Waterford women among Postgraduate degree recipients from within the Travelling community 

Two women from Waterford were among the largest cohort of Irish Travellers to be conferred with postgraduate degrees from University of Limerick.

At the recent ceremony thirteen members of the Travelling community were conferred with a Graduate Diploma/Master's in Sociology (Youth, Community and Social Regeneration).

Described as a “a proud moment for the Traveller community in Limerick” and “a landmark achievement for the Limerick Traveller Network”, the ceremony marked a significant milestone as it featured the largest group of Irish Travellers to graduate from an Irish university.

The historic event, which took place on Thursday, January 22, marked the largest group of Irish Travellers to graduate with Level 9 postgraduate qualification from any Irish university at any one time.

Eleven of students are connected with the Limerick Traveller Network and two of the graduates, Ellen Casey and Bridie Casey, are from Waterford City but now live in Limerick.

A spokesperson for UL commented that just 4.7 per cent of Travellers in Ireland have a third-level education in comparison to 47.7 per cent of the general population. Around 2 per cent of Travellers have obtained degrees, which indicates an alarmingly low level of participation by Travellers in higher education in Ireland.

The UL Mincéir/Traveller Programme was created in 2023 to ensure the educational aspirations of Mincéir/Travellers was supported. Based on the principle of co-creation, the programme supports are designed and developed based on the needs identified by the Traveller community. In 2024, a collaboration was established between UL and the Limerick Traveller Network (LTN), a community-led network of Traveller representatives from across Limerick.

Fourteen women from eight Traveller sites and two standard housing areas in Limerick, have been central to the work of the LTN with education identified early on as a key priority by LTN founders, Olive O’Reilly and Margaret O’Brien, both of whom were among the graduates on Thursday.

Margaret O’Brien was conferred with a BA in Psychology while Olive O’Reilly is one of 11 Traveller women connected with the LTN to graduate from UL’s MA in Sociology (Youth, Community and Social Regeneration).

Dr Sindy Joyce, a Human Rights Defender (HRD), is Course Director of the MA in Sociology (Youth, Community and Social Regeneration) at UL and was the first Irish Traveller to graduate with a PhD in Ireland when she was conferred with her doctorate from UL in 2019, the same year that Olive O’Reilly and Margaret O’Brien established the Limerick Traveller Network.

Dr Joyce said: “As a Traveller, an academic and Course Director of UL’s MA in Sociology (Youth, Community and Social Regeneration), I am immensely proud of all my students graduating today. This master’s has existed in UL for 15 years and has successfully trained students to work in a wide variety of settings in the youth and community sectors. With a strong international element, the MA attracts students from all over the world, including recent graduates as well as those already working in the NGO sector."

“I am particularly proud to have 13 of the students graduating from this year’s cohort coming from my own community, which shows me how our education system, once harmful to Travellers, can now be a tool of resistance," she said.

“Historically, for Travellers, the Irish education system was about changing our culture and leaving our identity behind but today highlights that our culture is not in conflict with our education system. Traveller voices and knowledge belong in our university spaces, and our epistemologies bring important methods and frameworks to research," she said.

Dr Joyce went on to comment: “Each Traveller graduating today makes it a little bit easier for our younger generation to engage with a system that was once so harmful to our community. I feel such pride today to celebrate this important milestone for our Traveller students who have shown courage, endurance and determination throughout their time here in UL.” 

Meanwhile, Olive O’Reilly, co-founder of the Limerick Traveller Network and who graduated with a Master’s in Sociology, described the overall graduation ceremony as a “landmark achievement that marks a first for the Limerick Traveller Network and a proud moment for the wider Traveller community in Limerick".

Olive left school at the age of 12 and returned to education in 2006 to complete a Diploma in Women’s Studies at UL before embarking on her master’s journey in 2024. She has devoted many years of her life to advocating and supporting her community on a voluntary capacity and is extremely passionate about human rights.

“Third-level qualifications play a critical role in improving access to employment and career progression for members of the Traveller community," she said.

“Of the 11 women who completed the master’s programme at UL, one was already in employment, and four graduates have since secured employment, highlighting the direct impact of education on achieving employment and independence," she added. She said the graduates' achievements showed Travellers across the country that anything is possible if they believe in themselves and put their mind to it.

Ellen O’Reilly, who graduated with a Master’s in Sociology, left school at 15.

“Passing my Master’s as a Traveller woman and a mother of four fills my heart with pride," she said.

"There were moments I doubted myself, but I kept going. I did this for my children, for my community, and for every young Traveller who needs to see that their dreams are possible," she added.

Margaret O’Brien, co-founder of the Limerick Traveller Network, who graduated with a BA in Psychology, spoke of the significance of the occasion for the Traveller community in Limerick. 

“The Limerick Traveller Network doesn’t just open doors, we walk through them together and leave them wide open behind us," she said.

“Today the LTN celebrates 12 of our members graduating at UL, the home of firsts that awarded the first PhD to a Traveller," she added.

"Now the first university in Ireland to award 13 Travellers with postgraduate qualifications, 11 of whom are members of the LTN." 

She said it was milestone within the Travelling community because it raised the bar for Travellers nationwide with seven more Travellers from the Limerick Traveller Network now studying at postgraduate level in UL following in the footsteps of the current graduates.

The Mincéir/Traveller Programme is led by the UL Access Office, through the Mincéir/Traveller Coordinator, Edel O’Donnell, who said: “As the Mincéir/Traveller programme coordinator in UL Access Office, I am proud to see 15 Traveller students graduate this week at UL who I have been supporting; 13 students on the MA in Sociology and a further two graduating with undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Nursing."

“Their achievements represent a personal journey of commitment, resilience and academic excellence, grounded in lived experience and self-belief," she said.

“The determination and achievement of each Traveller graduate, whose success not only marks their own personal milestone but contributes to widening participation and representation within higher education, stands as a powerful example of what is possible when individual lived experience is recognised, respected and valued within academic spaces," she added.