Double graduation honours for Roscommon woman who left school at 17

It is quite an achievement to obtain a PhD in Literary Practice from Trinity College Dublin and a Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Management from Ulster University but for someone who left school at 17 years of age, the achievement is magnified. That’s what County Roscommon mother Joanne Touhey Francis has achieved.

She left school at 17 in 2010, just two weeks before completing fifth year. She told the Roscommon Herald, “We were moving a lot and I didn’t fit in.”

At this point she decided school was not for her as she said every exam she sat she faced it with fear and she was simply not enjoying school and quit.

However, at the age of 19 she decided she wanted to return to education. In 2011 she undertook a FETAC Level 4 course in General Studies and followed this in 2012 with a FETAC Level 5 course in Business Studies.

In 2013 she also undertook a FETAC Level 5 course in Nursing Studies at Moate Business College.

At this point she decided to study a subject she had huge interest in and from 2014 began a four year course BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice at Athlone Institute of Technology.

She was very fortunate to be chosen for an MA in Writing at the University of Galway in 2020, which she studied for one year, and followed this with a two year course in 2022 with a PhD in Literary Practice at Trinity College Dublin.

In 2024 she began her Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Management at Ulster University, which she completed part-time online alongside her PhD.

Joanne does not regret leaving school at a young age. “Obviously it (her education) would have been quicker if I’d finished school, but I took a risk and it worked.”

She feels that if she had finished her Leaving Cert and gone straight into college she would “have rushed into something I may not have liked.”

The time out allowed her to decide what subjects she was actively interested in.

She has two children aged 8 and 13 and credits her partner and her family with providing her with the support she needed to allow her to study while also raising a family.

During this time she had been living in Knockcroghery but has since moved to Athlone and now works as a librarian with Roscommon County Council.

Her family have said they are immensely proud of her.

Joanne’s achievement highlights that it is never too late to return to education and achieve your dreams.