22 MAY 2022

On Sunday 22 May the Trinity University of Sanctuary Group, invited us on a visit to their campus which brought around 70 people of all ages from Mosney Direct Provision Centre and other places to the college. 

We are very grateful to TCD, and the many staff and students who greeted us so warmly and assisted us so ably, for their generous support. One of our guests, from Afghanistan, described the outing as their “best day in Ireland ever”. The progamme prepared by TCD fitted perfectly with our ‘nature and heritage’ theme, switching seamlessly, for example, from the architecture of the museum to the swifts nesting there, and then to the plants from the college botanical garden rendered in stone right around majestic building.

The day involved a campus tour with Estates and Facilities, fun in the Sports Centre for the kids, a visit to the Book of Kells, talks from Trinity Access Ambassadors and lots of food and chat. We learned from speakers of Albanian, Pashtun, Arabic and Urdu languages, amongst others. By sharing information about Trinity’s Asylum Seeker Access Provision (ASAP) scholarships the event also spread knowledge about these scholarships in the community. 

Co-Chair of Trinity University of Sanctuary and Assistant Professor in International Peace Studies, Gillian Wylie says:

“Trinity became a University of Sanctuary in 2021. As such, we are committed to creating a culture of welcome and inclusion for asylum seekers and refugees, as well as providing understanding of the situation of displaced people through education and encounter.”

Highlights for Gillian include the “opportunity to open up Trinity in a welcoming and inclusive way to people in the international protection system – and the hope some of them will access Trinity someday as students” and also “the amazing collaboration that developed through the project between us in the Sanctuary Group with colleagues throughout College – the Equality Fund, Trinity Access Programme and their amazing student ambassadors, Estates and Facilities and Trinity Sports and Civic Engagement. We also got some additional supports from the Dean of Students and Global Relations and a great base for the day in the School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies. We have wonderful colleagues.”

Thanks to Lorcan Scott and Mike Finn for photographs