High school seniors and their parents looking for another, more affordable option for college should consider the colleges and universities in Ireland. That’s the message being delivered by Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, who will visit Boston late this month as part of a new Irish government marketing strategy to attract American high school students to enroll in Irish colleges and universities.
A one-day “Education Ireland Student Fair” is set for Mon., Sept. 27, at the Newton Marriott. The mission is being organized by Enterprise Ireland, a government agency that promotes educational and business ties.

Nick Marmion, the Toronto-based Enterprise Ireland’s senior vice president for Education Services in North America, said the student fair is targeting high school seniors to enroll full-time in a college or university in Ireland.
“The focus in Boston is on four things,” Marmion said in an interview. “Meeting Irish masters students from MIT and BC and US university contacts of the Irish Universities at a reception; a visit by the Tánaiste to Boston College; a breakfast briefing for high school counselors to tell them more about undergraduate study in Ireland; [and] an Education Ireland Student Fair so that students and parents can find out more directly from the colleges about studying in Ireland.”
Marmion explained that the event “is the start of a two-year push to promote Ireland in the US as a destination for junior year abroad, undergraduate studies, and masters programs.”
In Boston, the office of the Irish Consulate is assisting in organizing the mission and getting the word out to high school seniors and their parents. “Tánaiste Mary Coughlan will be in Boston at the end of September to promote the Irish universities/institutes of technology,” said Vice Consul Deirdre Ní Fhallúin “She is Minister for Education and Science.” The education trade fair will be “a key part of her visit for students [and their parents and high school counselors] who may be interested in pursuing third level studies in Ireland. There are some great opportunities for US students and I’m sure this will be of interest to many in the community.” 
All seven universities in the Republic of Ireland, and seven other other Irish colleges, will take part in the mission to showcase their institutions. Participating schools include:
Dublin City University, NUI Galway, NUI Maynooth, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin, and the University of Limerick; Institutes of Technology in Athlone, Blanchardstown, Sligo, Letterkenny, and Waterford; the National College of Ireland and Griffith College of Dublin. Also participating is IOTI, a representative body for Ireland’s university-level institutes.
The education trade mission is the first step in a new marketing effort announced in March by Taoiseach Brian Cowen to bring the sons and daughters of Irish emigrants all over the world to study in Ireland.
 In a news release issued during Cowen’s St. Patrrick’s Day visit to Washington, the Ireland Homecoming Study Programme (IHSP) “aims to encourage the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Irish nationals, and non-resident passport holders living outside the European Union, to return to Ireland for their higher education studies. According to the Emigrant Advice Network (EAN) there are over 3.1 million non-resident Irish passport holders. The IHSP will offer tuition costs to qualifying students of up to 40 percent less than the standard rate for non-EU students. The fee for the 2010/2011 intake will be 5,950 euro. The program aims to attract over 500 students over the next three years contributing an estimated 10 million euro to the Irish economy.”

The deep worldwide recession in recent years has reduced the cost of living in Ireland and an over-supply of rental accommodation gives the students the power to drive rents down. It's a win-win situation in a country where the average third-level institution tuition fees start at around $11,000, depending on the course and duration of stay, according to Education Ireland. In addition, there is also the option of staying with families, where students are provided with a home-away-from-home environment with an Irish family.

After Boston, the mission delegates will continue to Chicago and St. Louis. More information about attending college in Ireland is available online at educationireland.ie.