University of Southern Maine

A Message from Stonecoast in Ireland Director Ted Deppe

Hello from Ireland!

Thanks for visiting the Stonecoast in Ireland website.  One of many innovations that help set Stonecoast apart from other MFA Programs is the option of doing a residency in Ireland. Each semester, ten current students are selected to meet in Ireland with Stonecoast faculty and prominent Irish writers for an intense, week-long residency. 

Our summer residencies are held in Dingle, a cheerful village surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.  In winter, we gather in Howth, a beautiful seaside village that offers great cliff walks and a chance to take the train into Dublin to visit cultural highlights like the James Joyce tower or the W.B. Yeats exhibition.

The Irish residencies offer a full slate of seminars, workshops, and readings.  The goal is to totally immerse students in the writing process, Irish literature, and the beautiful Irish landscape, as they map out the course for their next semester.  While offering a unique cultural opportunity, residencies in Ireland maintain the same rigorous academic discipline as the Stonecoast program in Maine. 

Tuition and room and board costs are currently only $85 more than if you take your residency in Maine.  Airfare is your own responsibility, though the Stonecoast in Ireland staff can advise you on keeping costs down. Many students come early or stay afterwards to explore Ireland and Europe.  Again, SCI staff are happy to help with travel suggestions.

The roster is full for our 14-21 January 2009 residency in Howth.  However, if you are accepted for Stonecoast this fall and will be taking your first residency in Maine this winter, you are eligible to apply for the July 2009 residency in Dingle.  Applications will be available on the Stonecoast listserve and will be accepted in November 2008 for the July 2009 residency.  Participants are chosen primarily by seniority, though other factors, including the need to balance workshops, are also considered.  You can select mentors for the next term from the full Stonecoast faculty, whether they are in Ireland or Maine.

Along with my wife, poet Annie Deppe, I’ve hosted five residencies in Ireland so far, dating back to July 2006.  So far, every student in every residency has given the experience the highest possible evaluation, so let’s give a few of them a chance to speak about the Irish residencies:

• “This has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”—Susan Casey

• “Absolutely loved it and feel so lucky to have had this opportunity.  Not only is the location fantastic, the opportunity to work in such a small group and work so closely with faculty and visiting presenters is wonderful.  Also, the whole process is made so easy from applying to being picked up at the airport.”—Jessica Takach

• “Life altering!  An intense experience and immersion into Irish writing and culture.  It’s perfect!”—Karen Pullen

• “The residency was a perspective-changing, passion-yielding, and overall wonderful experience.”--Michael Smith

• “Once in a lifetime, amazing (actually I hope to return to Ireland again.)” —Florine Melnyk

• “Wonderful, everything one could have hoped for!  The Irish talent you got on board was amazing, truly cream of the crop.”—Christopher Watkins

• “I have come home inspired and refreshed not merely by the experience, but by the amount I learned and gained from others…Because of the group’s small size and the program’s contained setting, the level of trust and camaraderie that developed between us created a climate, in workshops and seminars, in which everyone seemed comfortable contributing.”—Felicity Stone

• “Stonecoast in Ireland has been the most amazing experience of my writing life.  The Deppes bring an insight and experience to Irish life that is truly unparalleled.  The field trip was AMAZING!”—Kerry Herlihy

I hope we’ll be seeing you in Ireland for a residency sometime.  For more information, please contact me at:

Ted Deppe, Director of Stonecoast in Ireland
Email: sc.ireland@yahoo.com
52 Henry Street, Galway City, County Galway, Ireland.
Phone from the U.S. is
011-353-91-58-23-86 (home phone) or
011-353-87-909-1724 (cell phone)

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Related Links:

About Stonecoast in Ireland

Apply to Stonecoast in Ireland

Stonecoast in Ireland F.A.Q.'s

Stonecoast in Ireland Photogallery

Stonecoast in Ireland Homepage