A Year in Review 2022: Staff Highlights

20 Dec 2022

As we bid farewell to another year, we reflect on some of 2022’s highlights at the UCC School of Law.

Now is the turn of key Staff Highlights. 

New Appointments

We were delighted to welcome Dr Marie Aronsson-Storrier to the School this April as a Lecturer from Reading University in the UK. Marie’s current research explores the role of international law in creating and addressing disaster risk, including questions around root causes of risk, the Anthropocene, and the inclusion of marginalised groups and persons in law- and decision-making processes. She is currently a PI for the CCJHR Disaster Research Cluster, PI for Environmental Research Institute and PI for Centre for Law and the Environment, teaching international law, international human rights law, international criminal law, law of the sea, contemporary issues of international law, and humanitarianism and the law.

Welcome to Dr Yulia Vlasenko from Ukraine who joined us as a fellow under the University Sanctuary Scheme from August.

Earlier this year, Professor Caroline Fennell was appointed as an Emeritus Professor at the School of Law.  Professor Fennell retired from the School in September 2021, and we are pleased to welcome her back to the School in an Emeritus capacity this year. We would like to congratulate Professor Fennell on her recent appointment to the new Electoral Commission, which will be entitled An Coimisiún Toghcháin.

This year Éilís Barry, Chief Executive of FLAC and International Children’s Rights Consultant and Advocate, Gerison Lansdown were appointed as adjunct professors with the School. Elise Lefeuvre was also appointed as an Adjunct Lecturer for the School this year.

Fond Farewells

We were sorry this year to bid farewell to our esteemed colleague Professor Irene Lynch Fannon, who retired from UCC this summer.  Since then, Professor Fannon has been appointed as an Emeritus Professor at the School of Law.

Irene has enjoyed a long and distinguished career at UCC including periods as Head of the Department of Law from 1999-2002 and Dean of the Faculty of Law during 2000-2002 as well as serving as Head of the College of Business and Law from 2008-2013.  She has been one of the foremost researchers in Company Law in Ireland and has developed a very strong international profile.  Irene’s co-authored work on the Law of Corporate Insolvency and Rescue has been cited in the Irish superior courts on many occasions. Her other main research interest is in stakeholder theories in corporate law.  Irene secured significant research funding, not least in her recent JCOERE project on European judicial co-operation in corporate rescue.   In addition to extensive publications, reviewing of research grant applications, Irene has had considerable additional impact through being a Ministerial appointee to the Company Law Review Group 2016-2018 and 2018-2022 and as Chair of the Insolvency Sub Committee.  She is also a member of the EU Commission DG Justice Committee of Experts on Insolvency and Rescue. Irene has also made a huge contribution to teaching Company Law over the years at UCC and her excellent teaching will be remembered by generations of students. 

We wish Irene well in her new role as Head of Knowledge Management at Matheson and we look forward to continuing to work with her in that capacity.

The Traveller Equality & Justice Project achieve success at UCC’s Teaching Excellence Awards

We were delighted to learn that the Traveller Equality & Justice Project (TEJP) received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching earlier this month.

The TEJP, a partnership between UCC School of Law and the Free Legal Advice Centre, operates the ‘TEJP Clinic’, providing information and representation to Travellers who have experienced discrimination in accessing goods and services in Cork and Kerry. 

Earlier this year, the TEJP launched its latest report, ‘Barriers to Justice for Travellers Seeking to Challenge Discrimination: Mapping Traveller ‘Rediscrimination’ within the Equality System’. The report is available to read here.

Research Excellence Recognised at College Ceremony

Featured at the College Assembly held on 5th September in the Dora Allman Room of the Student HUB were the College of Business and Law Research Awards, which recognise research excellence and the extensive contributions made by the College’s researchers. The Awards are given across four categories from Early-career, Mid-career, Advanced and Team to those who have exceptional and very influential research contributions, pushing boundaries, enhancing knowledge, and raising the national and international research profile of the College.  Congratulations to Dr Luigi Lonardo upon receiving the ‘Researcher of the Year (Early- Career)’ award and Professor Maria Cahill upon receiving ‘Research of the Year (Advanced)’ award.

Professor Irene Lynch Fannon and Dr Darius Whelan were recognised for their 35 and 25 years, respectively, service to UCC at this year’s UCC’s Long Service Awards.

In August, Leiden Law School announced that Professor Ursula Kilkelly will visit Leiden in the academic year 2022-2023 as Rotating Honorary Chair ‘Enforcement of Children’s Rights’.

In May, Dr Dug Cubie was appointed to the Royal Irish Academy Committee for ‘Ethical, Political, Legal & Philosophical Studies’. The multi-disciplinary committee aims to promote co-operation across and within its scholarly disciplines, to advise, contribute and guide Academy policy in these areas and to engage the public on issues of topical interest, on an all-island basis. 

Alison Hardiman was appointed to the Government’s Major Projects Advisory Group in January. The group was formed by Minister Michael McGrath TD to further strengthen project management and to assist his Department in its project assurance role for major capital investment projects.

In January, The Government published the Annual Report of the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection for 2021 by Professor Conor O’Mahony.  Professor O’Mahony was appointed to the role of Special Rapporteur by the Government in 2019 for a three-year term.  In March, the Government published Proposals for a State Response to Illegal Birth Registrations in Ireland by Professor O’Mahony. Professor O’Mahony completed his three-year term as Special Rapporteur on Child Protection in June.  Earlier this month, the Government approved Professor O'Mahony's final report.