The third Traveller to be awarded a PhD in the history of the State, Dr Hannagh McGinley (Lecturer in Education at Mary Immaculate College ) sees herself as a living example to other Travellers as to what can be achieved in education. Her example, however, bucks the trend of poor Traveller education retention rates, ingrained, although typically unconscious, discrimination against Travellers and a mutual misunderstanding between the community and the education system.