Career Profile
Name: Brian Murphy
Address: Portmarnock, Co Dublin
Completed Course: 2008
When I was made redundant from my job as an IT Manager at the age of 52, I decided to change career direction entirely. I had always been very keen on horticulture and loved working with plants, so I thought I might find out how I could further this interest as regards a new career. I did some research on the availability of horticultural courses in Ireland. I realised also that I would not be able to fully fund my time on a course so I applied to FÁS for funding to complete Level 4 Certificate in Horticulture course at Teagasc in Kinsealy/Botanic Gardens.
From the first day on the course I knew that I had made the right decision. I got great satisfaction from all aspects of the training, and the staff and fellow students were very encouraging and helpful. With advice from the staff in Teagasc I decided to further my horticultural education. Despite my age and lack of experience, I was accepted into a botany degree course at Trinity College. Without my initial decision to do the Level 4 Certificate in Horticulture I would never have gotten this far.
If anyone had told me two years ago that I would be in this position now, I most definitely would not have believed them, but it has been a positive life-changing experience, and has turned a potentially bad situation into something wonderful!
