University of Limerick confers largest cohort of Irish Travellers with postgraduate degrees

UNIVERSITY of Limerick has celebrated a landmark moment by conferring postgraduate degrees on the largest group of Irish Travellers to graduate from an Irish university.

History was made at UL as 13 Irish Travellers/Mincéirí were conferred with postgraduate diplomas and master’s degrees at UL’s Winter Conferring Ceremonies on Tuesday.

It is the largest cohort of Irish Travellers/Mincéirí to graduate with level nine postgraduate qualifications from any Irish university at any one time, making this a significant milestone for the Irish Traveller community in Ireland and UL.

Of the 13 Travellers to graduate with a Master’s or Graduate Diploma in Sociology (Youth, Community and Social Regeneration), 11 are Traveller women connected with the Limerick Traveller Network.

READ MORE: PICTURES: Historic day as 13 Irish travellers conferred at University of Limerick graduations

Just 4.7% of Travellers in Ireland have a third-level education in comparison to 47.7% of the general population, and just 2% of Travellers have obtained degrees, signifying the 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 were 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 graduated from UL on Tuesday along with ten others from the Limerick Traveller Network. 

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." 

“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."

“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.”

Olive O’Reilly, co-founder of the Limerick Traveller Network who graduated with a Master’s in Sociology from UL, described the conferrals 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 in a voluntary capacity and is extremely passionate about human rights.

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

“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."

“Our achievements today show to Travellers across the country that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and put your mind to it."

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

She said: “Passing my master’s as a Traveller woman and a mother of four fills my heart with pride."

“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.”

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

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

“Today the LTN celebrates 12 of our members graduating at UL, the home of firsts that awarded the first PhD to a Traveller. Now the first university in Ireland to award 13 Travellers with postgraduate qualifications, 11 of whom are members of the LTN."

“This is not just a milestone for the LTN and UL, but one that raises 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 our members graduating today.”

The Mincéir/Traveller Programme is led by the UL Access Office, which is committed to supporting the Mincéir/Traveller community through the dedicated role of a Mincéir/Traveller Coordinator.

Edel O’Donnell, UL’s Mincéir/Traveller Coordinator, 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."

“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.”