An American University is set to build a new million-dollar campus in Dingle, Co Kerry.
The seaside town is set to get a university after The Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut put in a bid to build an international campus at the grounds of the former Christian Brothers School in Dingle.
This is the first American University to make this kind of investment and it plans to set up permanently in the town.
They aim to focus on coastal research and hope to partner their Department of Biology with Dingle’s Oceanworld Aquarium.
They will also partner with the marine research centre at Trinity College Dublin and NUI Galway’s Martin Ryan Institute in Carna.
The move came about due to the Irish heritage of the university’s dean Seamus Carey, a second cousin of the famous Kilkenny hurling player DJ Carey.
The SHU has already committed $1 million towards the building of the premises and the development of facilities around the campus.
Kevin Flannery the Director of Oceanworld Aquarium spoke of the opportunities that will come from the project and how beneficial it will be to the small seaside town.
“The SHU has already assessed the building, for a town this size the potential is huge,” he said.
The project has received great support from locals as the investment into the town will significantly boost the economy.
Padraic Kilcoyne
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