PHOTOS: Griffith College celebrates almost 20 years in Limerick at its refurbished city centre campus

Griffith College Limerick Induction Day 2025 took place on September 17, 2025. Picture: Olena Oleksienko

Griffith College is celebrating almost 20 years of growth in Limerick City with its refurbished city centre campus and is offering more courses than ever

Griffith College has been providing private higher education options to students in Ireland for more than 50 years. The College is now celebrating over 19 years at its Griffith College Limerick city campus.

Deputy Head of Griffith College Limerick, Kate Harrold, said that the campus has set out a distinctive role for itself in Limerick as a bespoke higher education provider, saying that Griffith College Limerick is “moving all the time with the needs of industry”.

“ Griffith College has been in Ireland for over 50 years. It was founded by Diarmuid Hegarty, the President of Griffith College. Professor Hegarty also set up a campus in Dublin and Cork.

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Kate explained that the College is driven by the ethos of its founder as a friendly, welcoming, collaborative and socially responsible place committed to community and environment, where staff are approachable, kind and compassionate towards students. Everyone is valued and supported.

The College delivers courses across levels 6 to 9 on the National Framework of Qualifications, and the Deputy Head believes its adaptability as a smaller higher education provider is one of its core strengths.

Kate said, “We have a wide range of courses, and especially here in Limerick. We have new programmes recently validated in sustainable tourism and in sustainable engineering. So we’re moving all the time with the needs of industry and changing year to year, so we are never staying the same.”

The flexibility and adaptability of a smaller education provider is not the only benefit, Kate says; it also allows for a more student-centred delivery of courses.

Kate went on to say, “Being that smaller, private, higher education provider, we offer a one-to-one experience for students. The class sizes are smaller, and our lecturers have a wide range of industry experience that they enthusiastically pass on to the students.”

She added, “It’s that ethos of being able to nurture and support all of our students individually.”

The student body reflects both local roots and global reach, with learners coming from across Limerick, Cork, Dublin, and countries worldwide. That mix, Kate believes, enriches the academic and social experience for everyone, with Kate saying, “We have such a wide range of students and that makes for an interesting mix as well.”

This year also saw the completion of a full refurbishment of the Limerick campus, just in time for students returning in September.

“Just this summer, we finished the refurbishment of the campus,” Kate said, “A lot of hard work was put in over the last few months to bring it up to this exceptional 5-star standard.

“Right on time for students returning this September, and all of our facilities, we have, and you can see we have this impressive historic campus overlooking the sweeping crescent.

It is difficult to ignore the historical significance of the building and its location in Georgian Limerick, with Kate saying, “When you’re on the doorsteps, I often think, ‘What was it like for people who were here almost 200 years ago?’ Populated with engineers, lawyers, and architects, and here we are today training a new generation of professionals embarking on careers that were never thought of even a few years ago including cybersecurity, AI and many more.”

Pictures: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick