Poor is not only Katriona's story, but is also her impassioned argument for the importance of looking out for our kids' futures. Of giving them hope, practical support and meaningful opportunities. There were glimpses of other lives. At three, she remembers her friend next door being given a hug by her mum, and wondering why her own mother didn’t hug her like that. For a short time, she and her siblings were taken into care, where she “got food, and washed”. She always believed she deserved more, but over the years, she says, “hope and belief get eroded”. The effort of survival was exhausting. “As a kid, I was hopeful, vivacious. All kids are – some are quiet, some are loud, but we all have potential. And then as a teenager, with all the shit constantly, in the end, you just lean into it.” There were people, she says, “trying to keep me hopeful, but it’s very hard to battle against a lifetime of poverty and belief within a family. Eventually, it’s like your light goes out.”

The @kildarereadersfestival hosted a talk with Katriona last night @riverbankartscentreie and she spoke about her book, her life now and her family. One take-home point from that for me was that children in poverty need more than just 'hard work' to make their way out into a better life. What use is hard work at school if you're not eating dinner at home? What use is 'hard work' if your parents' main priority at that time is drugs or alcohol? What use is 'hard work' if no one cares enough to keep you clean and wash your clothes? Poor] is moving, funny, brave and original - just like the author . . . an absolutely incredible read' Roisin Ingle, Irish Times' Women's Podcast Having somebody like me in there was just pivotal”, she explains. “If you don’t see people like you, you’re never going to aspire to it”.

More clips from Woman's Hour

O’Sullivan K.;Byrne D.;Robson J.;Winters N. (2019) 'Who goes to college via access routes? A comparative study of widening participation admission in selective universities in Ireland and England'. Social Inclusion, 7 (1InequalitiesinAccesstoHigher):38-51. [DOI] [Full-Text]

O'Sullivan, Katriona and Mulligan, Robyn and Kuster, Megan and Smith, Ronan and Hannon, Cliona (2017) 'A college focused mentoring programme for students in socio-economically disadvantaged schools: the impact of mentoring relationship and frequency on college-going confidence, application efficacy and aspirations'. 19 (2):113-141. She is one of the few who has managed to climb out, to break a cycle; her story is shared in the hope others who identify, might find the motivation to pull themselves towards something that might bring them out of what is almost inevitable if you've grown up in such an environment. Burns, G., Bird, N., O'Sullivan, K. (2020) Educational Studies of Ireland Annual Conference The Transformative Influence of Teachers From Underrepresented Groups Institute of Education, DCU, . It is also for those who never known such misery, to refrain from judgement, to understand what happens to people in these situations, how they got there, the consequences and the ineffectiveness of today's government policies in identifying the cause and applying appropriate solutions.Clark S.;Gallagher E.;Boyle N.;Barrett M.;Hughes C.;O'Malley N.;Sanchez A.;Ebuenyi I.;Smith E.;Marshall K.;O'Sullivan K. (2022) 'The International Education Index: A global approach to education policy analysis, performance and sustainable development'. British Educational Research Journal, . [DOI] Katriona O’Sullivan: ‘I sat drinking in the knowledge, and for the first time in my life I felt alive’ ]

I had such a sense of safety there, away from our house where things were wild and unpredictable, where I was fed to the lions by my parents who put their addictions before everything else, where I was starved and cold and unloved. I wanted these hot dinners. I wanted these clean clothes. I wanted the stories at bedtime. The individual, she says, “is small in the decisions of their life, and we don’t like that because it suggests we’re powerless. But choice is a myth that’s perpetuated by the middle classes – only a few people really can choose.” Katriona O’Sullivan as a teenager in England. I know it’s not part of the normal course of a childhood to have an assigned social worker, but for us it was as normal as day.I felt ashamed but they didn’t seem to judge me. They reminded me of the teachers who reached out to me when I was younger, or the kind lady in our local shop who would give me food because she knew I was hungry. They told me to relax, that they would help. They paid for my childcare. We formed groups, the young matures and the old matures, the Gothy kids and the Tallaght heads. I didn’t really get into a group, I had no time to socialise and had to care for my son on my own. I also felt awkward and still felt ashamed. I don’t know why but I’ve always felt like this so making friends, trusting people, didn’t happen easily. O'Brien KK;Schuttke A;Alhakeem A;Donnelly-Swift E;Keogh C;O'Carroll A;O'Sullivan K;Galvin R;Fahey T; (2015) 'Health, perceived quality of life and health services use among homeless illicit drug users'. . [DOI] I spent the whole year fighting with our maths teacher but if I wanted to choose psychology for my degree I had to do higher level maths in TAP and this scuppered me. But I found my way. My friend Liviu – another mature student who was excellent at Maths – tutored me and reminded me it was going to be okay.