native Irish students, according to O’Malley.

"Galway is very cosmopolitan now. In any given class, you have an amazing range of students. Making friends is not so easy as it was ten or fifteen years ago.

Some of the Irish students retreat a bit. The Europeans have language problems. This global village can cause problems."

These issues may come as a surprise to the Americans, so to bridge the cultural divides and introduce Villanovans to modern Ireland, O’Malley is placing the students with Irish families in the Galway area and bringing them out to see the country. "It’s important to do this," she said, "because the campus is no longer an easy place for people to meet."

This program fulfills still more of the dreams Dr. Jim Murphy has for linking Villanova students and Ireland.

"Over the past 20 years, we’ve established a strong affiliation with the National University of Ireland in Galway. Our summer program has been very successful and now, the new Center will take us to the next level," he said.

"Traditionally at Villanova, study abroad has attracted students in the Humanities, while others have felt restricted by a mind set that discouraged accepting transfer credits for ‘technical’ courses from abroad. Happily, students from other degree programs are being encouraged to study abroad. Even more happily, I expect Ireland, especially NUI Galway, to become a major destination for Villanova students, whether their interests are in commerce, engineering, nursing or, as always, the richness of Ireland’s history, literature and culture."

For more information on study in Ireland or other international study opportunities, contact Villanova’s International Studies Program