In 2015, the University of Notre Dame and the Benedictine Community at Kylemore Abbey formed a partnership which would further their shared spiritual, cultural, and educational missions. Thus, in 2016, the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre opened its doors to Notre Dame undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. To date, the Center has hosted creative writing workshops, service opportunities, master classes, retreats, and public lectures. Community outreach and connectivity with the Benedictine community remain a top priority in the Centre’s programming.
The Kylemore Abbey Global Centre is located in St. Joseph’s Hall, a self-contained building adjacent to the main Abbey building. Kylemore is located in the picturesque Connemara region in County Galway, approximately 77km from Galway City. Connemara is known for its remarkable beauty, and there are many activities close by. Tours of the Irish-speaking Aran Islands, pilgrimage hikes, visits to a sheep farm, and witnessing the famine trail, are all popular options. Other guests opt to bask in the solitude and scenery, and find time to write, paint, or photograph.
Mission
The Kylemore Global Center is where the Notre Dame family and the wider Irish community engage in meaningful and authentic ways. Together with our local partners, we strive to provide multi-disciplinary programming for leaders, thinkers, and creators with a focus on nourishing the mind, body, and spirit.
Vision
The Kylemore Global Center is continuing the Benedictine legacy for providing education, hospitality, community, and reverence for the land in Connemara, Ireland.
If you’re interested in visiting the wild west of Ireland, please contact us.
Subscribe to the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre newsletter
Download the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre Viewbook
Download the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre Planning Guide
The Kylemore Abbey Global Centre is part of the University of Notre Dame’s global network. Notre Dame International oversees Global Gateways centered in Beijing, Dublin, Jerusalem, London, and Rome. The Gateways create unique opportunities for Notre Dame to engage the world and the world to engage Notre Dame through scholarly collaboration, undergraduate and graduate study, as well as cooperative programs with governments, foundations, corporations, alumni, parents, and friends of the University.
NDI also leads six Global Centers located in Santiago, São Paulo, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Mumbai, and at Kylemore Abbey in western Ireland. A simpler infrastructure, the Global Centers focus on a more defined geographical area to facilitate academic and cultural programming and exchanges.
- 1867 Foundation stone laid for Kylemore Abbey
- 1920 Benedictine nuns move to Kylemore Abbey
- 1993 Keough Irish Studies program starts at Notre Dame under the leadership of Seamus Deane
- 1996 Notre Dame plays Navy in Croke Park; 10,000 Fighting Irish fans attend
- 1999 Inaugural Irish Seminar held in Dublin; ND establishes Ireland Council under chairs Don Keough and Martin Naughton
- 2003 Hesburgh Library acquires the landmark Loeber Collection of Irish Fiction
- 2012 Taoiseach Enda Kenny presents Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., with Irish citizenship in recognition of his service to Ireland
- 2012 Notre Dame plays Navy in Dublin's Aviva Stadium; 35,000 ND fans attend
- 2016 Kylemore Abbey Global Centre opens
- 2016 Notre Dame's Newman Centre for Faith and Reason opens at Newman Church in Dublin