Galway students write letters to nursing home residents

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – NUIG students have written open letters to residents in every nursing home in Galway disclosing their experiences during the pandemic, in a gesture of solidarity to those forced to cocoon.

First and third year arts degree students in Modern Irish Culture Studies undertook the project – called Comfort Words – in a partnership between the Centre for Irish Studies at NUI Galway and Nursing Homes Ireland.

The instigator, lecturer Dr Nessa Cronin, said the letters written voluntarily by her students ran up to eight pages long. As it could count towards their end of term essay, 80 per cent of eligible students chose to undertake the assignment which will be graded.

In the letters, students introduce themselves to residents, disclosing their background and interests as well as sharing information about their life ambitions. They also express their thoughts and feelings surrounding Covid-19.

“A lot of the letters have detail about where they live and they talk about their homes where they have spent so much time in the pandemic. One student describes the view from her bedroom in Donegal and wrote a poem about it,” reveals Nessa.

“It’s quite poignant really because these are the two generations most affected by the isolation of Covid-19. The 15 to 25-year-olds need social interaction so desperately for personal development and the older generation have been cut off from their families.”

(Photo: Dr Nessa Cronin of the Centre for Irish Studies at NUI Galway)
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