James Hatcliffe's Time in Cork, Ireland

James Hatcliffe

SUNY Cortland Senior

Dual Major in Social Studies Education and History

From Bellmore, New York

Want to know about Cork, Ireland? We had the pleasure of interviewing SUNY Cortland senior, James Hatcliffe, about his time in Cork. James shares his favorite memories from his time abroad in this charming and historical city. Whether it was visiting local cities or spending a few days in Amsterdam, James gives us a look into his study abroad experience.

Why did you choose to study in Ireland? Did you have any preconceived notions before arriving? 

I have an Irish background. My mom is full-blown Irish and my dad is pretty Irish too. I was
between going to Ireland and Australia because I love going to the beach but I really wanted to go all around Europe. I wanted to be able to travel to other countries too. It was my first time going to Ireland so I didn’t really know what to expect. The only expectations I had were basically what they described to us before leaving. I didn’t really have any ideas of my own besides what the Study Abroad Office and students described to us. They told me that everyone there would want to talk about American politics and America.

What was the most interesting part of studying abroad? Your program? The culture?

I really liked being able to travel because I’m a History major so I really like being able to see other countries and going to different museums in different countries. I really liked how accepting the Irish culture was to everybody. I had four roommates, two of them were from Singapore, one of them was from Germany, and one was from Cleveland, Ohio. We would go out and meet people and they would look at us no differently. We were seen as the same as them which really meant a lot as far as making friends with Irish people.

How was your college routine different in Ireland compared to here at Cortland?

No homework at all. I had four classes, all history classes and in all four classes I had book reviews and I had to write a paper on it. We had a final exam at the end of the year that I took online. Meanwhile, here I am doing homework and consistently having tests and papers. There’s a bigger grade scale here than just a final exam or one paper. It’s definitely an adjustment there because you know you need to do well on that one exam or that one paper. 

What was the highlight of your time in Ireland?

My girlfriend also studied abroad at the same time as me but she was in Italy. We met up in Amsterdam for three days and then she came to visit me for my birthday. We stayed in my apartment and my roommates threw me a surprise party at a little hotel bar right next to my apartment. So that five-day period was the highlight, just seeing my girlfriend and having my friends there with me.

Favorite part about Ireland? 

I liked how it was a really different vibe, geographically. Cork is a city but it is very old-fashioned and small which I didn’t expect. Dublin was a huge city with really tall buildings and it took forever to walk anywhere. The places around were beautiful geographically, like huge mountains and cliffs and the ocean right there and it was all within a two-hour train ride.

Did you travel anywhere while abroad? 

I visited a lot of local cities around. I went to Dublin, I went to Galway, I saw the Cliffs of War, and Killarney, Ireland. I also went to London and Amsterdam. I did have a bunch of trips canceled because of COVID. I was supposed to go to France but I ended up going home like two days later. I had trips to Florence and Greece planned too but I wasn’t able to go. I look back and I’m thankful I went that semester.