A Year in Review 2023: Research Highlights

21 Dec 2023

As we bid farewell to another year, we reflect on some of 2023’s highlights at the UCC School of Law.

Now is the turn of key Research Highlights. 

The School of Law's experienced faculty members undertake cutting-edge research, producing highly regarded legal scholarship both independently and through our research centres.

This year, we saw numerous successful funding bids for innovative research across a range of legal areas. These awards reflect the increased research ambition in the School, and we are all very proud of our colleagues’ achievements.

An overview of the School’s Research Activity 2023 below:

In January, Prof Aoife Daly was awarded €1.998million from the ERC Consolidator Grants for her project, the Youth Climate Justice Project. The funding is part of the EU's Horizon Europe Programme. The project analyses the growing trend of child and youth climate activism, particularly how they are claiming and asserting their own rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Launched in November, to find out more about the project, please visit their new website here .

In March, Professor Dagmar Schieck was awarded an ERC Advanced Grant of €2.5million to develop a new theory of European law. The RIGHTS-TO-UNITE project aims to generate a new socio-legal theory to integrate the EU and its neighbours, to their mutual benefit and interest, and to explore its viability through qualitative research. The research will focus on four EU countries (Ireland, Czech Republic, Greece and Sweden) and four neighbourhood states (Northern Ireland, Norway, North Macedonia and Georgia).

In addition, 4 ERC Starter, 2 ERC Consolidator and 1 Advanced grant applications were submitted during the year and we are hopeful that we may meet with further ERC success!

The first Irish study of those who have been stalked and/or harassed is published in March, revealing the social, financial and psychological impact upon those who experienced it, while urging a number of recommendations. Undertaken by Dr Catherine O’Sullivan from the School of Law and Dr Ciara Staunton, Adult Continuing Education, in partnership with the Sexual Violence Centre Cork (SVCC), the report shows how in the majority of cases perpetrators of stalking or harassment were known to them.

In June, the UCC Research Awards were held at the Devere Hall. Huge congratulations to colleagues and students from the School of Law and the College of Business and Law who received awards:

Researcher of the Year, Prof Dagmar Schiek,

Research Support Person of the Year - Dr Seán Lucey 

Best Publication of the Year Involving an Undergraduate Student as an Author - Ruairí McIntyre

Research Collaboration of the Year - Dr Patrick O'Callaghan 

Congratulations to Prof Aoife Daly who was awarded the Researcher of the Year award at the College of Business and Law Research and Staff Recognition Awards in December.

Books and Reports

A full list of our Research Activity (books, journals, chapters, reports, awards, events and presentations) for 2023 is available on our website - please click here to view. 

Dr Luigi Lonardo announced the publication of his book, ‘Russia’s 2022 War Against Ukraine and the Foreign Policy Reaction of the EU’ earlier this year. 

Professor Owen McIntyre announced the publication of his book ‘Advanced Introduction to International Water Law’ in December.

Professor Deirdre Madden’s book ‘Medicine, Ethics and the Law’ was published in September.

‘The Routledge Handbook of Mental Health Law’ edited by Professor Mary Donnelly, UCC School of Law and Professor Brendan Kelly, Trinity College Dublin was published in November. The book was launched at the first International Conference on Decision Making in Medicine and Law: Opportunities and pitfalls of information technologies (DMM&L 2023) at Sapienza University of Rome on Friday 15 December.

‘Family Law’ 2^nd Edition by Professor Louise Crowley and Marianne Joyce was published in December.

‘Children in Conflict with the Law – Rights, Research and Progressive Youth Justice’ by Professor Ursula Kilkelly, Louise Forde, Sharon Lambert and Katharina Swirak was published in July.