Professor Katriona O’Sullivan, a psychology professor at Maynooth University, has released a memoir titled "Poor," which recounts her childhood experiences of extreme poverty in Coventry and Dublin. O'Sullivan's early life included growing up with parents who were heroin users, experiencing hunger, and lacking basic hygiene necessities.
Her journey to academia began through an access programme at Trinity College Dublin, where she later earned her PhD. O'Sullivan attributes her eventual success to the social services available during a period of relative economic prosperity in Dublin, which provided support for childcare, addiction treatment, counselling, and access to higher education.
However, O'Sullivan notes that many of these social services, which she believes were crucial to her trajectory, have since been reduced or cut in both Ireland and the UK.