'What an incredible honour': Louise O'Neill receives honorary doctorate from UCC
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Speaking to bestselling author Louise O’Neill ahead of her honorary conferring at University College Cork today, it’s striking that she says she was surprised to be recognised for her work in bringing problematic issues to the fore through her writing.
Her novel and its later stage adaptation sparked a national conversation on issues surrounding consent and rape culture and in the six years since its publication, schools and colleges have introduced more supports to prevent sexual assault and to provide support for its victims.
However, Ms O’Neill, who says she is excited if a little overwhelmed to receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law from UCC, says she did not expect such an honour.
“I was definitely very surprised when I first heard, but what an incredible honour,” she says, citing “imposter syndrome” as the root cause of her shock. However, O’Neill is far from an imposter. Reflecting on alone, it is clear how much of an impact the book made on our society following its publication - though she still believes timing was key in its success.
“I had no idea the way in which that book would resonate with readers. I always said that I wanted to start a conversation but I think you've no control over how large that conversation will become,” she says, noting the work of others for many years in that area before her.
“There were activists in this field doing incredible work for decades before me and I think the book came at the right time. I think people were really ready to have that conversation. It's very obvious if you look at Me Too, that really took off in 2017. That didn't happen out of nowhere, there was this growing frustration and this growing awareness of the prevalence of sexual violence and the way in which it's so often diminished within our culture and denied within our culture.
“I often think that a piece of art, whether that is a book or a play or a film, it's a way of facilitating what are often very difficult conversations. It's a way into that conversation. was just published at the right time to be that conduit to those conversations.”
One area in which the columnist has noticed a change is interviews. When was published, she was often asked to explain terms like ‘rape culture’. Those questions are no longer asked of her.
“When first came out and I was doing publicity for the book, I felt like a great deal of my time was not really spent talking about the book, talking about the characters, talking about the world. It was actually spent explaining ‘what is consent’ and ‘what is rape culture’.
“I think it's very unlikely that if I was doing an interview today that I would be asked to explain what consent is. Our cultural consciousness and our awareness around these terms has really changed. Me Too had a massive part to play in that and so that has really shifted over the last six years.”
Although she is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, O’Neill says she always felt like the odd one out at home in Clonakilty as most of her family attended UCC. Her move to Dublin was prompted by a teenage desire to be as far from home as possible.
“I didn't go to UCC but my mom, my sister, my aunt, and two of my cousins did and one of my first cousins is there now and so I have always felt like the odd one out. It's lovely. And it's such a beautiful university. Whenever I walk through there or if I'm going to the Glucksman gallery, I've always thought ‘this campus is so beautiful’.
“I was just so desperate to get out of Cork. I probably would have loved UCC but I think it was this sense of, ‘I need to leave home and get as much distance in between me and my hometown as possible’. Dublin seemed like the only option.”
Ms O’Neill is joined at today’s ceremony by her parents, her partner, her aunt and her cousin and says the organisers of the conferring have been extremely supportive to her and her family.
“In the lead up to this, the people who are involved have been so incredibly helpful and accommodating not just to me, but to my entire family. I think it really is a testament to a university that really values relationships, and I've been really impressed by the way that they have handled all of this. I've felt very, very lucky to be a part of it. At the moment, life can feel a little bit bleak so I'm determined to take my joy where I can find it. I'm really going to enjoy it.”