Course List
Lifelong Learning | Current Course List
Bookings for Spring 2025 courses and taster lectures are now open!
Please note, our centre will be closed for the winter break from 1pm Friday 20th December and will reopen 9am Monday 6th January. Phone bookings will not be processed during this time but you can continue to book online during this period. We hope you enjoy the winter break and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Our email address is (opens in a new window)all@ucd.ie and you can call us on 01 716 7123.
Free Online Resources
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| (opens in a new window)History Hub | History Hub hosts podcasts, papers, and documents highlighting new historical research. Based in the School of History at UCD. |
| (opens in a new window)Borrowbox | Borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks free from your library using BorrowBox. |
| (opens in a new window)Library of Congress | Online resources from the Library of Congress, the United States' oldest federal cultural institution, serving as the research arm of Congress. |
| (opens in a new window)National Archives | The National Archives hold and secure the preservation of records of the Irish State and are available online. |
| (opens in a new window)Royal Irish Academy | Irish Script on Screen is a project which was initiated by the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, in 1999. The aim of the project is to make Irish manuscripts available on the web for the purposes of information and research. |
| (opens in a new window)Royal Irish Academy Irish History Online |
Irish History Online is the national bibliography of Irish history. It is part of a European network of national historical bibliographies from fourteen countries. Irish History Online is an authoritative listing (in progress) of what has been written about Irish history from earliest times to the present |
| (opens in a new window)Come Here to Me | Come Here To Me! is a group blog that focuses on the life and culture of Dublin city. Music, history, football, politics and pub crawls all feature, along with much more. |
| (opens in a new window)Future Learn | Free online courses |
| (opens in a new window)Bookshare | Bookshare Ireland is the largest accessible digital library in the country, available for all people with sight loss and print disabilities |
| (opens in a new window)Libraries Ireland | Membership of all public libraries is free for everyone. You can join at any age and use all of the library services. |
| (opens in a new window)Bright Sparks Creative Bursts | If you are at home with children, MoLI, in partnership with children's author Sarah Webb, have created this fantastic resource to inspire writing through games and prompts. |
| (opens in a new window)Mooc List | Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available for anyone to enroll. MOOCs provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, advance your career and deliver quality educational experiences at scale. |
| (opens in a new window)The Sanctuary | Free online meditation sessions via Zoom three times per week. |
| (opens in a new window)New York Metropolitan Opera | The New York Metropolitan Opera has Free streams. Each night at 19:30 pm EST (23:30 GMT) an opera will be shown and will be available for 20 hours. |
| (opens in a new window)Royal Opera House | The Royal Opera House, London, will also broadcast a number of performances for free |
| (opens in a new window)Press Reader | You can read newspapers by accessing PressReader through your browser or by downloading the PressReader app for apple or android devices. |
| (opens in a new window)History Ireland | History Ireland’s online archive gives free access to all but the last 6 issues and contains most of the last 27 years of articles. |
| (opens in a new window)Alto Odyssey | Computer games, they are also a form of meditative relaxation, some of the best within the ‘endless runner’ genre. |
| (opens in a new window)Victoria & Albert Museum | From Ancient Chinese Ceramics to Alexander McQueen- take an online journey through 5,000 years of human creativity. |
| (opens in a new window)The Model, Sligo | During the current closure, the Model in Sligo are running an innovative new project online, 'Inside Out', where people of all ages can learn more about art and artists from their homes. |
| (opens in a new window)Europeana | Discover inspiring cultural heritage from European museums, galleries, libraries, and archives |
| (opens in a new window)Discovery Programme | The Discovery Programme’s mission is to explore Ireland’s past and its cultural heritage by conducting advanced research in Irish archaeology and related disciplines and by disseminating its findings widely to the global community. |
| (opens in a new window)National Print Museum | Online exhibition to promote a greater understanding of the historical significance and the contemporary relevance of printing in Ireland by exploring its heritage, craft, and technology. |
| (opens in a new window)Archiseek | An online exhibition exploring the architecture of Ireland |
| (opens in a new window)Duolingo | Learn a language for free. Whether you're looking to learn Spanish or Klingon, Duolingo is a fun and effective tool for learning a new language. |
| (opens in a new window)UCD Digital Library | UCD Digital Library captures digital cultural resources and research outputs of the University College Dublin community as well as its collaborators and partners |
| (opens in a new window)Dúchas | Online access to material from the National Folklore Collection |
| (opens in a new window)Springer Nature | Free access to a range of essential textbooks from all disciplines |
YouTube Channels
| Channel | Description |
|---|---|
| (opens in a new window)UCD Access & Lifelong Learning | Subscribe to the UCD Access & Lifelong Learning YouTube Channel for videos from the ALL Centre. |
| (opens in a new window)UCD Special Collections | University College Dublin Library's Special Collections contains unique book, archival and manuscript collections. Their YouTube channel highlights some of these collections and often features content from exhibitions and readings. |
| (opens in a new window)National Theatre UK | Every Thursday at 7pm, the best British theatre, free to stream for a week. Starting from 2 April. |
| (opens in a new window)Opera North | A series of videos from Opera North. You can also watch Wagner's Ring Cycle |
| (opens in a new window)Occupational Therapy Resources | A YouTube Resource developed by UCD ALL Occupational Therapists in collaboration with occupational therapists in TCD and TUDublin. Videos on minding your mental health and developing routines are now available on their YouTube and are fully captioned. |
| (opens in a new window)TED Talks | The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) |
| (opens in a new window)Smithsonian | A channel where curiosity lives, inspiration strikes and wonders never cease. This is the place for awe-inspiring stories and powerful documentaries. |
| (opens in a new window)Artworks from the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Collection | Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is home to an impressive collection of artworks. The collection includes artists of significant historical importance as well as contemporary artists of local, national and international interest. They are exhibited here virtually on the Council's YouTube Channel. |
Virtual Tours
| (Online) Venue | Description |
|---|---|
| (opens in a new window)J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles | Explore the Getty Museum, LA online |
| (opens in a new window)Guggenheim, Bilbao | Explore the Guggenheim, Bilbao online |
| (opens in a new window)National Gallery of Ireland | Explore the wonders of the National Gallery of Ireland's collection, and take a leisurely stroll around their beautiful galleries from the comfort of your own home in the first in a series of virtual tours. |
| (opens in a new window)National Museum of Ireland | Virtual tours of National Museum of Ireland - Natural History, including two balconies that are usually closed to the public |
| (opens in a new window)Chester Beatty | 3D virtual tours of the Chester Beatty |
| (opens in a new window)EPIC - The Irish Emigration Museum | Can’t come to EPIC? Then EPIC will come to you! |
| (opens in a new window)Glasnevin Cemetery and Museum | Virtual tours, including the O'Connell tower |
| (opens in a new window)Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) | Explore the IMMA collection online |
| (opens in a new window)Marsh's Library | Marsh's Library have a collection of 9 digital exhibitions, the most recent is a series of marginalia and doodles written into books in the 16th and 17th centuries. Others include the rarest books in the world, books stolen from the library, and rare Jewish books in the collection. (Click on the "Digital" tab to view all) |
| (opens in a new window)Google Arts & Culture | A great resource for any art fan, with limited access to art with over 2,500 museums. There you'll find comprehensive tours of popular destinations like the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and London's Tate Modern |
| (opens in a new window)Louvre, Paris | Visit the museum's exhibition rooms and galleries and contemplate the façades of the Louvre |
| (opens in a new window)Street Art: Virtual Walking Tours | From New York to Buenos Aires; jump on a (virtual) guided tour, hit the streets, and hear the stories behind the art. |
| (opens in a new window)The Vatican | Virtual tours of the Vatican, including the Pio Clementino Museum |
| (opens in a new window)Rijksmuseum | The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam are bringing art to living rooms across the world with a range of online initiatives, including virtual tours and talks. |
Podcasts
| Podcast | Description |
|---|---|
| (opens in a new window)History Hub | History Hub hosts podcasts highlighting new historical research, covering a huge variety of topics ranging from the Middle Ages to the new millennium. They are based in the School of History at UCD. |
| (opens in a new window)Blúiríní Béaloidis | Blúiríní Béaloidis is the new podcast from the National Folklore Collection, UCD. |
| (opens in a new window)National Gallery of Ireland | The National Gallery of Ireland have podcasts available through their website, including a new series produced to accompany their exhibition 'Moment in Time'. |
| (opens in a new window)RadioMoLI | An internet radio station for Irish literature, RadioMoLI presents commissioned writing, discussion, interviews, radio plays, documentary and more in a 24/7 digital broadcast. |
| (opens in a new window)Gaeltacht UCD | Gaeltacht UCD supports those looking to engage more with the Irish language and produces podcasts as Gaeilge |
| (opens in a new window)This American Life | This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast. Each week they choose a theme and put together different kinds of stories on that theme. |
| (opens in a new window)Hugh Lane Gallery: Curator's Choice | A series of podcasts from the Hugh Lane Gallery, exploring its wonderful collection. |
| (opens in a new window)Three Castles Burning | Historian Donal Fallon's Three Castles Burning is a social history podcast, dedicated to the story of the Irish capital. Dublin is a city of many stories, Three Castles Burning tells some of the more forgotten ones. |
| UCD Access & Lifelong Learning | We have a number of podcasts available on our own site, including some old favourites from our well-known tutor, Michael Doran. |
Featured Lifelong Learner: Freida