Cultural Connections: Why Are Donegal Students Mad for QUB?
By Katie McShane
If you find your flat-mates speaking in tongues about road frontage and Football Specials do not fear, they’re not alien but one of Queens’ many Donegal students. As of 2023, Donegal natives made up nearly half of all students from the Republic starting university in the North. The statistics make us wonder, why is Queens so attractive for students from Donegal?
One could argue it’s the proximity of the two cities that urges students to study in QUB. Belfast being only two and a half hours from the county, and Derry being only an hour, it seems only natural for students to gravitate there. However, should this not be reflected in all border counties? 72.2% of Irish students beginning study in the North came from border counties but Donegal alone made up 43% of this, leaving the remaining numbers split amongst Cavan, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan, and Sligo [1]. So why is it almost uniquely Donegal students? For me, the answer lies in three main fields: transport, accommodation and culture.
Transport
Transport is one of the most contentious issues in Ireland today – especially regarding students. Many new university students cannot drive, and the cost and lack of parking in major cities makes driving to college infeasible for most. When you remove this option, choices become slim. Donegal is the only county in Ireland to not have a railway line which narrows down the options once again. A student travelling to Galway could spend upwards of three and a half for Dublin, or eight hours for Cork. To put things into perspective, a flight from London Heathrow to Dublin only takes an hour and twenty minutes, forty minutes quicker than my own bus ride to Belfast. The choice seems reasonable; however, Belfast still has its challenges. There is one regular bus route that brings students travelling from Donegal to Belfast and it is a regular occurrence that the bus is full and passengers are turned away. However, this is a small price to pay for the quick and simple bus journey Belfast offers us.
Accommodation
Accommodation is the second biggest issue – one at the forefront of every student’s mind. In this area Queens is a very attractive choice. First year students are guaranteed accommodation. This is a far cry from the frenzy involved with getting accommodation in the South. Students fight for on-campus accommodation, and many are turned away in search of alternate options. Before I got my offer, I was searching for places to stay in Galway as I hadn’t got on-campus accommodation. Like many other students I probably would have ended up in “digs”, occupying a room in someone else’s house, or sharing my room with another student. Many students even end up commuting long distances every day. Because of these challenges most students in my Donegal school completely ruled out Dublin – possibly our biggest college town. Due to this, Queens became immensely popular amongst my peers – the stress relief it gave us was unmatched to any university in the Republic of Ireland. It seems to me that Queens is ahead of the game – or rather, other colleges need to catch up. There is no doubt that this is one of the main reasons so many more ROI students are beginning to look towards the North.
Culture
Finally, I would suggest that Belfast and Northern Ireland are culturally closer to Donegal than, for example, Cork. We share similar slang and attitudes and can interpret the close accents more easily than most. There are stark differences to be sure – different schooling systems for one. But at university those differences slip by more so than the more social differences would. When I compare counties like Cork and Dublin to Donegal, the local cultures almost feel foreign. More times than I can count I have been asked if I’m from the North, and usually I’m grouped in with the area. Derry and Belfast are our closest cities, the places we visit on school tours, and the spot for Christmas shopping. From Belsonic to the Christmas markets we are well used to the chaos and excitement Belfast offers us. Naturally, I would say, we are more comfortable here than anywhere else – a real “home away from home”.
Conclusion
To conclude; Why has Queens gone “Donegal mad”? The college is closer geographically and culturally to home. It easily compares to other top colleges, and Queens offers us guaranteed campus accommodation. To sum it up, Queens is simply the place to be for Donegal students and it wouldn’t be surprising if this became a recurring theme for many years– at least until we get a train line!
Sources:
[1] Scanlon, Cronan, ‘Huge number of Donegal students heading to northern university’s’, Donegal daily, February 16th 2024, https://www.donegaldaily.com/2024/02/16/huge-number-of-donegal-students-heading-to-northern-universities-report-1/amp/
