Study Ireland – Stories & Guides from International Students

Waking up to yet another “peaceful” alarm and rolling out of bed, I opened my blinds to see… a rainbow stretching across my window. I wasn’t doing anything special, just getting ready for another lecture, but the moment made me pause for a second. 
 

One thought hit me: “This is my new normal.” 

When I was choosing where to spend the next four years, everyone (friends, family, teachers) told me the same thing: “You’ll make your college experience wherever you go.” And I agree. 
If you say yes to things, if you show up, if you push yourself into new spaces, you can create community almost anywhere. 

But the reality is that some places make it easier than others. 

Look, you only get one Erasmus semester. One short stretch of months that people love to call “the best of university.” On days that move so fast, they reshape you before you notice. Some people change so much during that semester that they decide to stay longer. Others, like me, choose to buckle in from the start and make Ireland their home for the full degree. 

So that leaves one question: 

Why UL? Why Limerick? Why here? 

I could give you all the statistics you’ve probably already Googled. I could go through the usual list: rankings, societies, facilities, and employability. But none of that actually explains it. 

Because yes, you can create a community anywhere. 
But the shape it took for me? 
That’s something I never could’ve predicted. 

Things that only happened to me here at UL: 

• Waking up to a rainbow stretching across your window like it’s no big deal. 
   

• Exploring castle ruins a few minutes from campus between lectures. 
   

• Hanging upside down from the Living Bridge for a photo and still wondering why. 
   

• Chugging a carton of Irish milk at Stables because the dairy here is to die for. 
   

• Add “slow-cooked” chicken parm to your repertoire because your oven turns a one-hour meal into a three-hour one. 
   

• Experiencing the thrill of trying to find a barber in Ireland who does you right. 
   

• Cheering louder than the locals at a Munster match despite still not knowing half the rules. 
   

• Turning your mandatory IRP appointment in Dublin into a day forever labeled “date-day” in your calendar. 
   

• Experiencing college Christmas in a full Santa dress. 
   

• Finding a team that feels more like a family… or honestly something between the two. 
   

• Seeing exchange students welcomed into tryouts with the same energy and respect as full-degree students. 
   

• Yelling so loud at matches that your social anxiety decides to sit this one out. 
   

• Turning a 1.5-hour bus ride to Galway into a 4-hour marathon because of Irish traffic. 
   

• Bringing your camera to your first event at Stables and walking away with your closest friend because they pulled you from behind the camera and made you dance. 
   

• Inviting a friend over for a “quick cup of cocoa,” and them leaving at 2:30am with their belly full of five different desserts (thanks, Hailey). 

• Lose your Irish citizenship to a game of darts while listening to trad music in a rural pub.  
   

• Lifting with your roommates and hitting a pose or two in front of the vending machine after every single workout, 
   

• Eating crepes with your new “family” what feels like every other day. The Nutella shelf at Aldi hates to see us coming. 
   

• Becoming a regular at the Milk Market and trying a different treat every time. 
   

• Celebrating early American Thanksgiving (aka Canadian Thanksgiving) with a group where exactly one person is actually Canadian. 
   

• Walking away with a camera roll you’re emotionally unprepared for — four months of memories packed into your pocket. 
   

And when you need a break from your new normal, you can: 

• Hop on a bus to Dublin, Galway, Cork, or Kilkenny… or maybe even Mooncoin if your bus driver decides to skip your stop (or two). 
   

• Or say “why not?” and fly to Austria, Slovakia, or Scotland for the weekend — because Ryanair exists and temptation is real. 
   

Either way, you always come back thinking: “I really needed this.” 

This is why UL. 
Why Limerick. 
Why here. 

Why here is my normal now; the normal I was meant to find. 
And if you’re wondering where to spend your short, one-of-a-kind semester abroad, I hope you find a place that does the same for you. 

Maybe that place is UL. 
Maybe this becomes your new normal.