In an Irish Village, a Vassar Tradition Endures After 40 Years
Over the past four decades, about 60 Vassar students have spent a semester in the idyllic coastal village of Clifden, Ireland (pop. 1,236) to teach in the local schools and steep themselves in Irish history and culture.
Co-founded in 1986 by the late Vassar English professors Colton Johnson and Thomas McHugh, the program offers Vassar students, many of whom are education majors, the chance to hone their teaching skills in Clifden’s elementary and secondary schools. But to describe the program merely as a teaching experience would be akin to calling an Irish pub a place to imbibe a pint of Guinness. The adventure, Vassar students who have been there say, is much more encompassing than that.
“In addition to the teaching, the excursions we took to learn about Irish culture were deeply transformative,” said Anna Philippe ’27, who took part in the Clifden program during the 2025-26 academic year. “This experience gave me the self-confidence to navigate new places and meet new people—both in schools and outside of them.”
The heart and soul of Vassar’s Clifden program belongs to Brendan Flynn, an octogenarian and former principal in the Clifden school system who, along with Desmond Lally, a tutor for the Vassar students, organizes trips to such landmarks as William Butler Yeats’s home and gravesite and accompanies them to plays and musical performances throughout the region.
Lally says he and Flynn have been consistently impressed by the Vassar students’ interest and enthusiasm in teaching Clifden’s children while immersing themselves in the rest of the Clifden experience. “We like to think the Vassar students who come here take a little of Ireland back home with them,” he said. “They have been coming for so long that they have become a part of the culture of our town.”
Flynn said he has thoroughly enjoyed watching Vassar students thrive in their new environment. “I love observing the students’ excitement in being here,” he said. “They bring a new energy to our school and have enriched our programs in many ways.”
Anika Cousins ’27, who also took part in the Clifden program this past year, said Flynn took her and Philippe on a walk around the village the day after they arrived. “Brendan seemed to know everyone in town, and they all let us know they were glad we were there,” Cousins said. By the time she left, she said, her time in Clifden had “cemented my decision to become an elementary school teacher.”
Flynn and Lally say they both stay in touch with many former students who took part in the Clifden program. Alexandra Trunnell ’17, who has returned to Clifden several times to visit Lally and Flynn, said her experience there had “literally changed my life.”
Trunnell created an astronomy teaching unit for her Clifden students and is now the Lead Astronomer with the Yellowstone Safari Company in Yellowstone National Park, where she curates stargazing experiences for park visitors.
Trunnell said the village also holds a special, personal meaning for her. “My now husband has even told me that it was on a trip we took to Clifden together that he realized he wanted to marry me,” she said. “Clifden continues to be one of the most important places in my life, and I am endlessly thankful for the experience I had there as a Vassar student.”
Flynn says he often enjoys observing how much Vassar students are relishing their experience. While accompanying Philippe and Cousins on a trip to Sligo to visit the Yeats home, he said, “I watched Anna lie down on her back in the grass and simply say. ‘I want to stay here.’”
A 40th anniversary commemoration of the program is in the works. Clifden alums and friends of the program should contact Kerry Zuccaro, Assistant Dean of International Programs and Global Partnerships, at kzuccaro@vassar.edu if you are interested in participating.