Interior Design Diploma Courses in Ireland
 We are a "school that comes to our students".
The Connacht College of Design specialises in
the Diploma in Professional Interior Design. It
is the only course that we offer, so we can
concentrate on keeping it fresh and up to date
each year. We offer classes in smaller rural
areas outside the larger cities. In this way,
students who live in rural areas do not have to
travel to Dublin, Cork, etc. and can avail of
Higher Education in Interior Design. We locate a large, safe hotel with excellent
conference facilities, and rent this for the
school year.
Education/Training Mission Statement: Our
aim is to give adults living in rural areas
- access to Diploma level education in interior
design
- training to professional level
- the skills and confidence to open their own
consulting businesses in the area
 Up until the Connacht College of Design’s
inception, students who cannot commute to larger
cities such as Dublin and Cork would be unable
to study interior design to professional level.
The obvious reason for this is that it is not
financially viable for a school to set up
permanent premises in smaller towns as the
population is not available for continuous
yearly classes.
However, at the Connacht College of Design, we
go to the students. Instead of renting expensive
permanent premises in each town, we rent large
conference rooms at the local hotel on a nightly
basis for the two year course. We can then
easily move to another geographical location for
the next course. This enables us to go to
smaller areas that would not be financially
feasible for a larger school, and offer this
educational opportunity to those unable to drive
long distances to Dublin or Cork.
The Course Director and creator, Amanda
Stuart-Heaney, has over twenty-five years
experience teaching and working in Interior
Design. Amanda received her training in interior
design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in
New York City. For 15 years she worked as a
professional interior designer in the United
States. She moved to Galway 15 years ago and has
been teaching “Practical Interior Design” and
“Interior Design on a Budget” workshops
throughout the country.
Amanda has written two books on interior design,
and her articles on the subject have appeared in
several national newspapers and magazines in
Ireland. She has been a guest on the Gerry Ryan
Show, Clare FM, Tipperary Radio, Midland Radio,
and RTE’s “Open House”.
Course: Diploma in Professional Interior
Design course from September through to March
every year. We are running courses from
September 2008 to March 2009 (for 25 sessions) in the following
towns: Arklow, Birr, Ballina, Claremorris,
Ennis, Enniscorthy/Wexford area, Newbridge, Sligo, Galway,
Killarney.
Our curriculum covers not only the study and
practice of interior design to a professional
level, but how to promote and market yourself as
an interior designer in a real-world
environment. |
