Harry Mallon
You could say that Harry Mallon’s route to graduating with an MA in Creative Writing is a long story, one that started with a difficult conversation in his local social welfare office.
The Dundalk man, who comes from a Traveller background, left school after the Junior Certificate. Despite leaving education behind, he kept his love of reading, writing and storytelling. “I was always writing, I was always into writing.”
In his late twenties, and unemployed, he went for an interview at his social welfare office to discuss his options. He told them he wanted to be a writer like his literary heroes JK Rowling and Stephen King, but the response was unsympathetic. They bluntly told him, “you’re not going to get far without a degree.”
It was a moment that spurred Harry to return to education. He went on to study Journalism at Dublin Business School before completing a BA in English and Human Development at DCU.
He then secured a role as Traveller and Roma Education Officer in the DCU Access Service, before embarking on his MA. “Seven years later, and I’m working here in DCU and graduating with a Master’s,” says Harry with a smile.
Harry says balancing work and the Master’s was challenging but very much worth the effort. “I’d be on the go from 7 in the morning to 10 at night.”
Among the highlights were the regular workshop sessions with published authors, including DCU’s writers-in-residence.
The course also introduced him to writing for the stage. He learned a lot from acclaimed playwright Marina Carr, who lectures on the course.
Harry found that he shares her interest in dark and mythological themes and, he points out, she has featured Traveller characters and culture in her work such as By the Bog of Cats.
During the course, Harry wrote his first play. It focused on characters navigating life in the inner city life amid the recession, a work that received positive feedback from Carr.
Harry’s mother is an Irish Traveller, but at the start of his undergraduate degree at DCU, he didn’t talk about his identity. However, when he encountered negative stereotypes being discussed during a Sociology class he felt the need to speak up.
“That's when I turned around and told them I was from a Traveller background and it was kind of easier after that.”
He points out that many settled people hold a stereotypical image of Travellers. “There’s not just one big picture of what the Traveller community’s meant to look like, you know?”
Harry was the first person in his family to go to University, but he says they didn’t understand why he was pursuing Higher Education until they attended his BA graduation. That was when they “started to recognise this wasn't a joke, it was an achievement.”
Since then, his mother has been particularly supportive and she helped to pay his fees for the Master’s. Meanwhile, his nieces and nephews are now interested in going to college - one of them wants to become a doctor and another a teacher.
In parallel with his influence on family members, Harry’s outreach work for DCU Access is having an impact. He mainly works with secondary schools in north Dublin with high proportions of Traveller and Roma students.
Since he started working with this cohort, school attendance has improved and levels of progression to Leaving Cert have increased. Meanwhile, five Traveller students have graduated from DCU in the past 12 months.
The engagement with these students shows them that going to University is an option for them and there are supports available. “They know that the door is open to them if they want to come.”
Harry also works with primary school children and mature learners. In addition, he advises DCU lecturers on Traveller and Roma history and culture.
Returning to his experience with the Master’s in Creative Writing, Harry says he wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the course. For those who don’t know what type of writing they want to focus on Harry advises: “Do it! You’ll find your strength.”
In terms of his longer-term literary ambitions, Harry is keeping his cards close to his chest for now. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” he laughs.