Sligo veterinary student on benefits of studying in Poland and close-knit Irish community over there
Norma Gilmartin from Mullinabreena is encouraging other young people interested in Veterinary to look at college in Poland
Norma Gilmartin from Mullinabreena is a fifth year Veterinary student.She is studying in Wroclaw, the southwest of Poland.Norma spoke to The Sligo Champion about her decision to study abroad and said that every year, more and more Irish people are opting to study Veterinary abroad.“I grew up in Ireland but like approximately 120 other Irish students I travelled to Poland to pursue a career in Veterinary.“I’ve been here nearly five and a half years and I am really enjoying it.“I have found it fine and it’s easy to make a lot of friends over the years.”Norma said that there are an increasing amount of Irish opting to study Veterinary in Poland in recent years, including a number from Sligo.“I suppose when I started, there was maybe ten Irish doing it in first year, now there could be thirty to forty.”She added that Poland’s education system is responsible for training more Irish vets that Ireland itself does.“The universities here are now fully accustomed to teaching young Irish people and everything is taught through English.“In the coming years, it’ll be more likely that an Irish vet trained in Poland rather than in their home country. “Norma said that a factor in why so many Irish are studying abroad is in relation to the points system here in Ireland.“It is definitely down to the points system.“The points to do Veterinary was 600 in my year and there was only one college in Ireland, which is crazy.“Like when you compare that to so many medical courses.”She explained a bit about how people get onto the college course in Poland.“You do an interview and then they ask you some biology and chemistry questions and other things in general in an interview.“There are a couple of other people from Sligo here too in my year, Matthew Ryan is from Rosses Point, Hugo Filan is from Sligo town and there is another girl from Easkey, it’s nice to have people from Sligo over here, there is a good Irish community.”With many Irish students facing increasing costs in cities such as Dublin, Galway and Limerick, Norma says Poland is the perfect option.“The cost of living here is cheaper although the fees are higher.“I would definitely recommend Poland, the people are so friendly and we do all of study through English.“In terms of learning the Polish language, we do some classes but all our study is in English,” she said.Another thing Norma and her fellow Irish students connect through is the GAA club that she helped found.Back home in Ireland, Norma played for St Nathy’s.The Wroclaw Éire Óg women's team in Poland“As a result of the Club here, a huge Irish community and spirit has grown here and we’ve even developed a GAA club that is fully registered with the European Central GAA.“Fundraising has been a big challenge for us. We have received the backing of 22 Irish agribusinesses for a raffle we plan on holding in mid May.“Wroclaw Éire Óg is the name of the club.”They are holding a massive raffle on May 16 to raise money and people from all over, in particular Ireland, have been donating.So far over €12,000 has been raised and people can still donate.More than 50 Irish businesses have supported them in almost €20,000 in prizes.The prizes include tickets to Westlife in the 3Arena, numerous agri products, spa vouchers, cash and much more.“The foundation of the Gaelic football club was the idea of 11 vet students four years ago, this idea has now been brought to life by our fifty plus members, making up a men’s and women’s team.“The club is fully registered with Gaelic Games Europe, the governing body responsible for GAA in continental Europe.“Irish people working in Poland, along with students and adults of other nationalities, make up our members.“Our nearest GAA club is over 300km away, meaning the task of travelling to games is one of our biggest challenges.“As the majority of our members are students, the expense of travelling often limits our ability to participate.“From this obstacle emerged the idea of a raffle to generate much-needed funds for our small club,” Norma explained.“The response has been immense and we’ve developed a great sense of the appreciation businesses have for our endeavours abroad.“We cannot express our sincere gratitude enough towards these companies as their support made this idea a reality.”As part of their efforts and as the scale of the raffle has far exceeded their expectations, they have decided to partner with The Irish Veterinary Benevolent Fund which is a charity that provides a wide array of services, especially ever-important mental health support for an already stretched workforce of Irish vets, vet nurses and their dependents.“We believe this is a worthwhile cause at a time when there are huge vet shortages in Ireland.“For a small young club, this is by far the biggest undertaking we have looked to accomplish.“We have received huge support in prizes and we now turn to the public for their backing of our football club and our chosen charity.”Wroclaw Éire Óg is a growing GAA club run by a passionate team of Veterinary, Medicine and Dentistry students studying abroad.People can donate to the raffle and see the numerous prizes in store by visiting *idonate.ie/raffle/weoOne ticket is priced at ten euro, three are €20 and ten are €50.Norma said that after she graduates, she will probably go back to Ireland.“I think I would like to do a mix of caring for both large and small animals.“I get home to Ireland every month or so when we have a college break.“It really is a great experience getting the opportunity to learn abroad.“For young people that want to study Veterinary, it is a pity that some don’t know about what Poland offers and to go for it,” she added.
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