Five years ago Bernie Branagan separated from her husband of 34 years. The youngest of their 10 children was just nine years old at the time, there had been several bereavements in her immediate family and Bernie Branagan's whole life had been turned upside down.
"I knew I couldn't just sit at home or I'd go crazy," the Dubliner says. "I really felt I needed to do something different, something for me. "With a husband and a big family you are constantly doing things for other people - that's just the way it is and you do what you have to do. For example, I drove a taxi for 10 years to put my older children through college.
"Because of my separation I was very interested in learning about psychology - how the mind works and why people do and say things to hurt each other so much. I was anxious for knowledge to help me make sense of what I'd gone through, and my original thoughts about going to college were centred around doing a degree in psychology," she says.
She had left the formal education system at the age of 14. "I thought I knew it all, and I went to work in a glove factory earning seven-and-six a week," she says. "Then I worked in a laundry and I was married from there at 18. I used to live on the Northside - and every time I'd pass Trinity I used to tell myself that one day I'd go there."
In fact it was UCD and All Hallows that offered her places on their BA programmes; she chose UCD largely because she could take psychology as one of her three firstyear subjects. She combined it with sociology and Greek and Roman civilisation - her youngest son's bedtime stories were read from the epic poems of Virgil.
"I chose `Greek and Roman' because it was different and something I knew nothing about," she says. "But I loved every minute of it and every minute of being at college and the whole course. At the end of the first year I did well enough to carry on into second year, but psychology turned out to be very competitive, and because I was poor at statistics this went against me. "I was not among the top 70 in the class, so I was unable to continue on with psychology. In retrospect, I have no regrets about this - I believe it became even more competitive in second and third year, and for me that's not what going to college was about."
While some mature students are daunted by the prospect of being "golden oldies" in classes full of schoolleavers, Bernie Branagan says this didn't bother her at all. "I never felt left out or in any way discriminated against because I was a mature student," she says.
"The people in UCD were great, my fellow students were great and because I was older and had a bit of life experience I was able to help out some of the younger students during the year when things got on top of them.
"I also had Beth, another mature student who became my my closest friend there. We kept each other going when things got tough - as they did many times. We didn't join any study groups, because we didn't want to feel under pressure from other people to do things, so we just worked together. "Because I still had a family to look after and a house to run, with all that involves, I did all my study at home at the kitchen table. At one stage I was studying at one end of the table and one of my daughters was at the other. That was useful, because we could give each other a bit of support."
For Bernie Branagan, a "return to learning" foundation course at the National College of Industrial Relations was crucial in encouraging her to pick up the threads of her education. "This course was brilliant and I would have been lost at UCD without it," she says. "I did six subjects at the NCIR including computers, maths and psychology. "We also had tuition on how to study and how to structure and reference essays. I would recommend this course to anyone thinking of going back to learning after a long break away. It certainly gave me the confidence to tackle the degree programme."
Although her three years at UCD have been enjoyable, Branagan says she had to work extremely hard. "It's a tall order to take on three new subjects at this level and I had to push myself all the way," she says.
However, studying is something of a way of life in the Branagan household: two of the family are doctors, four are teachers and there are also a chef, a drama-studies student and two still at school.
"I worked out my own system for studying, writing essays and preparing for the exams and it has worked for me," Bernie says. "I have a rule that no matter how tired I am I never go to bed without reading something of relevance to my course. I found some of the material difficult and I'd have to read it over and over again. But I think a lot of mature students find that it takes longer to absorb information when you're older."
Although she set out originally just to do a BA, she is now enrolled on the one-year MA programme in sociology. "I was encouraged to apply for a place and here I am. At the moment I feel very intimidated by what I've taken on and I don't feel I'm getting to grips with things very well. I hope this will pass.
"Eventually I would like to get involved in counselling. I was having counselling all through my degree, which was very difficult at times, but also worthwhile because I've resolved so many things for myself.
"I feel an enormous sense of achievement at having got this far and I'm proud of having done something significant for myself. I am really looking forward to the graduation. I can't wait to hear my name being called - it's only then I'll really feel I've got the degree. "I hope my legs will hold me up when it's my turn to go up and get my parchment."
