Research Profile

Biography

Dr Samantha Morgan-Williams BCL (2012), LLM (2013) PGCert (2019) PhD (2021), PGDip (2022) MA TLHE (2023) is a graduate of University College Cork. She joined the School of Law as a Lecturer in 2022 having completed her postdoc at the Traveller Equality & Justice Project, Centre for Criminal Justice & Human Rights, UCC. 

The TEJP, which Samantha founded during her PhD, was awarded an IRC New Foundations Award 2018-2019 and a Rights Equality and Citizenship Award by the European Commission in 2020 ( REC Award 2021-2023). TEJP is an innovative collaborative project between a Law School and the Free Legal Advice Centre which has established Ireland's only 'live-client' clinic within an Irish Law School. Samantha received a 'President's Award for Excellence in Teaching' (Team Award) 2022 for her work with the TEJP Clinic Module. 

Samantha is considered an international expert on culturally-appropriate housing rights and has presented and published research on the effects of the recession on provision of culturally appropriate housing at a number of international conferences, including the ‘Tenancy Law and Housing Policy in a Multi-level Europe (TENLAW)’ and ‘European Housing Law Network’ Conferences (2016 & 2017). 

Samantha's research interests lie within human rights, accommodation rights, housing law and European human rights law, specifically interpretation of the ECHR and the role of the European Court of Human Rights in times of economic crisis. Samantha is also interested in the intersection between law and criminology, specifically criminal justice and cultural rights and denialism and 'othering' of rights holders.

Her work has been funded by the Irish Research Council, the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (SATLHE) and the UNIC Early Researcher Seed Fund. Samantha has also collaborated with Dr Fiona Donson on projects funded by the Irish Research Council (New Foundations), European Commission Rights Equality and Citizenship Award and other internal grants including the College of Business and Law, Learning and Teaching Grant 2023.

Research Interests

Samantha's research works across multidisciplinary themes but can broadly be defined as a human rights profile with criminal justice elements. This intersection of human rights and criminology is a niche field. All research interests are connected through the lens of access to justice for vulnerable or minority rights-holders, whether this is through non-discrimination, cultural or housing rights. She is an international expert in culturally-appropriate accommodation and access to justice for the Traveller Community. 

In this capacity, she is PI of a number of exciting community-engagement projects with Traveller community partners. She is PI of the UNIC4ER Seed Fund supported (€4800) 'Traveller Court Supports Initiative' (2023) which is a participatory pilot project between Samantha and Travellers of North Cork, using the Courts Service in Cork City as a research site. Specifically, developing culturally-appropriate peer-court-supports for Traveller victims of discrimination taking cases before the District Court, recognising the adverse-effects of over-policing and societal-exclusion upon 'trust' of the Traveller Community in justice bodies, as recognised by Traveller Community colleagues in the TEJP data gathering (2023)

Samantha also holds a PGCert and PGDip in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education and is currently undertaking a MA in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education. Within these, Samantha is exploring deficits in third-level Irish legal pedagogy– developing a “live client” approach to clinical level education in Ireland within the current legislative framings of the LSRA in order to respond to the unmet legal needs of Ireland's vulnerable rights-holders. In particular, Samantha seeks to respond to the challenges faced in developing a social justice oriented clinical legal education model and the approach taken by the TEJP to engage student attention not only on the day-to-day workings of the equality framework, but also the fundamental nature of access to justice in this area.  
Samantha received funding from SATLHE (€14,597) for development of this work through the 'Student Led Co-Design of the ‘Courtroom Ethnography’ Module which supports current UCC Law students to co-design a novel ‘Courtroom Ethnography’ module. The students will engage in fieldwork to partner institutions in Sweden (University of Lund, University of Gothenburg) and Denmark (University of Copenhagen) with developed ethnography modules. In learning from their institutional student colleagues, students will then co-design a courtroom ethnography module with the PI and colleagues to be run in the academic year 2023/2024. This module will provide final year law students with the opportunity to complete court observation and observe hearings to develop critical legal skills and to better understand the operation of the Irish courts system and litigation. 

Research Grants

 ProjectFunding
Body
Start DateEnd DateAward
Traveller Court Supports InitiativeOther: Not Listed01-JUN-2301-DEC-23€4,265.00
UNIC4ER 101035801 - Subaccount #4 UNIC Engaged Seed Funding Scheme 2023 Traveller Court Support Initiative.Horizon 202001-JUN-2331-MAY-24€4,266.00
Student Led Co-Design of the ‘Courtroom Ethnography’01-MAY-2301-DEC-23€14,800.00
Traveller Equality & Justice ProjectEuropean Commission01-JAN-2131-MAR-23€350,000.00
Traveller Equality & Justice ProjectIrish Research Council01-JAN-1901-OCT-20€12,000.00

Contract Researchers

 Researcher NameProjectRoleFunding Body
Katie O'BrienTraveller Equality & Justice ProjectResearch AssistantEuropean Commission
Rachel BarclayTraveller Equality & Justice ProjectPostgraduate ResearcherUCC Strategic Research Fund
Alannah HumphreysTraveller Equality & Justice ProjectProject ManagerEuropean Commission

Publications

Books

 YearPublication
(2024)Traveller Law in Ireland.
Dr Samantha Morgan-Williams, Dr Fiona Donson (eds) (2024) Traveller Law in Ireland. Dublin: Clarus. [Details]

Book Reviews

 YearPublication
(2017)Book Review: ‘East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity’ by Philippe Sands.
S. Morgan-Williams (2017) Book Review: ‘East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity’ by Philippe Sands. Book Reviews [Details]
(2016)‘Human Rights and the Criminal Justice System’.
Samantha Morgan-Williams (2016) ‘Human Rights and the Criminal Justice System’. http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/law-journal/: Book Reviews   [Details]

Conference Publications

 YearPublication
(2022)SLSA
Dr Samantha Morgan-Williams, Dr Fiona Donson (2022) Where is the justice? Reflections on developing social justice clinical legal education in Ireland SLSA [Details]
(2022)SLSA
Dr Samantha Morgan-Williams, Dr Fiona Donson (2022) “You don’t hear of Travellers getting any justice”: Barriers to Access to Justice for Victims of Discrimination in Ireland.' SLSA [Details]
(2021)Irish Association of Law Teachers
Dr Samantha Morgan-Williams (2021) Exploring the Unmet Legal Needs of Travellers within the Irish Legal System Irish Association of Law Teachers [Details]

Published Reports

 YearPublication
(2022)'Barriers to Justice for Irish Travellers: Rediscrimination within the Irish Equality System.'.
Dr Samantha Morgan-Williams (2022) 'Barriers to Justice for Irish Travellers: Rediscrimination within the Irish Equality System.'. Traveller Equality & Justice Project, Cork, Ireland. [Full Text] [Details]
(2021)Mapping Irish Frameworks for Non-discrimination of Irish Travellers.
Dr Samantha Morgan-Williams (2021) Mapping Irish Frameworks for Non-discrimination of Irish Travellers. Traveller Equality & Justice Project, Cork, Ireland. [Full Text] [Details]
(2020)Traveller Homelessness in the South-West: A Report from the Cork & Kerry Regional Traveller Accommodation Working Group.
Dr. Samantha Morgan-Williams (2020) Traveller Homelessness in the South-West: A Report from the Cork & Kerry Regional Traveller Accommodation Working Group. the Cork & Kerry Regional Traveller Accommodation Working Group, Cork, Ireland. [Full Text] [Details]

Blog

 YearPublication
(2018)An Analysis of Common Justifications for Prisoner Disenfranchisement.
Samantha Morgan-Williams (2018) An Analysis of Common Justifications for Prisoner Disenfranchisement. Blog [Details]

Book Chapters

 YearPublication
(2023)'Courts as a Site of Redescrimination: Experiences of the Traveller Community in the Irish District Court'
Samantha Morgan-Williams & Fiona Donson (2023) 'Courts as a Site of Redescrimination: Experiences of the Traveller Community in the Irish District Court' In: Lisa Flower, Sarah Klosterkamp (Eds.) (eds). Courtroom Ethnography. London: Palgrave/Springer International Publishing AG. [Details]
(2022)'Barriers to Access to Justice for Members of the Traveller Community: Responding to Discrimination in Accessing Goods and Services'
Dr Samantha Morgan-Williams, Dr Fiona Donson (2022) 'Barriers to Access to Justice for Members of the Traveller Community: Responding to Discrimination in Accessing Goods and Services' In: Dr Daniel Newman, Dr Faith Gordon (eds). Access to Justice in Rural Communities. Oxford: Hart. [Details]
(2019)'Reality vs. Rhetoric: An Analysis of the Implementation Gap in Provision of Traveller-specific Housing in Ireland'
Samantha Morgan-Williams (2019) 'Reality vs. Rhetoric: An Analysis of the Implementation Gap in Provision of Traveller-specific Housing in Ireland' In: Vols, Michel; Schmid, Christoph U (eds). Houses, Homes and the Law: Studies in Housing Law, Vol. 3. The Hague, the Netherlands: Eleven Publishing. [Full Text] [Details]
(2016)'Justifying Acts of Denialism: The Case of Prisoner Disenfranchisement in the UK'
Morgan-Williams, Samantha (2016) 'Justifying Acts of Denialism: The Case of Prisoner Disenfranchisement in the UK' In: Nelen, Hans; Willems, Jan C.M.; Moerland, Roland (eds). Denialism and Human Rights. Belgium: Intersentia nv.   [Full Text] [Details]

Practice Guideline

 YearPublication
(2018)Know Your Rights: Responding to Discrimination in Accessing Goods & Services.
Samantha Morgan-Williams (2018) Know Your Rights: Responding to Discrimination in Accessing Goods & Services. Cork: Practice Guideline [Details]

Professional Activities

Honours and Awards

 YearTitleAwarding Body
2022President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning UCC President
2014University College Cork, Law Faculty PhD Scholarship University College Cork
2019Head of Law Strategic Fund Head of Law Strategic Fund
2017UCC CBL Work Placement Award 2017 University College Cork College of Business & Law
2016Aidan Synnott Travel Bursary School of Law, UCC.

Professional Associations

 AssociationFunctionFrom / To
Socio-Legal Studies Association Member01-OCT-15 / 01-OCT-17
European Network for Housing Research Member01-JAN-20 / 01-JAN-21
Human Rights Consortium Member13-NOV-16 / 12-NOV-17

Conference Contributions

 YearPublication
(2024)Designing a Trauma-Informed Approach to Clinical Legal Education,
Dr Samantha Morgan Williams, Dr Fiona Donson (2024) University College London, University of Glasgow, UCC. [Conference Organising Committee Member], Designing a Trauma-Informed Approach to Clinical Legal Education, Centre for Access to Justice, University College London . [Details]
(2024)EVICT! Housing Law Conference, University of Groningen,
Dr Samantha Morgan Williams (2024) Law as Denial: Ireland’s Systemic Undermining of “Culturally Appropriate” Accommodation Rights for Travellers in Ireland. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], EVICT! Housing Law Conference, University of Groningen, Het Schip, Amsterdam . [Details]
(2017)TENLAW Conference 'Current issues of housing law and policy.',
S. Morgan -Williams (2017) Reality vs Rhetoric: Housing Rights of the Irish Traveller Community, Recent Developments,'. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], TENLAW Conference 'Current issues of housing law and policy.', University of Groningen , 28-SEP-17 - 29-SEP-17. [Details]
(2017)Jean Monnet Module Closing Academic Conference, Sustainability of Socio-economic Rights in Times of Crisis, UCLan Cyprus,
Samantha Morgan-Williams (2017) ‘Tracking austerity based “crisis law” before the European Court of Human Rights: the approach of the Court to Article 1 Protocol 1 in times of financial crisis’. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Jean Monnet Module Closing Academic Conference, Sustainability of Socio-economic Rights in Times of Crisis, UCLan Cyprus, UCLan Cyprus , 02-JUL-17 - 05-JUL-17. [Details]
(2017)Housing Law Research Network 3rd Annual Housing Law Symposium,
S.Morgan-Williams (2017) Housing Rights of the Irish Traveller Community: Expectation vs. Reality. [Invited Oral Presentation], Housing Law Research Network 3rd Annual Housing Law Symposium, Malmö University, Sweden . [Details]
(2017)Law and its Boundaries Edinburgh Postgraduate Law Conference 2017,
Samantha Morgan-Williams (2017) 'Crisis Law before the European Court of Human Rights.'. [Invited Oral Presentation], Law and its Boundaries Edinburgh Postgraduate Law Conference 2017, School of Law, Edinburgh University , 19-JAN-17 - 20-JAN-17. [Details]
(2016)Human Rights Research Students’ Conference, Human Rights Consortium, University of London,
Samantha Morgan - Williams (2016) Tracking Austerity Based Law before the ECtHR: A Comparative Study.'. [Oral Presentation], Human Rights Research Students’ Conference, Human Rights Consortium, University of London, Human Rights Consortium, SOAS, University of London , 11-NOV-16 - 11-NOV-16. [Details]
(2015)Annual CCJHR PhD Symposium, Rights in Conflict: Socio-Legal and Critical Approaches to Human Rights,
Samantha Morgan - Williams (2015) “Political Denialism and the Human Rights Act: The UK’s relationship to the ECHR.”. [Oral Presentation], Annual CCJHR PhD Symposium, Rights in Conflict: Socio-Legal and Critical Approaches to Human Rights, University College Cork . [Details]
(2015)Denialism and Human Rights, Maastricht Centre for Human Rights Annual Conference,
Samantha Morgan - Williams (2015) ‘Justifications for Prisoner Disenfranchisement in the UK: A Current Example of Denialism in Action.’. [Oral Presentation], Denialism and Human Rights, Maastricht Centre for Human Rights Annual Conference, Maastricht Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University , 21-JAN-15 - 22-JAN-15. [Details]

Employment

 EmployerPositionFrom / To
University College Cork Lecturer18-SEP-17 / 30-MAY-20
University College Cork Lecturer08-DEC-22 /
Traveller Equality & Justice Project Postdoctoral Researcher01-JAN-21 / 31-MAR-23
Cork Kerry Regional Traveller Accommodation Working Group Traveller Accommodation Campaigns Worker13-MAY-19 / 14-MAY-20
Irish Journal of Legal Studies Student Copy Editor09-FEB-15 /

Education

 YearInstitutionQualificationSubject
2020University College Cork PHDEuropean Human Rights Law
2023University College Cork MA (SATLHE)Scholarly Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
2022QQI Level 6 Information, Advice and Advocacy (IAA)Advocacy
2021University College Cork Postgraduate Diploma in Scholarly Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Higher EducationScholarly Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
2020University College Cork Postgraduate Certificate in Scholarly Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Higher EducationScholarly Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
2013University College Cork LLMInternational Human Rights & Public Policy
2012University College Cork BCLLaw & German

Committees

 CommitteeFunctionFrom / To
Legal Aid Board External Partner Consultative Committee External Party Engagement/
Centre for Criminal Justice & Human Rights Board Board Member/
UCC School of Law Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team Member/
The Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR) Postgraduate Conference Organising Committee 2015 Committee Member/

Languages

 LanguageReadingWritingSpeaking
English FluentFluentFluent
German FunctionalFunctionalFunctional
French FunctionalFunctionalFunctional
Spanish BasicBasicBasic

Consultancy

 ClientDescription
Traveller Visibility Group
I assisted the TVG in the drafting of a complaint to the Ombudsman for Children and assisted with the legal aspects of their ongoing work with the residents of Spring Lane Halting Site. Specifically, helping to organise workshops on Traveller Discrimination with the CCJHR, School of Law, UCC and other Traveller Rights groups. This workshop was attended by Traveller Community support and rights groups from within the Munster region. I also offered guidance and supported the TVG in discrimination claims and human rights issues in a number of cases within Cork City.

Outreach Activities

 Description

The Traveller Equality and Justice Project (TEJP) at the Centre for Criminal Justice & Human Rights is a new initiative between the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR) in the School of Law, UCC staff and the Cork Traveller Women’s Network (CTWN). TEJP aims to highlight ongoing levels of discrimination experienced by Travellers in Cork, by mapping such cases and by providing legal research support to the CTWN. In doing so, the TEJP will shed light on stories that indicate exclusion or inequality through highlighting inequality in treatment of Travellers, promoting respect for the Traveller Community as an ethnic minority and will assist the Cork Traveller Women’s Network to respond to such inequality in a timely and effective manner.

I published and disseminated a guide on how Travellers may represent themselves at the District Court and WRC, responding to discrimination when accessing goods and services. The guide is intended to inform members of the Travelling Community of their rights and how to defend these through the relevant legal avenues. The guide was identified as a manner through which to support and further the rights of Travellers, and the difficulties which Travellers face in accessing legal supports.

Journal Activities

 JournalRoleTo / From
Irish Journal Of Legal Studies Member of Editorial Board-

Other Activities

 Description

Samantha is also qualified advocate having trained through the EAP (FLAC & INAR Advocacy Programme 2021-2022). She holds a Level 6 Information, Advice and Advocacy QQI 2022 Certificate for which she received a Distinction.

Teaching Activities

Teaching Interests

Teaching Interests:

Samantha has experience teaching within criminology, criminal law, human rights and introductory law modules. Her specific teaching interests lie within human rights law, access to justice, ECHR, criminal law and housing law.

She is currently Director of the LLM International Human Rights and Public Policy (2023/2024).

Lecturer 23/24:

Undergraduate:
LW1104 Foundations of the Legal System
LW1153 Criminal Law
LW2007 Law of Evidence II
LW3376 Traveller Equality & Justice Project Clinic
LW3377 Courtroom Ethnography: Theory and Practice

Postgraduate:
LW6606 International Human Rights Law
LW6648 Human Rights Law in Practice


Module Coordinator: 
LW3376 Traveller Equality & Justice Project Clinic
LW3377 Courtroom Ethnography: Theory and Practice
LW6606 International Human Rights Law
LW6648 Human Rights Law in Practice

Samantha also guest-lectures for the Law Society on Informed Representation/Culturally-Appropriate Representation of Travellers. 

Samantha welcomes expressions of interest for supervision from prospective PhD students in her areas of interest with particular reference to access to justice and culturally-appropriate housing (Travellers).



Research Information

Internal Collaborators

 NameInstituteCountry
Dr Fiona Donson Centre for Criminal Justice & Human RightsIRELAND

Contact details

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University College Cork

Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh

College Road, Cork T12 K8AF

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