Dr Katriona O'Sullivan is a professor of psychology and the bestselling author of Poor, winner of Biography of the Year and Newcomer of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. The memoir has been translated into seven languages, adapted into a sold-out play at Dublin's Gate Theatre, and remained in Ireland's top-ten nonfiction chart for two years. A regular commentator on the BBC and across Irish and international media, she has spoken at Westminster, the UN and UNESCO.


Born in Coventry to Irish parents, her early life was marked by poverty, addiction, teenage pregnancy and homelessness. In 1998 she moved to Dublin, where she entered Trinity College through the access programme and went on to earn a PhD in psychology. Now a professor at Maynooth University, she directs the National Centre for Inclusive Higher Education and leads the award-winning STEM Passport for Inclusion, which has supported over 10,000 young people from underserved communities into higher education and high-status careers.