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This blog shares the experiences of Goshen College students participating in the Study-Service Term in Northern Ireland.
Over three immersive weeks, students are exploring the theme of Arts and Purpose while living in and around Ballycastle, engaging deeply with local culture, history and creative expression. They are studying poets and artists from Ireland’s rich literary tradition, interviewing writers about the role and purpose of their work, and serving with community partners focused on peace and reconciliation. From coastal landscapes to conversations about identity and expression, these reflections invite readers into the moments that are shaping how students think about community, creativity and purpose in a place marked by both history and hope.
To begin our second full week here in Northern Ireland, we set out for Dunluce Castle on a rainy Monday morning. Our journey began with our daily walk to Ballycastle to catch the bus. From there, our Translink bus drove...
In the first week of our trip, after a day of orientation and rest, we took our first excursion: a long and bumpy bus ride from Corrymeela to Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy. While the journey there was hot and...
When we first arrived, the cliffside view of the coast reassured us that we were really here! Now on days when we don’t have any other excursions, we’ve settled into Corrymeela’s morning schedule of 8:30 breakfast (which always includes fresh...
On Friday, May 29th, after making the 30-minute trek from Corrymeela to downtown Ballycastle, we made our first voyage using Northern Ireland’s location public transportation system TransLink. After Jessica purchased 17 tickets we took our seats on the...
On Saturday night, Northern Irish author Tony Macaulay visited our group to answer student questions and read from his book Paperboy, which the students were assigned to read before the start of the class. Paperboy tells the story of Macaulay’s...
We’re working on more posts about our excursions, but in the meantime, here are some photos from Thursday afternoon. The students completed their first round of volunteer hours at Corrymeela. The weather was beautiful, and they helped harvest vegetables...
Greetings from Northern Ireland and the Corrymeela community! You’ll be hearing from the students soon, but I wanted to update you all that despite a VERY lengthy trip, our reward was a gorgeous sunny arrival at Corrymeela. We’re here, we’ve...
An introduction to the leaders, their family, the class, and where we'll be staying and traveling
On June 11, the last Tuesday of our visit, we headed to Rathlin Island, the northernmost edge of Northern Ireland. We’d been looking over the water at this island from our Corrymeela backyard for our whole visit, so it was...
One of our focuses during this course has been the history of Northern Ireland, specifically the Troubles, the particularly intense period of conflict between Catholics and Protestants that took place from 1968 to 1998. Derry was at the center of...
Just as the title implies, the day starts FAST! Alarms blare at 8 AM sharp to catch a quick breakfast. We assemble at 9 AM to depart on our usual 40-minute walk down the coast towards our bus, which departs...
On Monday, June 3, we visited Dunluce Castle, part of the Causeway Coastal route a bit farther west than Giant’s Causeway. The first castle on the site was built in the thirteenth century, and three centuries later, Queen Elizabeth I’s...
“Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests. / I’ll dig with it.” –Seamus Heaney, “ The quote cited at the top of the page comes from one of the most famous poems by one of the...
It took a long 10-hour flight, a three-hour bus ride, two different airport arrivals, and the coordination of two different groups without data, but the Poetry & Purpose in Ireland group is finally all together and the experience is underway!...
The Northern Ireland SSTers left the U.S. on Sunday morning, May 26 and arrived safely at Corrymeela yesterday. This involved successfully coordinating connections between travelers converging from three different locations, so we congratulate them. They were last seen enjoying the...
1. “This isn’t a restaurant!” Not exactly what I expected to hear during a sung eucharist at Westminster Abbey, but this sound assaulted my ears nonetheless. My cheeks burned hot with shame and second-hand embarrassment and I lowered my...