IRISH NATIONALS:THE CHIEF executive of the Royal College of Students in Ireland (RCSI) has travelled to Bahrain – where the college runs undergraduate and masters programmes – amid concerns for the safety of students and staff.
Cathal Kelly travelled to the Arab state on Thursday to assess the situation. There are 922 students at the college and 117 staff, of whom 24 are Irish nationals.
An RCSI spokeswoman said the college was in Muharraq, an island about three miles off the coast of the capital, Manama.
“It is a considerable distance from where the demonstrations are taking place and the university will continue to operate as normal for as long as is practicable.
“The area around RCSI Bahrain remains calm and we hope that it will remain so. Our primary concern is, of course, for the safety of our staff and students.”
She said senior staff had been monitoring the situation since the demonstrations began. “We have been in direct discussions with the Irish ambassador in Saudi Arabia and are being guided by the advice of the Irish government and by local embassies.”
She said parents and family of students and staff had been contacted and given contact numbers of staff in Bahrain should they need to contact them.
The RCSI runs undergraduate programmes in medicine and nursing and a master’s in healthcare management there. Forty- two nationalities are represented among staff and students at RCSI Bahrain.
