Our second weekend at Corrymeela, we hopped on an early bus and train to take on Belfast’s bustling streets and the Belfast Book Festival, which featured homemade ‘zines (handmade magazines) for purchase and for free. The main themes of these...
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Northern Ireland
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.
Study AbroadBelfast: Beauty, Unrest, and Action
Study AbroadA Visit to Derry/Londonderry
In week two of our trip, our class went on its first train ride in Northern Ireland, and some of us rode a train for the first time! We were on our way to one of Northern Ireland’s more famous...
Study AbroadRathlin Island
At the start of our final week, we traveled from Corrymeela to downtown Ballycastle Harbor to meet the ferry that would take us to Rathlin Island. For some of us, it was our first time on a boat. The ride...
Study AbroadA Visit to Narnia: Dunluce Castle
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...
Study AbroadSeamus Heaney HomePlace Museum
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...
Study AbroadLife at Corrymeela
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...
Study AbroadFirst Translink Trip: Giant’s Causeway
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...
Study AbroadVisit from N. Irish author Tony Macaulay
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...
Study AbroadVolunteering at Corrymeela
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...
Study AbroadSettling in to Corrymeela
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...
Study AbroadWelcome to Poetry and Purpose in Northern Ireland!
An introduction to the leaders, their family, the class, and where we'll be staying and traveling
Study AbroadBrainstorming and Exploring on Rathlin Island
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...
Study AbroadA Visit to Derry/Londonderry
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...
Study AbroadBelFAST!
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...
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Exploring the Ruins of Dunluce Castle
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...
Study AbroadVisit to Seamus Heaney HomePlace Museum
“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...
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Together in Northern Ireland at Last!
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!...
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Northern Ireland Introduction
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...
Study AbroadSights, Sounds, and Reflections of a Day in London
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...