Beijing Foreign Studies University has a long tradition of Irish studies, especially studies of Irish literature. Far back in the early 1980s, the late Professor Wang Zuoliang established a Celtic literature section at the BFSU Institute of Foreign Literatures. Over the past three decades, BFSU researchers have done important and productive work in this field. The most representative work produced so far is An Anthology of Irish Literature compiled by Professor Chen Shu with assistance from a dozen other BFSU researchers.

    In recent years, Irish studies in China have expanded into fields other than Irish literature – into the Irish culture, politics, economy, etc. It is against such a background that BFSU has set up the Irish Studies Centre，which is the first comprehensive, multidisciplinary research institution in Irish studies in China. From its onset, the Centre has received generous and sustained support from the Irish Government and academic community, which is highlighted by a donation of cash plus 400 books from the Irish Government. The National University of Ireland Maynooth has also been in active collaboration with the Centre in academic research and curriculum design.

    With a view to constructing the disciplinary identity of Irish studies in China, promoting studies by China’s academic community in these fields and providing a platform for cultural exchanges between China and Ireland, the Centre undertakes a range of interdisciplinary programmes involving the country’s literature, culture, history, politics, economy and international relations. It has a permanent teaching-research staff of six as well as over 20 advisors/guest professors from other institutions both in China and Ireland. In 2007, the Centre launched its graduate programme and enrolled four students to study for MA degree in Irish Studies. In 2010, the Centre launched its Irish language teaching programme under the support of the Irish government and NUIM. Since 2011, the Centre has enrolled new MA students on a biennial basis，who will pursue their degrees in Irish Literature/Culture, or in Irish Politics and Economy. Members of the Centre have published widely in Irish studies and undertaken a number of research projects funded by Chinese and Irish governments. 　

     Since its founding, the Centre has organized a series of academic and cultural activities, which have aroused great attention in China and abroad. These include the First International Conference on the Irish Studies in China (2007), Sino-Irish Relations: a Multi-Disciplinary Conference Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations (2009)，Forum on Sino-Irish Relations （2010），and International Symposium on “Literature, Culture and Nation Building in the 20th Century Ireland”(2014). Several Irish Ministers, Irish Ambassadors Declan Kelleher and John Paul Kavanagh have lectured at BFSU. Over the past few years, a number of renowned Irish writers visited the Centre and attended seminars including Paddy Bushe, Desmond Egan, Hugo Hamilton, Sabastian Barry, Colm Tóibín，Dermot Bolger and Deirdre Madden.