Nine URI students, led by a sports media and communication associate professor, Matthew Hodler, spent two weeks in Ireland this summer exploring the country’s sports culture while putting their reporting and storytelling skills to work.

As part of the inaugural study abroad program, students traveled through Dublin, Howth and Belfast. They toured places like Croke Park, The Curragh and Northern Ireland’s Football Stadium at Windsor Park, and had the opportunity to watch rugby and soccer at Aviva Stadium and more.

The trip went beyond visiting Ireland’s iconic sporting venues. Students got to see firsthand how sports are connected to local communities and culture in ways that look very different from the U.S.

“Sports in Ireland are very participatory and community-based,” Hodler said. “A lot of students have compared it to how sports in the United States are very corporate and commercially driven.”

That difference stood out to Harry Hunt ’29, a sports media major from Cranford, New Jersey, who was particularly interested in the connection between athletes and their hometown clubs. 

“Something that is very common in the U.S is for people to transfer clubs or leave their team, but what I loved about Ireland was seeing the dedication to one club,” Hunt said. “If you played for one club as a kid, you played for that club your entire life, which I thought was very special.”

Eliza Smith ’29,  a communication studies major from New Woodstock, New York, said seeing Ireland’s sports culture firsthand made her think differently about the role athletics can play in a community.

“I’ve traveled to a lot of places, but I’ve never seen a sports culture quite like Ireland. You can tell that they live, breathe and die for their sports. It really made me reflect on our sports culture.”

Students practiced their storytelling. Throughout the trip, they created social media content, conducted interviews, wrote reflections and worked on multimedia projects. 

Rather than simply documenting where they went, students had to decide what stood out to them and how they could turn those moments into stories.

Hunt wrote five journal entries about some of his favorite and most interesting days, along with a final project featuring photos and reflections from the trip.

Smith experimented with several forms of storytelling, including an Instagram post about four amateur sports within the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). 

“I also did a few postgame interviews after our small tournaments, which was super fun!” Smith said. 

Daily reflections encouraged students to think critically about what they saw, what surprised them and which moments best captured their time in Ireland. Working in a new environment challenged them to adapt their reporting and storytelling as they went. 

Getting to know each other and making new friends became one of the most memorable parts of their trip.

“I went into this trip not knowing anyone, and I can go out with some amazing friends and even better memories,” Smith said. “ One of my favorite memories was our last dinner. We went to see Riverdance, and I ended up going on stage to dance with the dancers.”

The trip had also influenced the students to think more about their futures.

“This trip solidified my goal to want to travel more and see the world and experience cultures,” Smith said. “It made me think broader that I don’t have to work in my own country, but wherever I can in the world.”

Hunt said the experience also expanded his view of the career opportunities available in sports media. 

“This has influenced my future goals because I could definitely see myself living and working in Ireland with some of the organizations we visited,” Hunt said. “It helped me understand the different careers that can come out of this major.”

For Hodler, giving students the opportunity to navigate a new country was just as important as what they learned about sports communication. 

“My hope is that they have gained some confidence about navigating the world and realize they can figure things out all on their own,” he said. 

For the students, the trip offered a chance to see sports from a different perspective while developing their skills outside the classroom. They returned to URI with new reporting experience, new friendships and, for some, a new idea of where a career in sports media could take them.

This story was written by Sydney Capello, an intern for the Harrington School Social Media Agency.