Diarmuid O’Donnell
St Mel’s College Longford
My trip to Brussels, the European parliament and Ghent was entirely enjoyable and eye opening experience.
The city of Brussels is truly a marvel to gawk at, in my opinion, with countless palaces and monuments. The Grand Platz was a particular highlight. The atmosphere there, the shops, the food and the plentiful array of belgian chocolate, were all very enjoyable to experience. The freedom provided by Martin, Marie etc also truly allowed us to truly enjoy the city unabated and added to my overall enjoyment of the experience.
The tour of the city that was organised was very interesting and humorous. Furthermore, the tour guide was very knowledgeable of the city and he took us to many more wondrous sites such as the Atomium on the site of the 1958 belgium world fair. The exploration of the city was a big highlight of the whole trip for me.
The trips to the European parliament were captivating. The sheer magnitude of the building left me a little awestruck to be honest. Our discussions with the Irish and European MEPs were highly informative as well and gave me the opportunity to experience different peoples perspectives on a variety of topics. Maria Walsh was a gracious host and managed to organise a lot of different guest speakers which kept everything different and intriguing.
Vladimír BILČÍK, who kindly came to us as a guest speaker, was a particular highlight. His impassioned discussion of the Ukraine Crisis was gripping and sad all at the same time as he recounted the thousands of refugees that had fled to his country. His talk put a heavy heart in all of us and I would have loved to have heard more from him.
The European President, Roberta Metsola, was also a very interesting lady and politician to hear from. She told us about her own struggles in trying to get elected in Malta and it was quite inspiring to know, as an Irish person, that despite the size of small countries, they can still produce people capable of reaching the upper echelons of the EU.
Finally our escapade to Ghent was a nice ending to the whole experience. We were given a lovely tour of the city and let out to enjoy ourselves for a few hours.
In all I’d say the trip was great and I seriously hope other students have the opportunity to experience it in the future. The whole experience exposed me to a career in Europe, that I think I’d be more than happy to start..I’d like to give a big thank you to everyone that afforded me this opportunity and organised the trip, I enjoyed every second!
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This trip for me was very educational and a great opportunity. We were given amazing teachers to come with us and the other students were also just wonderful to be with. This experience gave me new friends and a new look on politics and to have seen what it’s like in France and Germany.
James McGreal
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The trip to Strasbourg will never be forgotten it was an amazing experience. Before I went on the trip I was afraid to meet new people but this trip showed I shouldn’t have been it was an amazing opportunity to meet new people and speak to them. I wouldn’t of changed anything on this trip it truly was an unforgettable experience.
Clodagh Fitzpatrick
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Truly a life changing trip and I feel like later down the road I may look into politics more, amazing trip that engages our youth and includes them in discussions that affects them directly and gives them a voice on the matters
Milo Kilgannon
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It’s hard to capture how incredible my experience with the Euroscola programme was. From
start to finish it was an adventure. I learned about myself, my values and my beliefs but also
about the lives and experiences of other young people.
The Euroscola trip acted as a catalyst in my own social conscience, and it gave me memories
I will treasure for a lifetime. A fantastic experience that I couldn’t recommend more.
Caoilfhionn Short
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The Graduate.ie trip to the EU parliament in Strasbourg was amazing and was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The trip provided both independence and structure allowing space on the trip to explore on your own. The EU Parliament itself was like nothing I had been to before with so many young people from all over the EU.
Sadbh McDonnell
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I found the Strasbourg trip to be a very enjoyable experience that helped me step out of my comfort zone and socialise more with people outside of just Cavan. It also helped me understand more about the parliament and how certain problems within the European Union are discussed and dealt with. I also found every other aspect of the trip, such as the Christmas markets and tour of the castle very interesting.
Emma Geraghty
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I personally spoke in the parliament about how member states shouldn’t oversee laws for cybersecurity and that the European Union should implement universal laws that all member states should adhere by. Then we got to vote using the electoral machines at our desks, then a final discussion on what important topics we would discuss if we were MEPs.
I’ll be eternally grateful for all the great memories and lifelong friends I made along the way because of this magnificent trip.
Donncha O Raghallaigh
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Our three-day trip to Strasbourg was a great experience and very enjoyable.
Overall, the trip was both fun and educational. We learned a lot while also enjoying new places and experiences. It was a memorable trip that we will not forget.Millie Ní Threanlámhach
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I had such an incredible time on my trip to Strasbourg. The trip allowed me to talk to people I never would have talked to before, and come out of myself in the company of others. The teachers who went with us were so kind and caring also. I would 100% recommend this quiz on graduate.ie to anybody, even if you don’t think you have an interest.
Lucy Morris
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The Euroscola trip to Strasbourg was an incredible opportunity that allowed me to learn more about Europe, meet new people, and experience new cultures. I made amazing friends and created memories that I will always cherish. I was surprised by how much I missed everyone once it was over.
Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity — it was absolutely unforgettable.
Clara Walsh
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The trip to Strasbourg and all the other locations is unforgettable and I wouldn’t have changed anything about the people I met on the trip, everyone was so lovely and it was a nice feeling knowing we were all in the same boat and it made us very close within the first day or so. Again, I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity
Kyle Earner