I am a Senior Lecturer in Youth and Community Work. Before joining the School of Applied Social Studies I worked as a community worker in Forum, a project of the Third EC Anti-Poverty Programme, and as a researcher. Below are selected research projects in which I have acted as PI/Co-I: 2021-2023: European Association of Schools of Social Work Research Association (EASSW)-funded project to publish a textbook on teaching and learning in Ecosocial Work. Partners: University College Cork; University of Gavle, Sweden; University of Jyvaskyla, Finland; Karol de Grote University, Belgium; University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal (Co-I). 2021-2022: Centre for Digital Education (UCC)-funded project to develop online learning tools for students (PI). 2021-2022: UK ESRC-funded Pump Priming project to enable the preparation of an application to Horizon Europe (Co-I). 2020-2022: IRC New Foundations Knowledge Exchange Project to undertake a visiting scholarship to the University of Ghent, Belgium (PI). 2020: Manchester Metropolitan University-funded project to develop an international network of researchers engaged in research into Participatory Governance (2020) (co-investigator). 2019-2020: CACSSS-funded small interdisciplinary research project on introducing global education into professional qualifying programmes in the social professions (2019-2020) (PI). 2018-2019: HEA/Government of Ireland mobility project to develop a global awareness module for pre-qualifying social work students (PI). This project facilitated a visiting scholarship to the University of Queensland, Australia. 2017-2019: IRC-funded Policy and Society research project (2017-2019) that explored civil society experienes of participating in state-funded participatory governance structures (PI). 2014-2015: CACSSS-funded research project that explored the effects on community development initiatives

State-civil society relations; participatory governance; children's and young people's participation; ecosocial work.

My teaching interests are in the theory and practice of community development; sociology (state-civil society relations; deliberative and participatory democracy; educational disadvantage; children and young people's participation); and social research methods. I am responsible for four modules I also contribute to the following modules: SS1110 Informal and Non-Formal Education module on the BSocSc (Youth and Community Work), SS7006 State and Society module on the DSocSc. SS6316 Children and Young People module on the MSocSc Social Policy. CR6010 Research Design and Methods on the MA in Criminology in the School of Sociology and Criminology. I am currently supervising six PhD theses (2022). PhD graduates: Linda Garrett (2015). I have examined PhDs for the University of Ulster and Masters theses for teh University of Malta.