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It was a proud day for award-winning writer and former Minister of State Liz McManus who celebrated her graduation from ������.

Liz, who served in Dáil Éireann for 19 years – two-and-a-half of which she spent as Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal – was conferred with a PhD in Creative Writing on Tuesday, joining 1,705 others graduating as part of the University’s winter conferring ceremonies.

It was the end of an “amazing experience” for Liz, who originally qualified and worked as an architect before entering politics. Writing was always a passion for the mother-of-four, who wrote a column with the Sunday Tribune for several years before publishing her debut novel, Acts of Subversion. Following her retirement in 2011, she undertook an MPhil in Creative Writing at Trinity College Dublin, going on to publish two more novels – the latest of which, When Things Come to Light, was published in 2023.

Liz said she was encouraged by a friend, Lia Mills – who had previously completed the PhD in Creative Writing – to come to UL. The draw of studying under the tutelage of her supervisors, Professor Joseph O’Connor and Professor Tina O’Toole, played a significant role in her decision.

“Here I was, with these two very fine academics standing by me like two guardian angels – that is a very privileged position to be in,” said Liz.

For her creative dissertation, she chose to “trace the history of modern Ireland through fiction”. She studied the work of Irish resistance writers Liam O’Flaherty, Sam Thompson and May Morton, producing a series of short stories spanning the 100 years of Irish independence, from 1919 right up to the pandemic.

It is a testament to Liz’s talent and dedication that at her viva – the final hurdle of the PhD process – she achieved something incredibly rare by passing with no corrections.

“It was a terrific experience, and I know not everyone feels that way,” she said.

“You get to a certain age, to tell you the truth, where you become a little bit invisible. So, when you have two academics that you think highly of – Donal Ryan and Glenn Patterson – taking your work terribly seriously, and reading every inch of it, it’s kind of satisfying.”

The PhD process was not without its challenges, with self-proclaimed “technophobe” Liz admitting that the technical and formatting aspects of the work proved tricky at times. However, she is adamant that budding scholars should embrace the journey at any age and stage.

“People look at me aghast when I tell them I’ve just done a PhD, and I just want to say – it’s big, but it’s not that big a thing that you couldn’t do it … To have the resource of a university, a library, academic teachers who are going to be there for you – that’s a rich resource.”

And it seems the journey was just as enjoyable for Liz’s supervisors, with Professor Joseph O’Connor describing her as “an immense pleasure to work with”.

“I learned a great deal from working with her and we had many a laugh, too, along the way, becoming good pals,” Professor O’Connor said.

“Liz achieved the very rare accolade of passing her viva with no corrections. Extern Glenn Patterson of Queens University Belfast and internal examiner, my friend and colleague Donal Ryan, praised Liz's work as exceptional. To receive this response from two such internationally acclaimed authors and teachers is a well-deserved tribute to Liz's gift."

Looking to the future, Liz hopes to publish her dissertation and share the fruits of her PhD with the world, while a memoir is also in the works.

“I decided to write it partly for my own family, but also, because one of the things I realised when I was doing the PhD was the mammoth changes that have occurred in Ireland that I have not just witnessed but, in a way, been a participant in – and that’s worth recording.”