When I got out of jail, a couple of years ago, I knew I had enough – I needed change. My case worker from Cork Alliance suggested I go to the Morrison Island campus to get my Level 5. My worker from Cork Simon Community Centre also encouraged me to apply.
The first time I applied, they told me I’d need to be 18 months sober before starting. At first, I was disappointed, but that year gave me space to do other courses and prepare myself. Looking back, I don’t think I would have been ready if I had gotten in straight away. I was still far from living a life where I could focus on study.
During that time, I also became a Christian, and that was a turning point for me. Faith gave me strength and focus, and organisations like Cork Alliance, Cork Simon, and the education system, gave me the opportunity to use that strength in a positive way.
Growing up, school was never easy. Having ADHD and coming from a Traveller background, teachers didn’t understand me. I was often told I was “no good,” and after a while, I believed it. By the time I finished my Junior Cert, I had already given up on education. Addiction, prison, and struggles in my personal life followed.
When I finally linked in with Cork Alliance and Cork Simon, everything started to change. Education gave me something positive to aim for. Even though life didn’t stop throwing challenges at me – my mother suffered two strokes, my daughter spent a week in hospital, my brother was badly injured – I managed to keep going. In the past, those things would have sent me off track, but now I had support, focus, and determination.
Despite facing discrimination from one teacher even recently, most of the staff I met were brilliant. They encouraged me, believed in me, and gave me the tools to succeed.
Now, thanks to my faith in God, the community education and the people who support it, I’m starting a Level 7 course in Addiction Studies at UCC in September 2025. For a Traveller like me, who has been discriminated against my whole life, being given the chance to go back to education and build a future is something I’m truly grateful for.
I want to use my education and my story to help others, especially in the Traveller community, who were told – like I was – that we’d never amount to anything. I now represent what is possible to achieve in my community and I am invited to talks. For example, I represented Cork Simon Community Centre at the national AONTAS STAR Awards, where I won an award. I was then invited to speak at AONTAS’ AGM and other events organised by the Simon Cork Community Centre.
Education, faith, and support from the society, can turn what seems impossible into reality.
