2026 Ireland

Enjoy a full day exploring beyond Dublin’s highlights, beginning with a visit to Malahide Castle, a stunning medieval estate set amid beautiful parkland just outside the city. Continue to the charming seaside village of Howth, where you’ll have time to enjoy lunch on your own and take in coastal views and harbor life. The day concludes at the iconic Guinness Storehouse, where you’ll learn the story behind Ireland’s most famous stout and finish with a pint overlooking Dublin from the Gravity Bar.

Evening is at your leisure.

We’ll travel by train to Belfast, where our experience begins immediately with an iconic Black Taxi Cab tour, often referred to as the Belfast Murals Tour. This powerful political tour takes us through West Belfast’s Shankill Road and Falls Road, offering firsthand insight into “The Troubles” and the complex history that shaped Northern Ireland. We’ll pass through the Loyalist Shankill Road, the Republican Falls Road, and view the striking Peace Walls that still stand as symbols of division — and progress.

After the tour, enjoy free time in Belfast city centre for lunch on your own and time to explore.

The afternoon continues at the world-class Titanic Museum, where Belfast’s shipbuilding legacy comes to life. We’ll then transfer back to the train station for our return journey, arriving back at the hotel at approximately 9:00 pm.

Observe a criminal trial in session and learn the process differences between Irish and US courts. We will meet at the hotel at 8:30 a.m.

After lunch, we will then walk as a group to the Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall

Professor Dermot Cahill, formerly Dean of Bangor Law School, University of Wales, will describe the main features of the key European Union Institutions and how they interact, both with one another, and with the 27 EU Member States, making laws and policies that govern the European Union’s Internal Market, the largest consumer market in the world where goods, services, workers, capital and corporations’ activities can flow freely between all 27 Member States.

Now in operation since the 1957 Treaty of Rome, the European Union continues to attract new Members and is a favoured destination for US corporations seeking to take advantage of its Four Commercial Freedoms. Ireland, in particular, is a favoured location for US FDI.

The Union’s response to the COVID crisis and to the war in Ukraine has demonstrated that the Union is more than just an economic union, and shows the advantages of working together in common cause, despite varying national interests, demonstrating the key role that the Rule of Law plays at the heart of the Union’s success.

In this session, Professor Dermot Cahill will examine the workings of the European Court of Justice of the European Union, its collegiate nature, its composition, its deliberations in French, its focus on written pleading and short time limits, how other countries can intervene in a case involving another Member State, and its independence in judging disputers not only between the various EU institutions but also its role in interpreting EU law for the benefit of the 27 EU Member States legal systems.

Professor Cahill will consider the Article 267 procedure which allows even the lowliest court or tribunal in the land to directly send a request for a preliminary ruling direct to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg asking it to interpret European Union law that is pertinent to a local dispute before the local court.

Professor Cahill will also demonstrate how all 27 national Supreme Courts have accepted the rulings of the Court of Justice (despite some occasional wobbles) and finally will consider the impact its rulings have had on accelerating human progress across all Member States since 1957.

Grab a sandwich, connect with colleagues, and be in your seats by 12:45 pm for the sessions.

Morning transportation provided to the airport