Dr Fergal O’Connor is a Senior Lecturer in Financial Economics at University College Cork, where he has taught since 2018. His research focuses primarily on the financial economics of precious metals and the economics of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Fergal holds a PhD from Trinity College Dublin, funded by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).

A specialist in historical financial data, he works extensively with hand-collected and reconstructed price series for gold and silver, developing missing datasets that shed new light on how global precious metals markets functioned before the closure of the gold window in 1968. His work also extends to the analysis of international beer consumption patterns and the dynamics of no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) drinks, spanning themes of substitution, consumer behaviour, and cross-price elasticities across global markets.

Across his academic career, Fergal has held senior lecturing posts at the York Management School, York St John Business School, and the University of Central Lancashire. He has extensive experience teaching at undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive levels, including to organisations such as central banks and the Department of Foreign Affairs. He also contributes to school leadership as Programme Director for the MSc Finance (Banking and Risk Management) and Chair of the Business School Workload Planning Committee, supporting AACSB accreditation and Athena Swan initiatives. He supervises PhD students across areas such as economic and financial history, ESG investments, carbon markets, as well as precious metals markets.

His research has been published widely in leading international journals, and he has produced public datasets on historical gold and silver prices that are hosted by the Rothschild Archive. He is also the author of numerous industry and policy pieces for outlets such as RTÉ Brainstorm, The Alchemist, the World Gold Council, and The Conversation.

In addition to academic publishing, Fergal serves as an academic consultant to the World Gold Council, advising on gold valuation and price modelling, and has collaborated with central banks, investment firms, and government agencies. He previously advised the LBMA on liquidity measurement for Basel III discussions and regularly speaks at industry conferences, central bank events, international webinars, and media platforms including the BBC, RTÉ, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal.

His editorial roles include Associate Editor positions at The International Review of Financial Analysis and Research in International Business and Finance, as well as membership on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Global Commodities Applied Research Digest (GCARD) and the Commodity Insights Digest (CID).

Fergal’s work has been supported by significant competitive funding, including the Irish Research Council, the Rothschild Archive, the World Gold Council, and numerous teaching and research development grants. His recent awards include grants for global NoLo drink markets, cross-national collaborations, and inclusive teaching in econometrics.

Precious Metals Markets, Sustainable Finance, Financial Economics, Financial History, Carbon Markets, Economics of Alcholic and Non-Alcoholic Drinks.

Undergraduate: Portfolio Analysis, Financial Ethics. Post-graduate: Quantitative Finance, Asset Pricing. MSc. Finance Thesis Supervision