Now an award-winning lecturer whose work challenges barriers to education, Poor stands as a stirring argument for the importance of looking out for our kids' futures. Of giving them hope, practical support and meaningful opportunities.

Poor: Grit, courage, and the life-changing value of self

Moving, funny, brave and original - just like the author ... absolutely incredible' - Roísín Ingle, Irish Times Women's Podcast I nominate Katriona for this, she knows everything, and is not afraid to speak her mind”. It’s second year and the psychology class are nominating a class rep who can represent them at staff meetings. I look around, I see nodding heads. I smile and think to myself “they are nominating me as class rep. I swear a lot and still dress like a chav, but they see me”. It feels good. I told everyone, I was like a child. I knew it wasn’t very humble but I had worked my ass off to get there and I felt so proud of myself and my family. I was offered a PhD studentship that summer and began my PhD studies in the TCD psychology department pretty much straight away. Those first few months in Trinity proper were hard. I felt lost, the psychology class was small which meant I couldn’t hide. I was sitting with middle-class kids who had got around 580 points in their Leaving Cert and I felt like a failure. Two years before I started my degree I had been working as the dinner lady in the Institute of Education. Without the opportunity to breathe in knowledge, to step slowly into this beautiful place, I would have never been able to succeed. It was the secure base from which I was able to navigate my educational path.Once you get into TCD you often don’t want to leave. It is so beautiful and calm. But I didn’t stay for the beauty, I stayed because it was the first place I actually realised my worth as a person, as a woman. It gave me an insight into my capabilities. It made me see the potential for my life and my family’s life. She is actually speaking to ME … in Latin! As I stand in front of Mary Robinson, one of the few Irish presidents I actually know of and admire, it finally feels like I belong. One thing that is overlooked when we consider TAP students is our resilience. I know how to survive and that is a skill. I used it to survive maths and have used it many times since. I used my capacity to challenge, to fight and to ask for help to get me through. TAP became a home for me. Irena was my guide, I could tell her anything. The ladies in the office, Sheila and Elaine, provided more care.

Raised by addicts, abused, neglected, broke: how Katriona O

Because I was still a child, I was placed in a hostel for young mothers when I was about five months pregnant." Why do you want to do this course?” the interviewer asks me. He seems nice but I’m sure he can see through me. “I want to change my life,” I reply. “I feel like I’m missing something.” He smiles and I’m sure I’ve said something wrong. “Do you read books,” he asks. “Yes,” I say. “I have always loved to read”. He smiles again and makes a note. I didn't believe her. I asked where did she get into Trinity and that minute I marched straight over to the access programme and said 'what do I have to do to get in here?'. Full of insight into a life lived right up against the boundaries placed on it by poverty . . . so important . . . we'd highly recommend Fi Glover, Off Air with Jane and Fi, Times Radio

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. I was elected class rep and became the go-to person for the students. I started to make friends. I met some really lovely people. I learned that life was hard for all of us. Amy, who was so kind to me, was the star of our year. I learned a lot from her. I discovered people who have had privileged lives are lovely too. They were not all judging me, or if they were, they did it politely and hid it well. Teenager Katriona dropped out of school, despite being academically bright, as she dealt with a crisis pregnancy, homelessness and isolation.

Books UK Poor - Penguin Books UK

The results will be posted online in June, if you guys are thinking about using this degree for anything decent in the future a 2.1 or above is your only hope.” I put my head down and work harder than I have worked before. If I fail at this I am f**ked, all of this will have been for nothing.As the middle of five kids growing up in dire poverty, the odds were low on Katriona O'Sullivan making anything of her life. When she became a mother at 15 and ended up homeless, what followed were five years of barely coping. Dr Katriona O’Sullivan: ‘Biology, physics, chemistry, philosophy, psychology – I loved everything.’ An important contribution to our understanding of poverty and its impact' - Sinéad Gibney, Business Post