The Daily Populous Wednesday October 15th, 2025 night edition
Authored by bbc.co.uk and submitted by Upstairs_Drive_5602

Ms McFarland had originally started university in Dublin back in the 1960s, but love intervened before she finished her degree.

She said she dropped out of her course and got married instead.

Although it took a few years, she decided to study again with the Open University while recovering from a car accident.

"I had a bit of time to spare and I thought I'd like to do something," Ms McFarland told BBC News NI.

Studying online had proved a challenge at times. However, she said her family - including her four children, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren - had been "wonderful".

"I'm very bad online but I had a lot of help from the family," she said, adding that her daughter-in-law taught her how to type.

"I know they're there if I want them and they help me in every way they can.

"But, you know, I think they think for granny to have a degree, it's a bit odd!"

Ms McFarland also said she had a "lovely" tutor who provided "a lot of support".

TroubledTimesBesetUs on October 15th, 2025 at 00:31 UTC »

My first thought is, "Was it free or nearly free in England?" Old people can get many degrees. It is the debt we go into in America that kills many of those dreams. Oh, and the fact that some young adults irrationally hate all Boomers even before they know a single thing about us.

apickyreader on October 14th, 2025 at 23:38 UTC »

That's great. What field is she going into?

CityEvening on October 14th, 2025 at 18:48 UTC »

Congratulations to Maryette on her amazing achievement!