Irish Studies In TCD?

croleeka

Hello everyone, I wanted to get a perspective of what the Irish Studies course is like in terms of students' experiences, quality of the lecturers and all things that may help me finalise my decision to pursue this course. (I know there was a thread sort of like this over 2 years ago and another one 5 years ago but I don't think they provide any relevant answers or insight.)

The main aspect of this course that makes me want to study it is it's diversity in the subjects that interest me. I contemplated choosing between English Studies, History, Geography, Sociology and Political Science so when I found out that Irish studies incorporated all of these as well as appealing to my interest in Irish culture itself I was ecstatic.

Also as a side-note, (I'm thinking way ahead) I want to go into a career involving teaching or journalism. Have any graduates found it hard to get employment or see their course as a bit of a hindrance when it comes to seeking employment compared to other courses in arts? For teaching (Since I'll pick Strand "B") when I graduate I should be qualified to teach English and History after completing the H.Dip Education, is this correct?

Thanks very much, I know there's a lot of questions there but if you have any advice, however small it is, please share it! Thanks again.

Ravelleman

I was not a student of Irish Studies but I would say that whatever you choose, you will be surprised by the depth and the diversity of subjects that you can study.

If you are interested in a 'multi-disciplinary' degree, might I recommend European Studies. Such a course covers many of the subjects you express an interest in.

croleeka

Ravelleman wrote: »

I was not a student of Irish Studies but I would say that whatever you choose, you will be surprised by the depth and the diversity of subjects that you can study.

Thanks, that's something to take into account with a course as broad as Irish Studies. I looked into European studies also but the emphasis on the language element threw me off, I detest studying European languages but if I did enjoy the language element I would have selected European studies as first preferences so thanks for pointing it out!

bellarose89

It is a really good course. I am enjoying it... the slight downside right now is that it is a relatively new course so they have modified it each year so far for the new freshers, I'm a bit gutted that I missed the opportunity to study the history of the USA and American literature as a part of it and that little issue may continue for the next few years which makes it harder to pass on advice because each year is different. the careers options are still a bit of a mystery to me and I haven't really worried about it yet but with only a short time left I'm going to start looking into it.
in a nutshell if you are diligent, attentive and motivated it's pretty hard to go wrong... even if you find the subject difficult. if you are choosing it because it 'looks like a doss' like some I know thought, you are in for a bad shock.

As far as lectures go there's good and there's not so good probably the same in every college and course. you have to be self motivated and if you choose to do the course, keep up with any reading thrown your way it's really valuable.