Assistant Lecturer

Email: caoimhe.kiernan@tudublin.ie

Qualifications: LLB (Clinical), PhD Candidate

I am an assistant lecturer teaching law modules across business, accounting, social care, sports studies and science programmes on the Tallaght campus. I am the tutor and course coordinator for the Business Administration course in Tallaght.  I am also currently undertaking Ph.D. research in TU Dublin under the supervision of Dr. Brian Barry. The current working title of my thesis is: ‘Gender diversity in Irish courtrooms: the impact of increased women’s representation on the Irish judiciary’. 

I have presented papers and posters at numerous conference and seminars, including the LSA (2021 and 2022), the SLS (2020), and the SLSA (2020 - 2022). I have written several pieces for publication, including a peer-reviewed interview with the Dublin Law and Politics Review. I am currently editing a contribution to an edited book on the Gender Pay Gap (expected publication 2023).

I hold an LL.B. Clinical (First Class Honours) from Maynooth University (2016). As stated above, I am a Ph.D. candidate in TU Dublin. I began my research in September 2019 (full-time) and switched to part-time in January 2022, after accepting a position as a full-time assistant law lecturer in TU Dublin. I am aiming to complete my Ph.D. in August 2024. s. I have also worked part-time as the Senior Research Assistant with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Directorate in TU Dublin (March 2020 to March 2021), under the supervision of Professor Yvonne Galligan. With the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Directorate, I have worked on a number of projects, including the Institutional Working Group for Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment, the Race Equality Reading Group, organising the TU Dublin 2020 UN75 Dialogues on equality and gender, and have aided in the completion of several research funding applications. 

Prior to beginning my Ph.D. research, I worked as a paralegal in several leading Irish law firms, in the areas of asset finance, medical negligence, and investment management.

In the News

• Caoimhe Kiernan, ‘Who Judges the Judges?’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D7VkAcoNlM ) (University of Galway, ‘Judicial Conduct in Ireland: A Framework Fit for Purpose?’ (Online Seminar, Friday 22 October 2021)) 

Academic Publications

Chapters in Books 

• ‘Affect Theory, the Perceived Impact of Judicial Diversity, and the Gender Gap in the Irish Judiciary’, in Frances Hamilton and Elisabeth Griffin (eds) The Evolution of the Gender Pay Gap: A Comparative Perspective (expected publication 2023).

Journal Publications 

• ‘In Conversation with Professor Sally J. Kenney: Politics, Gender, And Intersectionality’ (2021) 2(1) Dublin Law and Politics Review pp. 67-70

Conference Proceedings/Papers 

• November 2022: Presentation and Paper ‘Why the ‘Trickle-Up Effect’ May Not Work in Practice: A Survey of Irish Legal Professionals and Professional Law Students’ at the IALT Annual Conference hosted by Queens University Belfast 
• October 2022: Presentation and Working Paper ‘Gender Diversity in the Judiciary: Reality and Perceptions’ at the ACJRD 2022 Conference Gender Encounters in the Criminal Justice System: How does Gender impact Diverse Experiences? 
• July 2022: Presentation and Working Paper ‘Which Came First, Diversity or the Diversity Policy? An Affective Examination of Judicial Appointments in Four Common Law Jurisdictions’ at the LSA Annual Conference hosted at the ISCTE University Institute of Lisbon (participated online)
• June 2022: Presentation and Working Paper ‘A defence of Carol Gilligan: How the “different voice” argument has contributed to judicial gender difference studies and feminist legal scholarship’ at the Forgotten Foundations of Feminist Legal Scholarship Workshop hosted by Rosemary Hunter and Maria Drakopoulou in the University of Westminster (participated online)
• April 2022: Presentation and Working Paper ‘Missing in Action: Why the ‘Trickle-Up Effect’ Does Not Work in Practice. A Survey of Irish Legal Professionals, Professional Law Students and University Law Students’ at the Socio-Legal Studies Association conference hosted by York University (participated online) 

Teaching and Supervision  

Teaching: Principles of Law, Business and Employment Law, Introduction to Sports Law, International Sports Law, and Family Law

Completed Supervision: 4 undergraduate LLB dissertations, 4 LLM dissertations (various topics)

Current Supervision: 2 undergraduate LLB dissertations 

Research interests for potential research students

My current research  interests include equality and diversity in the judiciary, gender studies, law and emotion, feminist legal theories, human rights law, constitutional law, gender and judging, and legal systems. I am very interested in using an affective framework when conducting my research and in finding the intersections between law and emotion.

Areas of Professional Expertise

Constitutional Law, Gender and Law, Judicial Systems, Medical Negligence, Investment Management, Asset Finance

Committee and Panel Membership

TU Dublin Equality, Diversity Inclusion Affiliate Member