THE OFFICES of Senator Edward Kennedy, Congresswoman Eleanor Norton and the Smithsonian Institute will ring with Irish accents this summer as 25 university students from north and south of the border participate in the inaugural US Capital Internship programme.

The programme, administered by DCU and the University of Maryland, allows students to work in the offices of US senators, congress people and political and charitable groups. More than 300 students applied this year.

The programme covers the cost of flights, accommodation, insurance and orientation Funding came from the universities, Cooperation North, the American Ireland Fund and the Center for Irish Management at Boston College.

"The overall objective is to make sure that the future leaders of the Irish community, both north and south, get know, each other and how other governments operate," says Dr Tony Glynn of DCU.