Criminology through Ireland

Flight

Depart from the USA on an overnight flight to Belfast.

Overnight:

In flight.

Morning

Arrive in Belfast and make your own way to the accommodations. Meet your TLAC group leader for check in. Transit passes will be distributed.

Remainder of the day

Free day to rest after arrival.

Overnight:

Belfast.

Morning

Guided walking tour of the peace walls and their murals

Noon

Lunch break.

Afternoon

Visit to Queen’s University Belfast where students will have a lecture on transitional justice, restorative policing, and community-led alternatives to paramilitary punishment.

Evening

Welcome dinner at Holohan’s Pantry.

Overnight:

Belfast.

Morning

Visit to the Crumlin Road Gaol. Since 1996 it is the only remaining Victorian era former prison in Northern Ireland. Students will discover the building’s past and the daily lives of both prisoners and prison officers.

Noon

Lunch break.

Remainder of the day:

Free time to explore the city

Overnight:

Belfast.

Morning

Check out previous accommodation.

Depart by train from Belfast to Dublin.

Noon

Lunch break.

Afternoon

Check in to new accommodation.

Walking tour of the city from its medieval foundations to its modern reality. The route winds through historic quarters like Temple Bar, Trinity College, and the General Post Office on O'Connell Street. Students will examine the city's architectural evolution, contrasting medieval landmarks with grand Georgian squares.

Overnight:

Dublin.

Morning

Guided tour at the Kilmainham Gaol Museum. It is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, were imprisoned and executed in the prison by the orders of the UK Government.

Noon

Lunch break.

Afternoon

Visit to The Criminal Courts of Justice. Students will observe a live Circuit or High Court criminal trial to analyze the Irish adversarial system, jury selection, and witness crossexamination.

Overnight:

Dublin.

Morning

Visit to the Belfield Campus of University College Dublin (UCD). Attend a specialized guest lecture at the UCD Institute of Criminology regarding modern Irish sentencing policy, penal reform, and comparative European recidivism metrics.

Noon

Lunch break.

Remainder of the day

Free time.

Overnight:

Dublin.

Morning

Check out of previous accommodation.

Depart by train from Dublin to Cork.

Afternoon

Check in at the new accommodation.

Free time to discover the city.

Overnight:

Cork.

Day trip:

Depart by bus from Cork city center to Blarney Castle.

Visit to Blarney Castle and Gardens. Blarney Castle is a partial ruin with some accessible rooms and battlements. At the top of the castle lies the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Students visiting the castle may hang upside-down over a sheer drop to kiss the stone, which is said to give the gift of eloquence. Surrounding the castle are extensive gardens.

Depart by bus from Blarney to Cork city centre.

Overnight:

Cork.

Morning

Visit University College Cork (UCC). Students will attend a guest lecture hosted by the UCC School of Law / Criminology Department focused on youth justice systems and diversion programs.

Noon

Lunch break.

Afternoon

Visit the Cork City Gaol, a 19th-century prison museum designed to resemble a medieval fortress. Operating from 1824 until its closure in 1923, the institution housed prisoners under strict, harsh penal conditions, later serving as a detention center for Republican prisoners during the Irish War of Independence and Civil War. Today, its preserved cell blocks, grand architecture, and historic exhibits provide a direct window into the development of nineteenth-century solitary confinement, social history, and the evolution of the Irish carceral system.

Evening

Farewell dinner at Market Lane

Overnight

Cork.

Students depart individually from Cork. Must checkout accommodations by 10am.