Back to the Dẻise

 

Tomorrow evening about 24 people from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania will be heading to Ireland.  We will go to Dungarvan, in County Waterford, known historically as The Dẻise, and home to Mercyhurst Dungarvan since 2010.  I’m proud to say I was with the first group who travelled there from Mercyhurst. I’m also humbled to say that this year will not only mark the 15^th anniversary of our relationship with Dungarvan, but also my third time of having the privilege of bringing our students to study there. They are in for a treat. Dungarvan is a lovely seaside town with lovely people. It is the perfect homebase for our students to experience the hospitality and culture of Ireland.

This year many of the students are Criminal Justice majors, but we also have a contingent of English majors and others who will take classes in Criminal Justice, Irish Culture, Irish Literature, and Ethics. We will journey out on short excursions to Dublin and Belfast, and we will travel to the west to visit Dingle, Galway, and the Cliffs of Moher. It will be magical.

How fitting that students in my Irish Literature class will start by reading James Stephens’s novel Crock of Gold, a work chock-full of mythology, folklore, philosophy, and Irish humor. I’m excited to read it again. We will of course also read some Joyce, Yeats, Heaney, Synge, and other great Irish authors. What a delightful way to transition into spring!