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80-year-old student from Waterford graduates with doctorate from UCC

80-year-old student from Waterford graduates with doctorate from UCC

Over 1,000 students graduated virtually from UCC this week, among them was an 80-year-old PhD student.
Tom Walsh, an internationally renowned expert on customs law and practice, was conferred with his doctorate from the College of Business & Law.
Tom, aged 80, has a long history with the School of Law; after graduating with a BCL in 1984, he became the first person ever to start an LLM with the School (by thesis).

Tom Walsh today

Tom - who played senior hurling and football for Waterford, and came up against the legendary Christy Ring and Eddie Kerr - wants his study of a PhD to hopefully inspire others towards learning:
"I would like the message to get across that you do not have to be a 'book worm' to start a course of study.
"My old teacher used to say, when it came to asking the question that everyone in the class was afraid to ask, that it was 'better to be a fool for one minute of your life, than a fool all your life'."
Tom spoke to Damien Tiernan on Deise Today, you can hear the full interview below.
 

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