The Land of Writing

I was walking with a friend up North Great George's Street, north of the River Liffey in Dublin, at the end of which is a beautiful building named Belvedere College once attended by Joyce and immortalised in his memorable "Portrait of the Artist." Looking back I realised that on this same street you could find the James Joyce Centre, which contains a vast array of information and documents on Joyce's early literature and other memorabilia, as well as the home of a famous Joycean scholar. On the quays, or rather bridging them, we saw the marvellous Samuel Beckett bridge, a white harp connecting the north and the south docks of Dublin, whose gleam at night is a marvel and whose greatest fault is its distance from a more central and populated location. In Merrion Square, south of the Liffey, an emerald and pink stone Oscar Wilde lounges brazenly, his open legs and ironic leer startling the onlooker with the same comic and sharp wit to be found in his drama and prose. In Cork City, the Frank O'Connor house sits sleepily wedged like a short story snuggled in a collection. Ireland is the home of modern writing. From Edna O'Brien to Anne Enright, the tradition continues, as lively as ever, and with a flavour to be found nowhere else in the world. International film, drama, and poetry festivals are witness to a country whose love for (in my case literary) art is very much a part of its heritage.

The Uversity programme immerses its students in these environments and provides the media through which the student can be artistically inspired. The proximity of the programme to partner universities also allows the student to nourish their intellectual curiosity as well as to foster relationships with star faculty. And though the programme has its requirements, it is never rigid enough that it will prevent the student from enjoying the inevitable ups and downs of life that come from adventuring in a foreign country.