The O'Callaghans, Jim, Simon and Katherine, had reason to break out the bubbly last month. Dad Jim was conferred with a BA modular degree in the history of art and history, son Simon was awarded his BA in maths and French and daughter Katherine graduated with a BA in English and Greek and Roman civilisation.
"It was rather nice for us all to be conferred together," says Jim. "I think I was the oldest being conferred on the day and my daughter, at just 20, was the youngest. I did the modular BA programme which took me five years and involved going to college four nights a week. It was tough, but it was worth every minute of it."
Jim's wife, Pauline, is a secondlevel teacher. She too has been involved in study over recent years while the couple's youngest daughter, Emily, has just finished her Junior Cert. In 1993, Pauline O'Callaghan graduated with an MA in Womens' Studies from UCD and she followed this with an MPhil in psychoanalytic studies at Trinity College.
"I had been out of college for a long time when I went back to UCD," she says. "I was quite nervous about it initially. But the course was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed its multi-disciplinary focus - this allowed one to dip into a whole range of subjects such as psychology, philosophy, literature, sociology and so on.
"It was an excellent way for someone like myself to get back into third-level study. The attitude to mature students was very positive and helpful and this was matched by a course which was exciting, challenging and very interesting.
"One of the most positive aspects of my going back to college has been the fact that my children have taken a very keen interest in what I've been studying. They have asked questions and challenged me all the way on various things which has made for some lively discussions in our household."
Going to college was a new experience for Jim O'Callaghan who had never had the opportunity to study at third-level before. When the couple married first and started a family, he stayed at home for 10 years combining childcare and a career as an artist.
"That was the way we decided to do things and it worked out well for us," he says. "After that I ran a newsagents off Grafton Street for seven years and I just woke up one morning and asked myself if this was really what I wanted to be doing. The answer was no and I decided to do something about it."
He had always been interested in art history so it was a natural choice for his BA programme. "I'd been reading art history books for years and I found it very easy to settle into the subject," he says. "I decided to combine it with history and I must say this was a good choice. It was a heavy enough work load but it was manageable. I saw some people who had opted for combinations such as English and history and the amount of reading they had to do was enormous.
"Doing a degree at night after a day's work is not easy, but everyone else was in the same boat and people were very supportive of each other. There was a great sense of camaraderie with people swapping knowledge and information about things which were important to us," O'Callaghan says.
"We also found the staff at UCD tremendous - they enjoyed us because everyone was so committed and enthusiastic. You do spend a great deal of your free time on study related matters whether reading or researching for an essay and I had to do an essay every second weekend or so. The year before I started the degree I did one subject at Leaving Cert to sort of ease myself in and to see if I still knew how to write an essay. I think this was a useful exercise.
"One of the disadvantages of being an evening student is missing the opportunity to participate in extra curricular activities or to join the many excellent societies at UCD such as the L&H. This is a pity. But otherwise there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction to be had from the course material itself and it was great to be able to be at college at the same time as my children and to feel part of the same learning experience.
Jim O'Callaghan is now working in the education department of the National Gallery where he is co-ordinator of courses. He also lectures and conducts guided tours of the Gallery's collections. With his busy schedule his artistic talents have been put on hold for the moment, although he has managed to do a little sketching during the summer holidays.
"I absolutely adore my work at the Gallery," he says. "I wish I'd done this years earlier, but it's better late than never. I'm taking what I think is called a `gap' year this year - no formal studying - but I'm doing just as much reading because when you are giving tours and lectures you have to be very familiar with all aspects of your material. We also mount special exhibitions and you have to get up to speed for those and I was also involved in organising our children's exhibition which was a big undertaking but most enjoyable."
The rest of the family are still stuck into their books. Pauline O'Callaghan is continuing her studies in psychoanalysis, Simon is doing an MA in maths and tutoring in maths at UCD at the same time and Katherine is also at UCD where she is reading for an MA in American literature.
