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Researchers at UCC College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences recognised in UCC's 2024 Research and Innovation Awards
Using digital tools to map the legacy of the Vikings, delivering new perspectives on the Irish Civil War, and investigating the Hidden Grief around drug-related deaths were among the major projects celebrated at the 2024 University College Cork (UCC) Research and Innovation Awards.
Presented at an event in the Lewis Glucksman Gallery on Thursday, 29 May 2025, the awards recognised researchers who are driving innovation and making a positive difference, locally and globally, influencing culture, the environment, technology and policy for the benefit of society.
Researchers working within and across a range of disciplines in UCC’s College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences were recognised in 8 award categories.
Professor Tom Birkett from UCC’s School of English and Digital Humanities was named Researcher of the Year. Professor Birkett was recognised for research excellence throughout his career, in particular his exceptional work in Old Norse and early medieval studies. He was a recipient of a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant for his project "NORSEMAP" which examined how the image of Vikings has been used in modern times - sometimes by extremist groups - and how we can better understand and track these uses.
Dr Kian Mintz-Woo, Early-Stage Researcher of the Year
Dr Kian Mintz-Woo of the School of Society, Politics & Ethics and Environmental Research Institute was one of two recipients of the Early-Stage Researcher of the Year award. A Senior Lecturer at UCC’s Department of Philosophy where he works primarily on moral philosophy, both theoretical and applied to climate policy, he was recognised for his scholarship and his contributions to the Irish Government’s Carbon Budgets Working Group, helping to propose and support national planning.
The Atlas of the Irish Civil War Research Team - Dr Helene O’Keeffe, Dr Donal Ó Drisceoil, Dr John Borgonovo and Dr Andy Bielenberg (School of History), and Dr John Crowley and Mike Murphy (Department of Geography), together with Research Assistant John Dorney and Cartographer Charlie Roche - was named the Research Team of the Year. The team was recognised for its sustained public engagement work and for adding another rich layer of original scholarship to our understanding of a tragic event in Irish history.
Dr Michelle McKeown, Lecturer in Environmental Geography and Principal Investigator at the Environmental Research Institute, was named Research Communicator of the Year. An environmental geographer, passionate about protecting our environment and maintaining a healthy world, Dr McKeown co-presented the RTE series Heated in 2024, and is a regular contributor to the Irish Examiner and other national media platforms. ‘It’s more important than ever’, Dr McKeown explained, ‘to inspire collective hope and action when many people are feeling powerless by reports of floods, storms and heatwaves around the world.’
Researchers from the School of Applied Psychology were recognised in two award categories. Ava McCoy, graduate of the BA Applied Psychology, received the award for the Best Publication of the Year by an Undergraduate Author, and the Hidden Grief Research Project led by Dr Sharon Lambert received the award for Engaged Research of the Year. Addressing profound gaps in international research into drug-related bereavement and impact on families, the Hidden Grief Project co-produced knowledge and research with many community partners and facilitated the assembly of an impacted community to create visibility around their bereavement.
Dr Lijuan Qian, recipient of the Research Award for Open Science Dr Lijuan Qian, Senior Lecturer in Music at University College Cork received the Research Award for Open Science, which recognised the open, collaborative nature of her work as Principal Investigator of the 5-year community-engaged ERC research project ECura, Everyone’s a Curator: Digitally Empowering Ethnic Minority Music Sustainability in China. Working with villagers in three ethnic minority communities in Southwest China, ECura studies how they use digital media technologies (mobile phones, TikTok, etc) to support their traditional expressive practices and aims to develop new supports for Indigenous communities in this field.
Dr Barry Monahan, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and Vice-Head of College for Graduate Studies, is a member of the Dean of Doctoral Studies Research Skills Group that received the award for Creating a Culture for Responsible Conduct of Research.
Professor John F. Cryan, UCC Vice President for Research and Innovation at UCC said:
We are delighted to celebrate the award recipients of this year’s UCC Research and Innovation Awards. Our awardees’ achievements reflect the exceptional research and innovation culture that exists across the UCC campus. The quality of nominations was outstanding and speaks to the creativity, commitment, and impact of our research and innovation community. These awards not only honour individual excellence but also highlight how UCC research and innovation continues to lead and inspire on both a national and international stage.
Read more about the Research and Innovation Awards and find the full list of awardees across twenty-two categories.
Research Team of the Year: The Atlas of the Irish Civil War team, with UCC President Prof. John O'Halloran, VP for Research and Innovation Prof. John Cryan, and Dr Lisa Keating, Director of Research & Innovation at the Irish Universities Association.
Dr Michelle McKeowan, Research Communicator of the Year (centre) with Dr Sally Cudmore, Director, UCC Innovation, with UCC President Prof. John O'Halloran and VP for Research and Innovation Prof. John Cryan.
Ava McCoy, recipient of the Best Publication of the Year by an Undergraduate Author award, with Prof. Paul McSweeney, Vice-President, Learning and Teaching, UCC, UCC President Prof. John O'Halloran and VP for Research and Innovation, Prof. John Cryan.
Dr Siobhán Cusack, Director of Research Strategy and Projects UCC, Prof. John O'Halloran and Prof. John Cryan with the winners of the Engaged Research of the Year award- Dr Daniel O'Callaghan, Aaron Bolger, Mark Wright of the Hidden Grief Project