About Us
The Child Law Clinic was established in 2010 to provide pro bono research assistance to practicing lawyers or civil society groups to assist in their litigation and advocacy work. It also authors its own submissions and amicus briefs to various courts and committees on matters of interest. The Clinic brings together Faculty members specialising in child law and children’s rights and postgraduate students from the LLM in Children’s Rights and Family Law and the PhD programme, who provide research assistance under the guidance of the academic staff. The Clinic Director is Dr Conor O’Mahony.
Lawyers and others wishing to use the Clinic’s services should contact the Clinic by email conor.omahony@ucc.ie or in writing to outline their request for information or support. Where the matter is urgent, the Clinic can be contacted on +353 (0)21 490 3041. Follow us on Twitter: @childlawucc
Child Law Clinic
Our litigation work has assisted lawyers engaged in litigation at all levels, ranging from the District Court to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. We have produced research briefs to assist lawyers in a range of cases concerning the Child Care Act 1991 and the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, including material on case law and legislation as well as sociological literature on issues such as sibling contact. We have researched international law material to assist the preparation of collective complaints to the European Committee on Social Rights. We are best known for our work in securing redress for survivors of sexual abuse in National Schools, including the Louise O’Keeffe case.
Child Law Clinic
In addition to supporting litigation, we have prepared research briefs to assist various civil society groups with advocacy projects, including BelongTo, the Clann Project and the Cork Traveller Visibility Group.
Finally, we have authored submissions to Oireachtas Committees on a number of draft pieces of legislation, including the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 and the Education (Admissions to School) Act 2018.
