BA - Irish Studies in Fredericton Canada | St. Thomas University

Established by Irish Diocesan priests in Chatham, New Brunswick during the early 1900s, St. Thomas University maintains deep spiritual, intellectual, and emotional ties to a vibrant and distinctive Irish cultural heritage. New Brunswick, home to pre-Famine Irish settlers, contains one of North America's oldest native Irish communities. Additionally, during the 1840s Great Hunger, only Quebec welcomed more Irish Famine refugees than New Brunswick, with over 30,000 immigrants arriving through ports like Saint John, Saint Andrews, and Miramichi.
Currently, St. Thomas University recognizes and celebrates these early Irish settlers' sacrifices and contributions through various academic programs, including: Catholic Studies, Human Rights, Religious Studies, Social Work, Education, English, Criminology, History, Philosophy, and Political Science. Many of these programs emphasize the Catholic Church's social justice mission and the enduring influence of Irish clergy, religious orders, and laypeople who historically shaped the university's faculty, administration, and student community. The Irish Studies Program both supports these academic focuses and honors the historical and contemporary voices of the Irish who originally sought to provide education for their displaced community and the broader global population.