School of Law Scoil an Dlí

Our faculty members are deeply engaged in the development of policy, law reform and the work of Government departments and State agencies. They have appeared regularly in recent years as expert witnesses before bodies such as Oireachtas Committees, the Citizens’ Assembly and the Constitutional Convention. Numerous faculty members have been appointed to high-level positions; examples of roles currently held include:

• Professor Mary Donnelly – Joint Chair of Health Service Executive National Consent Advisory Group and Chair of Health Service Executive Assisted Decision Making Steering Group
• Professor Caroline Fennell – Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
• Professor Ursula Kilkelly – Chair of the Board of Oberstown Children Detention Campus
• Professor Deirdre Madden – Deputy Chair of the Board of the Health Services Executive
• Professor Maeve McDonagh – Member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
• Dr Conor O’Mahony – Government Special Rapporteur on Child Protection
• Dr Áine Ryall – Vice-Chair of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee and Member of the statutory Advisory Committee to the Environmental Protection Agency

Faculty members also use their research expertise to contribute extensively to the work of civil society organisations – some examples of roles currently held include:

• Dr Dug Cubie – Member of International Advisory Group for the Irish Red Cross
• Dr Catherine O’Sullivan – Board member at the Sexual Violence Centre Cork

The impact of our scholarship is evident in the fact that publications by Faculty members are regularly cited in the judgments of courts both in Ireland and abroad. Some examples include the following:

• The Supreme Court of Ireland has cited the work of Professor Caroline Fennell, Professor Irene Lynch Fannon, Professor Maeve McDonagh, Professor David Gwynn Morgan, Professor John Mee, Dr Catherine O’Sullivan, Dr Darius Whelan and Dr Áine Ryall.
  
  
• The Court of Appeal of Ireland has cited the work of Dr Maria Cahill and Dr Darius Whelan.

• The High Court of Ireland has cited the work of Dr Louise Crowley, Professor Mary Donnelly, Professor Caroline Fennell, Professor Ursula Kilkelly, Professor Irene Lynch Fannon, Professor Deirdre Madden, Professor David Gwynn Morgan, Professor John Mee, Dr Conor O’Mahony and Dr Áine Ryall.
  
  
• The UK House of Lords has cited the work of Professor Steve Hedley and Professor Ursula Kilkelly.
  
  
• The Court of Justice of the European Union has cited the work of Dr Áine Ryall.

• The Supreme Court of Canada and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea have cited the work of Professor Owen McIntyre.

• The Supreme Court of Canada, the High Court of New Zealand, the Court of Appeal of Singapore and the High Court of Singapore have cited the work of Professor John Mee.

Faculty members from the School of Law are highly sought-after as expert contributors and analysts in the Irish media. They regularly feature as interviewees in the national broadcast and print media on a wide range of legal and political issues, and also author opinion and analysis articles for newspapers and online media outlets. The research expertise of our Faculty members allows them to provide a public education role on issues of public debate and to be advocates and thought-leaders on some of the crucial issues facing society.

To find an academic expert visit our People page.

Our various Law Clinics provide a bridge between our academic teaching and research work and litigation, civil society, advocacy and law reform. Students and academics collaborate on submissions to law reform processes and on producing research briefs that support the work of civil society groups or lawyers engaged in litigation.

Notable examples include the work of the Child Law Clinic on securing redress for survivors of sexual abuse in National Schools, which helped to secure rulings by the European Court of Human Rights in the Louise O’Keeffe case in 2014, and by the Government’s Independent Assessor in 2019.

The Family Law Clinic website provides accessible legal information on aspects of the family law system for interested members of the public.

At the IT Law Clinic, students provide legal information to startups on issues such as copyright, data protection and selling online. The clinic is the first such clinic in any Irish university and provides an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge of these dynamic legal areas to real-life problems faced by businesses.

The UCC Sports Law Clinic, the only undergraduate clinic of its kind in the world, provides a unique opportunity for students to directly engage with real clients, ranging from professional to amateur clients both within and outside of UCC in areas such as child protection, disciplinary hearings, negligence, transfers and governance.