IRENA NEUCHATEL

Old Town Neuchatel

After I  completed my studies at Alexander College, Dublin my ardent desire was to study history at Trinity College.  But my parents were adamant three more years were unheard off, especially as the Korean war was, then,  at its most crucial point and possibly, with horrific consequences.  So, instead, I went to my second choice Irena, in Peseux, Neuchatel.


Switzerland was, then, renowned for its finishing schools,  Almost ten years after I left, more women went to university than ever before.   Naturally, parents preferred to pay fees for a degree, than to send their daughters to expensive finishing schools.  So from the early 1960s to the mid-1980s "Pensionnats des Jeunes Filles" started closing one after another, with the exception of one or two.  They are now considered institutions of the past.

Arosa  le Coeur du Village

I thoroughly enjoyed my year at Irena.  We were taught French, French literature, music, history of art and cooking.  We went to the theatre, to concerts, art galleries and fashion shows.  We gathered grapes at vineyards and visited the Schuchard Chocolate factory where we were given packets of Toblerone,  We skated and skied in Arosa, played tennis and went to dances.  After years of hard work, my stay in Switzerland was like a wonderful holiday, which I shall always fondly and nostalgically remember. 

Neuchatel on the Lake of Neuchatel