The Cambridge University Ireland Society aims to bring students from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland together for cultural, social and academic gatherings -providing both support for students and an opportunity to network with both fellow students and society guests from both Ireland and further afield.

Our aims are:

• To foster awareness and appreciation of Ireland within the University of Cambridge.
• To create a support network for students from Ireland, and those with Irish connections
• To promote the cultures of Ireland including language, literature, visual arts, music, the performing arts, and sport, in the spirit of inclusivity and with the goal of mutual understanding.

The society was founded in December 2004, and ever since has been extremely active within the University, events related to Ireland more accessible than ever to students and staff. The society allows us to share our rich culture and heritage with those around us.

To make the society more responsive to the University’s large Northern Irish population, the society introduced the Northern Ireland Forum in 2005. The Northern Ireland Forum provides Northern Irish students with the opportunity to discuss contemporary and contentious non-sectarian issues which affect Northern Ireland, such as education, economics and health, in a friendly and relaxed way.

One activity of the society is to promote Irish or Gaelige amongst students. We provide regular social & conversational events in Irish, allowing students from both Ireland and the wider community to learn Irish, or to regularly speak it (an opportunity many in small colleges would not otherwise have). In 2006, the society was proud to help the Anglo Saxon, Nordic and Celtic department begin regular, structured lessons in Modern Irish, funded by the Irish Government.

The Ireland Society promotes Irish Music within the University, providing Ceilis, and other traditional musical events. We are proud to be friends with the Cambridge Comhaltas, who regularly provide entertainment at our events.

The Society works with the Faculty of History, and many other academic groups with the University to provide a regular program of talks, most notably those of The Cambridge Group for Irish Studies.

Our Society stands aside the Cambridge University Gaelic Athletics Club, (although the two societies remain distinct), which has provided Cambridge with a fine Gaelic Football team for over a decade. Many of our members come from rural communities within Ireland, where the Gaelic Athletics Association is a major focus of a town’s social activities. Together, we work to provide as many activities for Irish students as possible.

The Society is constantly looking to expand - and in the future would like to increase our commitment to Irish student's welfare within the University. Furthermore, we would like to act as a contact for potential students of the University and to continue developing relationships with communities, groups and businesses around the University and back home. Supporting us is simple: if you're a member of the University, come along to our events, and get involved with running the society. If you are a business or group in Ireland that would like to support us, contact our president, who will be happy to discuss any support you can offer - whether it's resources, speakers for our events or careers oppourtunities for our members.