Parents are usually the ones who proudly watch their children graduate but on Tuesday it was the opposite when Prof Norelee Kennedy witnessed her parents graduate at University of Limerick.
It was a real family affair at UL, where Prof Kennedy, the university’s incoming vice president for research, was part of the processing party to confer her parents Pat and Phyllis with Certificates in Local History.
Prof Kennedy, who is due to take up her position next January, said she was privileged to have been involved in her mother and father’s’ graduation ceremony.
Pat and Phyllis Kennedy, from Toomevara, were among more than 3,400 students graduating this week from UL.
Speaking after receiving their parchments, the couple said it had been a “teamwork graduation”.
“He was a great help to me and vice versa,” Phyllis said of her husband.
Their daughter revealed she was regularly called on by her studious parents and asked: “How do we log on and how do we do this?”
“Naturally we would call you ... sure that’s what you are there for,” joked her mum.
Her parents were among 20 students who completed the Certificate in Local History, which was hosted off-campus at the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, Co Galway.
Irish folklore
The group studied Irish folklore, the history of placenames and periods of the 19th Century, examining the relationship between landlords and tenants associated with Portumna House.
“It was quite interesting and relaxed and we made some great friends,” said Mr Kennedy. He said he considered himself “the elder Statesman” of his group of fellow history students.
The level 6 course runs as a precursor to the MA in Local History offered at UL or as a course of interest to those looking to understand and know more about their area and its history.
