I know that there are mandatory Irish requirements all the way up through secondary level education in Ireland, but does it stop there? Or is there also a mandatory Irish requirement for higher education (college/university) in Ireland also?

In my local school system, there is a 2 year (four semester) foreign language requirement in order to graduate from our secondary school (high school). And depending on the college or university you go to the requirements vary. For instance, there are two local universities that only require a foreign language if it is relevant to your major. However, the local community college requires at least one semester as part of its core curriculum.

In a recent chat with a friend from Dublin it was said that one of the reasons Irish doesn't stick is because they can data dump it right away???

Is this true?

It depends on the Univertsity

http://www.nui.ie/entry/default.asp#ex_irish_third_lang

quote:

Irish
Candidates born on the island of Ireland (32 counties) must pass the subject Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE/GCSE Examinations.

In certain circumstances, candidates may claim exemption from the requirement of presenting the subject Irish for Matriculation Registration purposes,