A local elderly man showed me this certificate which belonged to his mother and I had to take a picture. I’m sharing it with permission and the surname redacted. The design is quite beautiful and one of the things I miss about older Ireland, as well as the design of our slightly older currency.

Some backstory: This woman was treated horrifically by the church and had her child forcefully taken from her. Also, when she got this qualification she became one of the most proficient people in the local administration at her job but because she was a woman, she would never be promoted beyond the job she had at the time. Less capable men passed her by to become her boss.

This post originally was just to show the beautiful certificate but now I think the story is just as important. I’m glad that the vast majority of people in the country do not want to return to the dark ages.