US Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin O’Malley and Professor Don Barry, UL President at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance
The University of Limerick welcomed newly appointed US Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin O’Malley and his wife Dena. The Ambassador and Mrs O’Malley were greeted by Professor Don Barry, UL President and enjoyed a visit to the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. The visit began several days of celebrations through the Irish World Academy’s ‘Convocation’, which took place on campus and in Limerick city.
Students of the Irish World Academy gave a special performance and the Ambassador was greeted by the Academy’s Director, Dr Sandra Joyce. The Ambassador praised the relationships between Ireland and the US. He said; “There is no doubt that the bond between the two countries is wonderful and we should do everything we can to nurture that bond, because it is the basis for a number of very good things. Simply the cultural exchanges are one, what I am seeing here, I met 20 students from the US that are studying music and dance here, that is a wonderful thing that is good for both countries.”
The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance is the centre of academic and performance excellence housed at the University of Limerick, Ireland. It attracts academics and practitioners from around the globe and has come to find its true home on the banks of the river Shannon. The Irish World Academy offers a suite of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in music, dance and related subject areas. Its research is at the forefront of these fields of enquiry worldwide. Founded in 1994 on the appointment of Professor Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin as first Chair of Music at the University of Limerick, it occupies a central position in artistic and scholarly research and education in Ireland and internationally. Since that time, the Academy has seen over 2,500 students representing 45 countries graduate from its postgraduate and undergraduate programmes.
