On Sunday, Director of Global Education Amanda Neill landed in Dublin, Ireland to discover new friendships with our Ursuline sisters abroad.
A 3 hour drive down the southeastern coast through the countryside brought Mrs. Neill to County Cork and the City of Cork, a lovely port town that captures all of the things that make Ireland a wonderful home away from home - quaint streets easily explored on foot, delicious Irish dishes, lush county-side and green rolling hills.
Ursuline Primary School and Ursuline Secondary Schools are located in the Blackrock neighborhood of Cork, a quiet and residential neighborhood in this small city in the south of Ireland. Like Ursuline Wilmington, these schools share a campus and educate children beginning in early childhood in a co-educational school and growing to a single gender school for ages 13-18.
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| Primary School Sign |
Principal Lucy Lambe and Deputy Principal Paula Goggin took Mrs. Neill on a tour of Ursuline, which is similar in size to UA Wilmington. While on tour, Mrs. Neill had the opportunity to pop into some classrooms and meet some teachers which is always exciting. One course that they offer to students that is different from UA is a modern twist on home economics which still includes cooking and sewing but now also includes home finances (mortgages, etc.), work-life balance, and technology. The home economics classrooms were fascinating!
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| Secondary School |
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| Secondary School Sign |
While in County Cork, Mrs. Neill visited some of the local sites including the patron saint of Cork, St. Fin Barre's Cathedral and Blarney Castle in Blarney, about 30 minutes outside of Cork City.
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| St Fin Barre in Cork, Ireland |
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| Blarney Castle in Blarney, County Cork, Ireland |
Mrs. Neill also had the opportunity to visit St. Angela's College in the Patrick Hill section of Cork, which is just across the river from Blackrock. St. Angela's is an all-girls Secondary School that sits in the middle of an incredibly steep hill overlooking Cork City. Next to the school entrance sits the Ursuline Convent and up the street is the Christian Brothers Academy. The school itself is quite modern in its urban setting, sitting amidst buildings that are hundreds of years old. Girls wear bright green and enter through beautiful glass doors to the courtyard of their school. The arts play a big role at this school and they have some incredible musical performances coming up in the near future.
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| St. Angela's College in Patrick's Hill, Cork, Ireland |
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| Ursuline Convent in Patrick's Hill |
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| St. Angela's College |
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| Checking in for the school day at St. Angela's |
Approximately 90 minutes north/northwest of Cork in lush and green County Tipperary sits Ursuline Secondary School in the town of Thurles. Thurles is a quaint village surrounded by a rich agriculturally-driven society. A few minutes off of the main square of Thurles on a quiet road sits the regal entrance to Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles. Ursuline actually has both a primary and secondary school that are both single gender and housed on the same grounds. Like Ursuline Wilmington, each has its own principal and leadership team.
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| Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles, Tipperary County, Ireland |
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| Student artwork in school cafeteria |
Mrs. Neill had the opportunity to spend some time with Secondary School Principal Mary Butler. Mrs. Butler is a "lifer" from Ursuline Thurles just like Mrs. Neill from UA Wilmington. Mrs. Butler shared all of the amazing happenings at Thurles including the artwork above (completed by a student), their amazing win in field hockey (their strongest sport), and their 500-student music academy led by Sr. Cecilia. It was an incredible visit and certainly not the last time that Ursuline Thurles and UA will connect. Mrs. Butler presented Mrs. Neill with a beautiful copy of their yearbook.
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Mrs. Mary Butler, Principal at Ursuline Thurles presents
Amanda Neill with school momento |
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| Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles entrance |
