Professor Dennison is accompanied by his wife, Jane and Professor Katie Kane, Director of Irish Studies, and Professor Traolach Ó Ríordáin, a UCC graduate who teaches at UM.

This institutional relationship continues the historical links between Cork and Montana established in the 1800s when most of the Irish who emigrated to Montana in the 1800s came from Cork. They worked in the copper mines of Butte, which was once one of the most prosperous cities in the US and was nicknamed “the Richest Hill on Earth”. A particular concentration hailed from the Beara Peninsula, an area familiar with copper mining through the Allihies mines that operated from 1812 to 1962. These West Cork mines employed 1,500 people at their peak in one of the remotest parts of rural Ireland but claimed the lives of many due to the dangerous working conditions, a story that is told in the Allihies Copper Mines Museum.

Co-operation between UM and UCC has been growing since 2004. It now spans many disciplines, including History, Irish, English, Law, Geology, Life Sciences, Drama and Theatre Studies, and Mathematics. During the current academic year, 11 students from UM are studying at UCC and 12 UCC students are in UM. Staff exchanges have also occurred between the universities. One of the most innovative developments is the new BSc in International Field Geosciences through which UCC and UM collaborate with a third partner, the University of Potsdam in Germany. This programme, whose UCC coordinator is Dr Pat Meere in the Department of Geology, allows Irish students to study in all three institutions with financial support from the EU/US ATLANTIS project. Currently, four UCC students are studying abroad at the UM under this programme and two UM students are at UCC.

While at UCC, the group was received by UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy. Both Presidents signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the partnership between the two institutions. During their two-day visit, the delegation met with the International Education Office, and members of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, the College of Business and Law, and the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science. The group also availed of the opportunity to meet the UM students studying at UCC during their Junior Year Abroad. The delegation will go on to tour the Beara Peninsula tomorrow (October 24th 2009) with staff from the International Education Office in the company of Professor Seán Ó Coileáin, Professor Emeritus of Modern Irish at UCC and an award-winning scholar in all aspects of Irish literature.

Picture shows UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy welcoming Professor George Dennison to UCC today (October 23rd 2009).

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