Dr Orla Lynch
Biography
Orla is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Criminology. Until 2022 she was Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in CACSSS and before that she was Head of Criminology. Prior to this Orla was Director of Teaching in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Orla’s research focuses on terrorism, extremism and political violence. She is currently a partner in a H2020 funded project looking at extremism in Europe, and PI on a project exploring the rise of the extreme right wing in Ireland. Orla is a Senior Fellow with Hedayah, a member of the Research Advisory Council at the United States Institute of Peace (RESOLVE), a member of the Editorial Board of the Radicalisation Awareness Network (EU DG Home) and an advisor to the Committee of Experts on Hate Crime at the Council of Europe. Orla is also a member of the Social Sciences Committee at the Royal Irish Academy and the book editor for the journal Terrorism and Political Violence. Orla is currently an external examiner on the BSc in Psychological Trauma at Queens University Belfast and teaches on a number of modules linked to her research, In 2018 Orla developed a PG Dip/Ma in Trauma Studies in conjunction with a community partner WAVE Trauma Centre Belfast. She remains academic director of this programme. Orla currently has five PhD students in the Department of Criminology.