A Year in Review - 2025 Staff Highlights

15 Dec 2025

Professor Conor O'Mahony appointed as Dean of the School of Law – August 2025

Professor O’Mahony is a graduate of University College Cork (BCL 2001, LLM by Research 2002) and joined the faculty in 2005 following the completion of his PhD in the Department of Law and Criminology Aberystwyth University. He teaches Constitutional Law and Child Law, and has acted as Deputy Dean; Vice Dean for Student Affairs; Vice-Dean for Research; and Director of Graduate Studies. He also directs the Child Law Clinic, which provides research support for litigation and advocacy on legal issues affecting children. From 2019-2022, he served as Special Rapporteur on Child Protection to the Government of Ireland.

Professor Mark Poustie’s term as Dean saw the School reach new heights in the QS World University Rankings and in the level of research funding secured by faculty members. The School is grateful for his exemplary leadership over the past six years, especially during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic period. Read Professor Mark Poustie’s reflection on his tenure as Dean of UCC School of Law here.  All of us in the School of Law wish Professor Mark Poustie the very best in his new role as Head of School of Law at the University of Reading, commencing in April 2026. Mark - Go n-éirí go geal leat agus beir bua!

Farewells 

Dr Luigi Lonardo will depart the School in January 2026.  We would like to extend our thanks to Luigi for his valuable contribution to the School over the past 5 years.

New appointments and promotions

Dr Holly Faulkner - Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow in the MaREI Centre

Holly has joined us as a Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow in the MaREI Centre under the Horizon Europe DIRECTED project.

Dr Roila Mavrouli – Lecturer in EU Law

Roila has joined us as a Lecturer in EU Law. Roila joins us from a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at CNRS and HEC Paris in the field of public and European law. 

Dr Luke Noonan – Lecturer

Luke has joined us as a lecturer and will be well known to colleagues having completed both his LLM (2019) and PhD (2024) at UCC.  He previously served as a Lecturer in Law at UCC during 2023-24 and was also previously Assistant Professor in Criminal Law at Dublin City University.

Professor Noreen O’Meara - The Synnott Family Chair in EU Law

Noreen has joined us from Surrey University Law School where she was a Reader in Human Rights, European and Environmental Law. 

Donna Noonan – School of Law, Manager

Donna has joined us as School Manager. Donna has over ten years’ experience in public and private higher education and professional education both in Ireland and the Netherlands.

Dr Bernard Long – Director BCL Law & Irish

Bernard has joined us as director of the BCL (Law & Irish) programme. He completed his PhD at UCC in 2024 and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Artois University in Douai, France, before rejoining the School of Law in 2025.

Dr Emma Hurley

Dr Emma Hurley has recently joined the School as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr Kate Falconer on her BoDIESS project.

Congratulations to Fidelma White, Nessa Lynch and Patrick O’Callaghan who have recently been promoted to Professor Scale 2 in Law. 

External Appointments

Many colleagues continue to perform key roles in public life at national and international level. 

In October, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill established the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA). The Minister has appointed Professor Deirdre Madden, of the School of Law at UCC, as the first Chairperson of the Board. The new Assisted Human Reproduction Authority (AHRRA) was set up in October, following the establishment of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 legislation that was signed in in July. The AHRRA is a statutory and evidence-based regulatory agency that will aim to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of children being born through surrogacy, surrogates, and the intended parents of children born through surrogacy.  In February, Professor Madden was presented with a commemorative medal by the President of the RCSI.

Five senior academics from UCC were recently elected to the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), including the School of Law's Professor Mary Donnelly. Mary's research focuses on health law and ethics, including capacity law, law and psychiatry, public health, and in consumer protection. Her work has had a significant policy impact on law reform projects in several jurisdictions. She has led and collaborated on research projects funded by the European Commission, the IRCHSS, the Irish Research Council, the National Children's Office, the Irish Hospice Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Professor Nessa Lynch has been appointed by the Government to the Policing and Community Safety Authority, which launched in April, as a result of the official commencement of the Policing and Community Safety Act. The landmark Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 was commenced yesterday by Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan. This legislation is a landmark reform of the oversight and accountability of policing and security in Ireland. The new Authority replaces the former Policing Authority and Garda Síochána Inspectorate and is part of a new regulatory framework which includes, for the first time, specific oversight of national security legislation and arrangements and a new role of Police Ombudsman.

Professor Owen McIntyre has recently been appointed to the Compliance Committee for the UN/WHO Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. The members of the Compliance Committee are to serve in their personal capacity and objectively, in the best interest of the Protocol. The objective of the compliance procedure is to facilitate, promote and aim to secure compliance with the obligations under the Protocol, with a view to preventing disputes.

UCC Research and Innovation Awards

The UCC Research & Innovation Awards embrace excellence in research, innovation, and entrepreneurial activity, across the entire university research community. Congratulations to School of Law colleagues who were awarded at the event. PhD Student of the Year Niamh Guiry, PhD researcher at the School of Law, was jointly awarded the UCC 180 Professor Adrian Dixon Prize PhD Student of the Year. Niamh is supervised by Professor Owen McIntyre and Dr Dug Cubie. The Research Image of the Year award was made to Dr. Luigi Lonardo, UCC School of Law, artist Claire Halpin and the Glucksman for the commission of Panorama Europa as part of an EU funded project on citizen's rights. 

College of Business and Law Research and Staff Recognition Awards

Many congratulations to our wonderful colleagues whose contributions to the College of Business and Law and the University were recognised at the COBL Research and Staff Recognition Awards: 

• Outstanding Colleague Award – Kate Liffey Faherty 
• Exceptional Citizen Award – Pat Rice
• Early Career Researcher of the Year – Dr Kate Falconer
• Mid-Career Researcher of the Year – Dr Marie Aronnson-Storrier 
• Research Team of the Year – Law and the Inner Self project (Professor Patrick O’Callaghan, Felicitas Benziger and Taly Deibel) 

UCC Long Service Awards

Congratulations to our School of Law colleagues celebrating 25 years in UCC: Dympna O'Donovan, Dr Aisling Parkes, Professor Louise Crowley, Professor Owen McIntyre.