Me, standing on a street in the Temple Bar District, Dublin, Ireland.
Author: Dhruva Rangarathna | Major: Political Science, Economics | Semester: Summer 2025
Working under immigration solicitor Louise Corrigan this summer in Ireland has greatly contributed to my professional and academic development. I spent my entire sophomore year working under Canopy NWA as the Trump Administration dismantled the federal resettlement system. I saw first hand what can be done through the power of an executive order, and how much adaptive legal systems need to be in a time of political change. While Canopy NWA gave me an understanding of the nonprofit sector, that is not where my career goals lie. I wanted to know how private practice was affected by these changes. I also had a longstanding desire to know if opportunities exist for legal professionals outside of the United States. Ireland has been a country I have loved since I visited in my youth; my appreciation for it has grown over the years. I have extensively read about the Irish Independence movement and the Troubles as part of my Political Science degree. Ireland has a unique place of neutrality within Europe. The very existence of the Irish State is a complicated framework of international agreements concerning the U.K., the E.U., and the U.N.. Alongside this fact, it has a complex history of oppression and colonialism despite it being a Western European nation. The successful struggle to create a free Irish State was one that held solidarity with global decolonization, a solidarity which has continuity in the modern Palestinian liberation movement. Finally, Ireland has an intimate relationship with immigration; the Irish diaspora is one of the largest ethnic diasporas worldwide. However, immigration into the country within the last decade has been met with substantial opposition in conjunction with issues like unemployment, housing, and social welfare. A large part of my curiosity was comparative: how have Ireland’s political currents changed as the United States shifts towards right-wing populism? All of these qualities make Ireland a candidate for a case study on global shifts in political thought. I spent two months in Ireland this summer, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
My time working in Dublin was, as previously mentioned, heavily impacted by tangible and ongoing changes in the American government. Louise Corrigan is an Irish immigration solicitor who focuses on clientele travelling between the United States and Ireland. Her operation in Dublin is a solo, but she works with two other lawyers based abroad. She spent six years within the New York Public Defenders Office, and returned to Ireland to begin her own practice. The systems and procedures Louise had in place for her operation were directly impacted by the new policy. All visa and citizenship applications have deadlines, requirements, special procedures, and exceptions which are the lawyer’s responsibility to understand. With such a large scale of operations, I took over monitoring these changes, providing reports on how to best adapt to these changes on a case by case basis. Furthermore, I would write newsletters available to our clients, updating them about changes in the U.S. immigration system. I also handled other clerical and administrative tasks like organizing documents and reviewing applications. The largest thing which I noticed was the volume of American citizens attempting to apply for Irish citizenship. While we may joke about the direction our country is heading, these applications were a clear indicator that Americans are genuinely concerned for their futures. My time with Louise Corrigan showed me that as a legal professional, I am not limited by the scope of a Bar certification. While legal knowledge might be specific to a system, the skills lawyers use are applicable across jurisdictions and across fields.
Aside from working, I made the most of my time within Dublin and across the Isle. I travelled intensively through Dublin, familiarizing myself with the city beyond its center and befriending locals and travellers alike. I visited areas around County Dublin to increase my confidence in myself as a traveller, including Howth, Bray, and the Greystones. Alongside my program and friends, I travelled to Cork, Galway, and across the border into Northern Ireland. While Ireland is often drear, it allows you to appreciate the sunshine much more. I kissed the Blarney Stone, watched the Gaelic Football Finals fifteen minutes from Croke Park, and visited the decades old sectarian barricades in Belfast. I believe that Ireland is easily one of the most incredible places I’ve ever visited. Before my trip began, I didn’t even know how I would live away from home for two months. Now, I am not sure how I am going to come home.