Aoife McGrath, PhD

People are always amazed when they hear I spent 9 years as a student of Theology in Maynooth.

2 Aoife

People are always amazed when they hear I spent 9 years as a student of Theology in Maynooth. They wonder how Theology as a subject could have held my interest for that length of time and what job prospects I hoped for after all those years of studying. I spent my first three years being introduced to the various topics of Theology and English, making friends across both campuses, and enjoying both the recreational side to student life and the picturesque campus.

As I neared the end of my degree, I felt that Theology was not yet finished with me, nor I with it. So I entered the Master’s programme and embarked on two further years of study. While I researched and wrote my thesis on the Theology of Marriage, I tutored undergraduate students in many subjects. This experience awakened in me the desire to lecture on Moral Theology in the future. Bolstered by my sense that I had something to contribute in the area of the Theology of Marriage, this desire led me to undertake the Doctorate in the Theology.

As for the job prospects of a student of Theology:

  • I have been an occasional and part-time lecturer in a number of Third Level Institutions across Ireland;
  • I am a Research and Editorial Assistant for the anthology entitled An Irish Reader in Moral Theology: The Legacy of the Last Fifty Years;
  • I am currently a full-time Parish Pastoral Worker. My role is to contribute to the life and work of the parish, which involves initiating, training, supporting, and resourcing various teams in Liturgical, Pastoral, and Formation ministries.

I find Pastoral Work immensely rewarding and I am certain this experience will enable me to be a more competent and credible lecturer. My years in Maynooth opened up a new world to me, prepared me for a meaningful profession, and launched me on my way.