| Studying in Ireland |
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| Like the UK, Ireland is expensive. The Euro isn't worth quite as the pound, but it's worth plenty, and things are also very expensive in Ireland. It's a lovely place though, and quite a nice mix of foreign country and not; I mean, they all speak English, but a lot of them also speak Modern Irish (not Gaelic, that's Scottish, which is related but not the same), and there are nice bits of unfamiliarity such as the police and Prime Minister having lovely Irish names (Garda and Taoiseach), and road signs in parts of Ireland being bilingual, and of course, it's very beautiful and still fairly remote and rural on the west coast, and there's plenty of history, mythology, culture, and alcohol available, as well as some very good universities, some of them bilingual, which could be fun. You will see that there are many fewer links for Ireland than for any other country I've included resources for, but do keep in mind that Ireland is a much smaller, and therefore less wealthy country, which in this case means the Government websites are sometimes a bit sketchy and thin on the ground. Education Ireland This is a site for non-Irish students who want to study in Ireland, and contains a lot of useful information, such as stuff you might want to know about living in Ireland (food, safety, religion), and of course, stuff about Irish schools. Although the initial page is all right, do be warned that navigating between pages in this site can take forever, as some of them load at the speed of molasses in winter. Also note that in Ireland Post-Secondary education is referred to as Tertiary Education (as in third level, which makes a lot of sense, as what comes after the second but the third?) Irish Colleges and Universities This is really just a list, but a list of Irish schools and their websites is something you will need, so I guess we just have to live with lack of exciting detail. If you don't know anything about Irish schools, the main things you should probably know are that Trinity College, Dublin and University College, Dublin (originally Anglican and Roman Catholic respectively, and usually known as TCD and UCD) are sort of the Oxford and Cambridge of Ireland, and University College, Cork is a primarily Irish-speaking school. Department of Foreign Affairs: Diplomatic and Consular Offices in Canada These are the people you will need to see about getting a student visa if you decide to go study in Eire (Ireland), and they have lots of offices in Canada: the Embassy in Ottawa, and Consular Offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and St. Albert, Alberta. If you want to find out about working while you're a student in Ireland, you'd also better contact them, as there doesn't seem to be any information online. Irish Naturalisation and Immigration: Student Visa Requirements Absolutely everything you'd better know before you apply for a Student Visa. Other more general details about applying for a Visa can be accessed through the sidebar on the left, but this is the starting place, if a Student Visa is what you need. Discover Ireland The home of Irish Tourism. And you will do some tourist stuff, because Irish tourism is a major industry (so it's hard to avoid) plus your family and friends will hate you if you don't bring back any dish towels with celtic harps on them or kiss the Blarney Stone or something. |