Why Dublin?

DUBLIN: A CITY TO LIVE AND LEARN IN

‘…if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world.’ – James Joyce

Dublin is located at the crossroads, physically, culturally and economically, of the U.S. and Europe. If you google Google, you will find that many multinational companies, such as Google and Facebook, chose to have their headquarters here for this reason, along with the presence of a very well-educated population (Ireland, together with the U.S., Japan, Norway and Australia, is in the world top ten as regards university graduates). Modern Ireland is a small country punching well above its weight, culturally, educationally and economically.

European capitals are only a few hours away and most of Ireland can be reached in the same time. You can breakfast in Dublin, lunch in Berlin or Belfast, and be back in Dublin in plenty of time for supper or a late night drink.

Dublin city has a good transport infrastructure although most locations in the city are very walkable (and ‘talkable’ – Dubliners love conversation!). With a very young population, Dublin hosted the One Young World summit in 2014. It is a young city with an old history. Its life, language and learning are evident on every street.

Language and Living:

James Joyce said: ‘For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world.’ Dublin is a city of books – it has bred literary genius of world-class dimensions. The city’s literary pedigree is second to none and draws scholars from all over the world to study James Joyce, Nobel prizewinning poet WB Yeats and dramatists Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett. Dublin is a very warm city too, famous for its camaraderie and its talkative citizens – a good place to learn English, in a friendly and safe atmosphere. It has a low crime rate and everything is near everything, in the city centre.

Dublin has Europe’s largest urban park (the Phoenix Park), is by the sea and is close to the Dublin Mountains. It has a lively, multicultural city centre and is a modern music capital, home to artists such as U2 and Enya.

Dublin, although it is a capital city, is still a city where people have time for one another. It is a city where language learning and life are woven together for you. What you learn in class, you will live on the busy streets of the city. Silence is almost a sin, in Dublin! It’s a very good place to learn to listen, think and, ultimately, speak the dynamic, ever-changing language of Shakespeare, Joyce and 50 cent!