Sweet Alabama!

What a great two weeks we just had, with our Study Abroad Ireland  groups from Jefferson State Community College and Gadsden State Community College, Alabama. This program has been in the works for a while, thanks to the efforts of the great Becky Duckett and Stacye Thompson, and we really had a blast! Faculty leaders Kyle Irvin and Leslie Worthington brought us a terrific group of students, and we had a lovely time learning all about Irish culture and history, and using our experiences to reflect on the many things in common between Alabama and Donegal, and USA history and Irish history. Niamh was presented with this gift below, with the Irish names of all of the students.

Each day, we enjoyed lectures on Irish history and culture with our instructor, Dr. Niamh Hamill. After the classes, we toured all around the Northwest of Ireland, around the counties of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Fermanagh and Derry, and finishing off in Dublin City.

We had so many lovely days, it’s hard to pick out the favourites, but Parkes Castle and Mullaghmore were definitely a hit! We also visited Devenish Island, Glencar Waterfall and Yeats Country, and there was surfing and horse riding on the beautiful beaches of Ireland’s wild Atlantic way.

Thanks so much for coming, y’all, and we look forward to seeing you again!