Katriona O’Sullivan – interviewed by Deanna O’Connor
Sun 19 Nov 12pm - 1pm
Poor: Grit, courage, and the life-changing value of self-belief
In Poor, psychologist Dr Katriona O’Sullivan mixes memoir with social commentary. She revisits her own story of enduring childhood poverty with parents living through addiction and recounts how support from the unlikeliest of sources helped her find her way.
As the middle child of five born to Irish parents addicted to heroin, the odds were stacked against her. After having her first child at 15, she became homeless, drinking and barely coping until she moved to Dublin. After hitting rock bottom she found her way out and earned a place on the Trinity College access programme. She is now a passionate advocate for childhood support and an award-winning lecturer whose work explores barriers to education.
In conversation with Dingle Lit’s Deanna O’Connor, O’Sullivan will discuss the lasting impact her childhood has had on her work and her personal life as well as exploring what can be done to break down the barriers to education that impact those stuck in the poverty trap.
Dr Katriona O’Sullivan has a PhD in psychology from Trinity and now works as a senior lecturer in Digital Skills in Maynooth University’s Department of Psychology. She has worked with policy-makers to develop strategies around education and inclusion, and has been an invited speaker at the UN, the World Education Forum and the European Gender Action Workshop on Women and Digitalization.
