Law with Irish

The BCL (Law with Irish) course allows undergraduate law students to access a cohesive set of Irish language modules that are relevant to the study and practice of law. This course offers you the opportunity to acquire a highly respected BCL degree, whilst additionally deepening your competence in the Irish language in the context of law. Your Irish language communication skills will be developed by the resources provided by a modern multi-media language laboratory (An Teanglann) and the advanced language skills training in Lárionad de Bhaldraithe.

This degree offers Irish language enthusiasts the opportunity to further their language learning and to develop a unique ability to interact with legal texts in either Irish or English. Law graduates with a high level of competence in Irish are very well placed to pursue traditional careers in law as well as related careers including lawyer/linguist roles at the European Union and diplomatic service with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.

One of the objectives of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 is that by 2030, 20% of new recruits to the public sector and the Civil Service are proficient in Irish, thus incresing the employment opportunities for Irish speakers.

First & Second Year

In first and second years your studies in law comprise core modules such as

• Constitutional Law
• Contract Law
• Tort Law
• EU Law
• Property Law
• Criminal Law

Your Irish language modules include:

• Teanga na Gaeilge
• Forbairt na Gaeilge Acadúla
• Aistriúchán Dlíthiúil
• Iriseoireacht na Gaeilge

Students can apply to study abroad at Concordia University (Montreal) for a trimester in their third year. Concordia offers one of the leading Irish Studies programmes in the world. Students will experience life in a vibrant bilingual city, and will have the opportunity (optional) of taking a French language course. Alternatively, students can go on Erasmus exchange to one of our partner universities in Europe.

At UCD Sutherland School of Law, we actively encourage our students to travel abroad as part of their education. In today’s globalised world this is an unrivalled opportunity for students to broaden their horizons and gain life experience. We offer our students the best range of opportunities of any Irish Law School to study abroad, including numerous partners across Europe, as well as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and the USA.

UCD participates in the ERASMUS+ programme which has an extensive portfolio of partner universities around the world. This programme ensures that our students have the widest range of options possible for study abroad. Depending on which particular programme you choose to study, you will have different options to spend a trimester or a year at one of our partner universities. The widest range of destinations is offered to BCL students.

As a UCD law graduate, you will be very well placed to pursue various careers in Ireland and abroad. UCD Sutherland School of Law graduates have a strong reputation in the legal professional marketplace. Given their exposure to multidisciplinary studies, it is no surprise that many have also developed careers outside the law in fields such as banking, taxation, journalism and broadcasting.

UCD Law graduates have been admitted to study for postgraduate degrees at many prestigious universities abroad, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, the College of Europe and the European University Institute. Graduates can also choose to deepen their knowledge of a specific area of law by studying one of the ten law masters degrees that we offer in UCD.

We offer an extensive internship programme which allows students gain valuable employment experience during their degree.

What is an Internship? In an internship, you take up a paid role in an organisation to gain work experience for a fixed period of time. Employers place considerable value in the skills and experience gained by graduates who have completed internships.

How long is an Internship? Internships are offered in Year 3 and involve a one trimester placement of 14 weeks. This will generally run between January and April in Trimester 2.

Why Internships? An internship is an experiential learning opportunity that provides lifelong academic, personal and professional benefits. It will allow you to apply your skills and knowledge in the real working world while enhancing your confidence and helping you gain a better insight into a particular role or industry sector.

• Level 5/6 QQI-FET


• Open Learning Entry Route


• Mature Entry Route


• DARE Entry Route


• HEAR Entry Route


• University Access