SHSS Alumnae Link - Frances Collins
Welcome to SHSS Alumnae Link!
This is where we connect with past pupils and find out what they’re up to now.
This week we linked with Frances Collins who graduated in 1999.
Name and position:
Frances Collins, Diplomat.
Lives:
Living in Clonakilty as I am currently working remotely.
Best memory of Sacred Heart:
I had wonderful friends who are still my best friends to this day and we had great craic. I have particularly fond memories of my fifth year and Leaving Cert English teacher, Ms. Cullinane, who sadly is no longer with us. We studied the ‘Lord of the Flies’ and she really helped us to bring it alive in our own minds and really think about the themes of the novel. I also have wonderful memories of our week in Cappanalea, which was surprisingly fun for someone who was not the most gifted PE student.
What were your favourite classes?
History and English.
Tell us about your career progression to date:
I studied History and Politics at degree level and then a Masters in European Integration at the University of Limerick. During my studies, I did a 9-month work placement in the Department of Health and studied for 6 months in the Czech Republic as part of the EU’s Erasmus programme. Both experiences helped me to decide what I wanted to do, but more importantly, how I should go about it. After graduating, I worked in customer care while I was going through the application process for the civil service.
I initially worked with the Department of Social Protection for 18 months before transferring to the Department of Foreign Affairs where I worked for 6 years on Ireland’s overseas development assistance programme known as Irish Aid. One of my most challenging but interesting roles was working in the Humanitarian Team. I worked on Ireland’s response to humanitarian emergencies in Syria, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Philippines. In 2014, I took an assignment with Ireland’s Embassy to Uganda as Second Secretary. My work was very varied including supporting Irish companies who wanted to do business in Uganda, monitoring and advising on political developments in Uganda and in neighbouring countries, assisting Irish citizens visiting or living in Uganda if they got into difficulty and organising events to mark St. Patrick’s Day including turning the Equator Green!
In 2017, I took a leave of absence from the Department of Foreign Affairs and went to work as Head of Political Section and Deputy Head of Mission at the Delegation of European Union to South Sudan. In South Sudan, the EU is very actively supporting the South Sudanese peace process and I was very much involved in this work. In September 2019, I returned to the Department of Foreign Affairs as Deputy Director in the Disarmament and Non Proliferation Section in Political Division. I now work on foreign policy issues related to nuclear weapons, missiles and Space !
If you weren’t in the job you have, what would you be doing?
I feel very privileged to represent Ireland, so I find it very difficult to imagine doing a different job. A career as a diplomat is in itself very varied. I am extremely fortunate that every few years, I find myself living in a different country or working on different issues.
Advice you would give your teenage self:
I am a strong advocate of women supporting women and think this is something which is cultivated at Sacred Heart. Carry this ethos with you, because as you make your way in the world you will come to understand the challenges and opportunities that we all face as women and the need for us to continue to support each other whether that be in our families, schools, workplaces, communities, on this island or further afield.
Favourite quote or motto?
And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.
Roald Dahl
What is your hidden talent?
I would not say that I have a hidden talent but I can still recite the poem and prose from my LAMDA Gold Medal Speech and Drama exam more than twenty years later …
Huge thanks to Frances for taking the time to answer our questions!
See you soon for the next instalment of SHSS Alumnae Link.
