From Italy to Ireland, Student Ambassador Maria Serafini takes us on a heartfelt journey of following her passion for contemporary art, her love for the English language, and the search for something more.
In Dublin, she found more than just a place to study—she found inspiration, connection, and grá in every corner of Irish life, from the galleries to the grey skies, the spice bags to the sea.
Read her full story and see how Ireland became more than a destination—it became home.
And then Brexit came.
This is what I usually say when people ask me, “Why did you choose to study in Ireland?” Well, like any other good UK-centric European citizen, I too had the… British Dream. Is it odd if I call it that?
I went through high school dreaming of a luxurious career in London—where everything is always buzzing, accents are posh, girls are tanned, policemen wear Dr Martens, and food prices are through the roof. I loved the English language and desperately wanted to live somewhere I could speak it all the time. Occasionally with an Essex accent. To me, it was a life worth dreaming of.
Needless to say, when I started university, those dreams began to collapse like a sandcastle in the rain. It was 2016. First of all: I was pursuing a degree in History of Art. Then came the broader realisation—university opened my teenage mind to the complex realities of the world, including the challenges of capitalism. And then, Brexit came.
So I stayed in Italy. I completed my degree, attended a Master’s programme, and started working. Multiple jobs. Very few of them were even remotely related to art. Meanwhile, sleep felt like a distant memory, and dreams were slowly being replaced by the development of my frontal lobe.
Still, I adored the English language. I still wanted to do something with my life beyond my home country. And I still wasn’t ready to give up on studying art—and actually turning it into a real career.
I’ll admit, this has been a long preamble just to frame the real reason I ended up in Ireland. In Dublin. But I’ll say it.
My compass began pointing towards Éire for all these reasons. But it was the magnetism of this land that kept the needle fixed here—straight and unwavering, like an exclamation mark.
I began to study Dublin, the nearby towns—even Sligo. I researched the colleges, the art galleries. The language. There’s a word in Irish that strikes me every time: grá. It means love, but it’s more than that.
When I arrived in Dublin and began my university courses, I felt… blessed. Can I say that? In a country as richly spiritual as Ireland, I think it’s allowed.
The sky—blue like fresh paint, then dusty grey, damp, bright.
The clatter of horses’ hooves on the asphalt.
The neighbours with eyes both kind and watchful.
The tanned girls.
Food prices through the roof.
The housing crisis.
The Irish language.
Spice bags.
Seagulls gliding lightly, masters of chaos and charm.
The dark, placid Liffey.
Hurling.
Sweaty, noisy pubs.
Being on a first-name basis with professors and lecturers.
The Viking Splash tours on amphibious bus-boats.
Gardaí wearing sturdy black leather footwear.
The Little Museum of Dublin.
The many contemporary art galleries scattered across the city.
The vibrant green parks, and the tiny private gardens tucked into residential streets in the north.
The blue door of NCAD on Thomas Street.
Taking the DART from Clontarf to Dún Laoghaire, watching the sea roll by.
And if anyone mentions London, it’s mostly just to deliver a colourful insult.
I still can’t form a cohesive narrative of Dublin—or of Ireland. What I feel is more like a sudden downpour: it loosens your limbs, clears your head, and somehow leaves you reassembled once it passes. What I feel is grá.
So, to answer the original question—“Why did you choose to study in Ireland?”—I’m afraid my answer might be disappointing.
Let’s reframe the question:
“Would you choose to stay in Ireland after your studies?”
I want to study contemporary art and build a career from it. Ireland is energy—it flows and permeates everything. It’s a country that has turned its past into a blazing present. And, I believe, into a tangible future.
Italy is beautiful—melancholic and grand in its decadence.
Éire is magnificent.
Éire burns, rains, shines, and howls.
Éire is alive.
It’s art for everyone.
And it smells of grá.
I am happy.
A chuisle mo chroí.
Maria is studying at National College of Art and Design via Education in Ireland