When and where did you sit the Leaving Cert exams?
In 1999 and 2000. I was only 16 when I sat my first Leaving, so an extra year was needed at Bush Post Primary School, Riverstown, Dundalk. The second Leaving is a blur as I just wanted to get it done.
What is your most vivid Leaving Cert memory?
My classmates. I loved my friends, and I loved the fun we had. We knew they were the best days of our lives, and that we were lucky. In January 2000, we lost a close friend in a hit-and-run accident. It’s a hard memory, but remembering the fun, the very silly, happy-go-lucky people we were, is like a warm hug. It was magic.
Who was your most influential teacher and why?
I had fantastic teachers who believed in me and pushed for me, and some who tolerated me. Mrs Teresa McKevitt, Mrs Grainne Conachy, Mr Kevin Conroy, Mr Ciaran McGoey and the teacher who gave me maths grinds, Mrs Briege Murnaghan, were probably the ones who saw through the chatterbox I was and saw my potential the most.
What was your most difficult subject?
Maths, and only for my grinds.
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And your favourite?
I loved history, English, home economics and agricultural science.
Can you recall what grades or points you received?
I think around 440.
How important were the results for you ultimately?
They were very important because they got me into NUI Galway to learn so much more than the subjects I studied.
What did you go on to do after secondary school?
I studied a BA in public and social policy and a postgraduate bachelor of law at NUI Galway. I then went to UCD to study a master’s in European economics and public affairs.
What would you change about the Leaving Cert?
As chair of the Higher and Further Education Committee in the Oireachtas, what I want to see is an investment into more places, diverse opportunities for learning and even an explainer [that], if you don’t get the points, there are loads of ways to get to an end goal. Areas such as apprenticeships, tertiary degrees, different pathways to teaching, medicine, veterinary, and so much more. When I did the Leaving Cert, there were far fewer opportunities and pathways to a goal.
What advice would you give to your Leaving Cert self?
You are better than some people think. I was the first person in my family to get the opportunity to go to university, and I wasn’t the last. I would say to her to go for it, work hard and believe in her ability a bit more. If I were to tell 16/17-year-old Erin that she would become a TD someday, she would laugh in my face and think I had lost it. I would say to her: “Continue looking beyond yourself, look beyond the normal or the expected and go for it. Live big, dream big and be kind to yourself and others and remember what grounds you.”
