Dr Fergus Ryan

    Law, Motherhood Project, Sexualities and Gender

    Gaeilge agus fáilte

    Senior Lecturer

    New House
    311
    (01) 474 7258

    Biography

    Fergus Ryan is an associate professor (senior lecturer) in law at the Department of Law, Maynooth University. He is a graduate and former scholar of Trinity College, University of Dublin, from which he holds an LLB (Hons) and a PhD. He is a law lecturer with many years' experience teaching and researching law, with a particular focus on family law, constitutional law, gender, sexual orientation, and human rights. From 1998 to 2013, Fergus taught at the Dublin Institute of Technology, at which he served as Head of the Department of Law from 2003 to 2009 and again in 2013. Fergus has also been a visiting lecturer at the School of Law, Trinity College, Dublin (2002-5), teaching Family Law, at UCD, and at the Law Society of Ireland. From 2002 to 2018, he served as internship director for the University of Tulsa College of Law Summer Abroad programme in Dublin, placing over 300 US law students as interns during that period. In 2011, he was a visiting scholar in Child and Family Law at the Children and Family Law Center at Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, Kansas. Fergus' publications include (with Dug Cubie) Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law in Ireland: Cases, and Materials (Round Hall 2004); (with Judy Walsh), The Rights of De Facto Couples, (IHRC 2006); Contract Law (Round Hall 2006); Constitutional Law (Round Hall 2008); Civil Partnership: Your Rights Explained (GLEN, 2009); and The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (Round Hall 2011). Fergus has also published several academic articles and book chapters, including a chapter in Leane and Kiely (eds.) Sexualities and Irish Society: A Reader (Orpen Press, 2014). Fergus has advised the Equality Authority, the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Law Reform Advisory Committee of Northern Ireland on issues of family law and human rights. He has assisted in drafting legislation and legislative amendments for several members of Seanad Éireann, including the Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2015. He has also written and spoken widely on family law issues, in particular civil partnership and cohabitation, and appears regularly on national and local TV and radio speaking about a variety of legal issues. Fergus is a former President of the Irish Association of Law Teachers, a position in which he served from 2003-4 and again from 2013-14. He is the Irish representative on ECSOL (the European Commission on Sexual Orientation Law) and was, formerly, chair of One Family.

    Research Interests

    In recent years, my research has focussed on the legal aspects of civil partnership, cohabitation and the legal recognition of non-traditional families with children. I also have a strong research interest in sexual orientation law, in how the law regulates sexuality, and transgender recognition. I have a general research interest in family law and child law, (especially marriage law), and have written and researched in the areas of constitutional law, immigration law and contract law.

    Books

      Year Publication
    2018 Constitutional Law (Nutshell) 3rd ed.
    Fergus Ryan (2018) Constitutional Law (Nutshell) 3rd ed. Dublin: Thomson Reuters. [Details]
    2011 Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (An Annotation).
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2011) Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (An Annotation). : Round Hall. [Details]
    2008 Constitutional Law (Nutshell) 2nd ed.
    Fergus Ryan (2008) Constitutional Law (Nutshell) 2nd ed. Dublin: Round Hall. [Details]
    2006 Contract Law (Nutshell).
    Fergus Ryan (2006) Contract Law (Nutshell). Dublin: Round Hall. [Details]
    2002 Constitutional Law (Nutshell) 1st ed.
    Fergus Ryan (2002) Constitutional Law (Nutshell) 1st ed. Dublin: Round Hall. [Details]
    2001 Constitutional Law (Essential Law Texts).
    Fergus Ryan (2001) Constitutional Law (Essential Law Texts). Dublin: Round Hall. [Details]
    2004 Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law in Ireland; Cases and Materials.
    Dug Cubie and Fergus Ryan (2004) Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law in Ireland; Cases and Materials. : Round Hall. [Details]

    Book Chapters

      Year Publication
    2021 'Is Marriage a Cure for All Ills? Vulnerability and LGBT Communities in the Wake of the Marriage Referendum'
    Fergus Ryan (2021) 'Is Marriage a Cure for All Ills? Vulnerability and LGBT Communities in the Wake of the Marriage Referendum' In: Gallen and Ní Mhuirthile (eds), Law, Responsibility and Vulnerability: State Accountability and Responsiveness - Gender in Law, Culture, and Society. UK: Taylor and Francis. [Details]
    2020 'Repackaged Goods? Interrogating the Heteronormative Underpinnings of Marriage'
    Fergus Ryan (2020) 'Repackaged Goods? Interrogating the Heteronormative Underpinnings of Marriage' In: Frances Hamilton and Guido Noto La Diega (eds). Same-Sex Relationships, Law and Social Change. UK: Routledge. [Details]
    2019 'Mapping a Transformed Landscape: Sexual Orientation and the Law in Ireland'
    Fergus Ryan (2019) 'Mapping a Transformed Landscape: Sexual Orientation and the Law in Ireland' In: Lynsey Black and Peter Dunne (eds). Law and Gender in Modern Ireland: Critique and Reform. UK: Hart Publishing. [Details]
    2017 'Commentary on McKinley v Minister for Defence'
    Ryan, F (2017) 'Commentary on McKinley v Minister for Defence' In: NORTHERN/IRISH FEMINIST JUDGMENTS: JUDGES' TROUBLES AND THE GENDERED POLITICS OF IDENTITY. PORTLAND: HART PUBL. [Details]
    2017 '“McKinley v Minister for Defence: Commentary” (Judgment by Professor Joanne Conaghan)'
    Fergus Ryan (Judgment by Professor Joanne Conaghan) (2017) '“McKinley v Minister for Defence: Commentary” (Judgment by Professor Joanne Conaghan)' In: Máiréad Enright, Julie McCandless and Aoife O’Donoghue, Northern/Irish Feminist Judgments: Judges’ Troubles and the Gender Politics of Identity. UK: (Hart Publishing 2017). [Details]
    2014 '’We’ll Have What They’re Having’: Sexual Minorities and the Law in the Republic of Ireland'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2014) '’We’ll Have What They’re Having’: Sexual Minorities and the Law in the Republic of Ireland' In: Sexuality and Irish Society: A Reader. Dublin: Orpen Press. [Details]
    2012 'Are Two Irish Mammies (even) Better than One? Heteronormativity, Homosexuality and the 1937 Constitution'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2012) 'Are Two Irish Mammies (even) Better than One? Heteronormativity, Homosexuality and the 1937 Constitution' In: The Constitution of Ireland: Perspectives and Prospects. Bloomsbury Professional. [Details]
    2011 'Witnesses to Transformation: Three Decades of Family Law Scholarship in Ireland'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2011) 'Witnesses to Transformation: Three Decades of Family Law Scholarship in Ireland' In: 30 Years of Legal Scholarship. Round Hall. [Details]
    2008 '21st Century Families: 19th Century Values; Modern Family Law in the Shadow of the Constitution'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2008) '21st Century Families: 19th Century Values; Modern Family Law in the Shadow of the Constitution' In: The Irish Constitution: Governance and Values. [Details]
    2005 'Sexual Orientation Discrimination'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2005) 'Sexual Orientation Discrimination' In: Discrimination Law. Law Society of Ireland. [Details]

    Peer Reviewed Journals

      Year Publication
    2021 'Book Review of Lydia Bracken, Same-Sex Parenting and the Best Interests Principle. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2020'
    Fergus Ryan (2021) 'Book Review of Lydia Bracken, Same-Sex Parenting and the Best Interests Principle. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2020'. Irish Jurist, 65 (65):196-198 [Details]
    2021 'Decriminalisation Revisited: PP v The Judges of Dublin Circuit Court, the DPP, Ireland and the Attorney General [2019] IESC 26'
    Fergus Ryan (2021) 'Decriminalisation Revisited: PP v The Judges of Dublin Circuit Court, the DPP, Ireland and the Attorney General [2019] IESC 26'. Irish Supreme Court Review, [Details]
    2021 'Book Review: G. Shannon, Child and Family Law'
    Fergus Ryan (2021) 'Book Review: G. Shannon, Child and Family Law'. Irish Journal of Family Law, [Details]
    2018 'Unfinished Business? Equality and Family Diversity in the Wake of the Irish Marriage Referendum'
    Fergus Ryan (2018) 'Unfinished Business? Equality and Family Diversity in the Wake of the Irish Marriage Referendum'. Irish Journal of Family Law, (2018) 21(3) Irish Journal of Family Law (3):59-69 [Details]
    2017 'Book Review: Niamh Howlin and Kevin Costello (eds) Law and the Family in Ireland 1800-1950, Palgrave, London, 2017'
    Fergus Ryan (2017) 'Book Review: Niamh Howlin and Kevin Costello (eds) Law and the Family in Ireland 1800-1950, Palgrave, London, 2017'. Irish Jurist, 58 :204-208 [Details]
    2016 'The Rise and Fall of Civil Partnership'
    Fergus Ryan (2016) 'The Rise and Fall of Civil Partnership'. Irish Journal of Family Law, [Details]
    2016 'Book Review: Daniele Gallo, Luca Paladini and Pietro Pustorino (eds.) Same-Sex Couples before National, Supranational and International Jurisdictions (Springer-Verlag, 2014) in International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON) (Oxford University Press 2016)'
    Fergus Ryan (2016) 'Book Review: Daniele Gallo, Luca Paladini and Pietro Pustorino (eds.) Same-Sex Couples before National, Supranational and International Jurisdictions (Springer-Verlag, 2014) in International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON) (Oxford University Press 2016)'. International Journal of Constitutional Law, [full-text] [Details]
    2015 'Ireland’s Marriage Referendum: A Constitutional Perspective DPCE Online (Diritto Pubblico Comparato Ed Europeo) 2015-2 http://www.dpce.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/20152-Ryan.pdf'
    Fergus Ryan (2015) 'Ireland’s Marriage Referendum: A Constitutional Perspective DPCE Online (Diritto Pubblico Comparato Ed Europeo) 2015-2 http://www.dpce.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/20152-Ryan.pdf'. DIRITTO PUBBLICO COMPARATO ED EUROPEO, DPCE Online (Diritto Pubblico Comparato Ed Europeo) 2015-2 [full-text] [Details]
    2014 '“Playing Away from Home on an Uneven Pitch?” Spouses, Civil Partners and Adultery in Irish and UK Law'
    Fergus Ryan (2014) '“Playing Away from Home on an Uneven Pitch?” Spouses, Civil Partners and Adultery in Irish and UK Law'. Irish Journal of Family Law, (2014) 17(2) Irish Journal of Family Law 41-51 [Details]
    2012 'Out of the Shadow of the Constitution: Civil Partnership, Cohabitation and the Constitutional Family'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2012) 'Out of the Shadow of the Constitution: Civil Partnership, Cohabitation and the Constitutional Family'. Irish Jurist, 48 :201-248 [full-text] [Details]
    2008 'The General Scheme of the Civil Partnership Bill 2008: Brave New Dawn or Missed Opportunity?'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2008) 'The General Scheme of the Civil Partnership Bill 2008: Brave New Dawn or Missed Opportunity?'. Irish Journal of Family Law, 11 [Details]
    2006 'Recognizing Family Diversity: Children, One Parent Families and the Law'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2006) 'Recognizing Family Diversity: Children, One Parent Families and the Law'. Irish Journal of Family Law, 9 [Details]
    2006 'Sexual Orientation and the Management of a Diverse Workplace: Law and Best Practice'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2006) 'Sexual Orientation and the Management of a Diverse Workplace: Law and Best Practice'. To be added, 5 [full-text] [Details]
    2004 'Marriage at the Boundaries of Gender: The ‘Transsexual Dilemma’ Resolved?'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2004) 'Marriage at the Boundaries of Gender: The ‘Transsexual Dilemma’ Resolved?'. Irish Journal of Family Law, [2004] 1 Irish Journal of Family Law 15 [Details]
    2001 'Law at the Margins: The Displacement of Law as a Framework of Governance (2001) 19 (no. 3) Dickinson Journal of International Law (Penn State Uni.) 407'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2001) 'Law at the Margins: The Displacement of Law as a Framework of Governance (2001) 19 (no. 3) Dickinson Journal of International Law (Penn State Uni.) 407'. (2001) 19 (no. 3) Dickinson Journal of International Law (Penn State Uni.) 407 [full-text] [Details]
    2000 'Sexuality, Ideology and the Legal Construction of ‘Family’; Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association'
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2000) 'Sexuality, Ideology and the Legal Construction of ‘Family’; Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association'. Irish Journal of Family Law, [2000] 3 Irish Journal of Family Law 2 [Details]

    Other Journals

      Year Publication
    2021 'Book Review: G. Shannon, Child and Family Law'
    Fergus Ryan (2021) 'Book Review: G. Shannon, Child and Family Law' Law Society Gazette, . [Details]

    Published Reports

      Year Publication
    2014 Observations on the General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2014.
    Fergus Ryan for the Equality Authority (2014) Observations on the General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2014. Equality Authority, Dublin. [full-text] [Details]
    2012 Known Your Rights - The Rights and Obligations of Civil Partners and Same-sex Couples.
    Dr Fergus Ryan - with GLEN and ICCLPlain English review by NALA (2012) Known Your Rights - The Rights and Obligations of Civil Partners and Same-sex Couples. GLEN/ICCL, Dublin. [full-text] [Details]
    2009 Civil Partnership: Your Questions Answered.
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2009) Civil Partnership: Your Questions Answered. GLEN, Dublin. [Details]
    2006 The Rights of De Facto Couples.
    Judy Walsh, Fergus Ryan (2006) The Rights of De Facto Couples. Irish Human Rights Commission, Dublin. [Details]

    Electronic Article

      Year Publication
    2018 Ireland’s 8th Amendment: Repeal or Retain?.
    Fergus Ryan (2018) Ireland’s 8th Amendment: Repeal or Retain?. Electronic Article [Details]
    2017 The Constitution at 80.
    Fergus Ryan (2017) The Constitution at 80. Brainstorm: Electronic Article [Details]

    Magazine Article

      Year Publication
    2008 The Heads Up (On Civil Partnership Bill), GCN, August 2008.
    Fergus Ryan (2008) The Heads Up (On Civil Partnership Bill), GCN, August 2008. Magazine Article [Details]

    Newspaper Articles

      Year Publication
    2016 The marriage equality plebiscite is not just unnecessary, it's positively sadistic, The Guardian, November 7, 2016.
    Fergus Ryan (2016) The marriage equality plebiscite is not just unnecessary, it's positively sadistic, The Guardian, November 7, 2016. Australia: Newspaper Articles [Details]
    2016 Don't think of same-sex marriage as radical and disruptive... it actually goes to heart of tradition and family, Belfast Telegraph, August 6, 2016.
    Fergus Ryan (2016) Don't think of same-sex marriage as radical and disruptive... it actually goes to heart of tradition and family, Belfast Telegraph, August 6, 2016. Newspaper Articles [Details]
    2000 Nice Treaty will enable EU to add new members, The Echo, May 31, 2000.
    Fergus Ryan (2000) Nice Treaty will enable EU to add new members, The Echo, May 31, 2000. Newspaper Articles [Details]
    2012 Cohabiting couples must consider financial obligations, Irish Times, February 27, 2012.
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2012) Cohabiting couples must consider financial obligations, Irish Times, February 27, 2012. Newspaper Articles [Details]
    2011 Divorce link to transgender recog0nition is questionable, Irish Times, July 25, 2011.
    Dr Fergus Ryan (2011) Divorce link to transgender recog0nition is questionable, Irish Times, July 25, 2011. Newspaper Articles [Details]

    Other

      Year Publication
    2018 Submission to the Gender Recognition Act Review Group.
    Fergus Ryan (2018) Submission to the Gender Recognition Act Review Group. Other [Details]

    Statute

      Year Publication
    2014 Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014.
    Senator Averil Power, Fergus Ryan (2014) Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014. Statute [Details]

    Honours and Awards

      Year Title Awarding Body
    2016 The McCarron Memorial Certificate of Recognition Maynooth Students' Union
    2021 Teaching Hero National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

    Professional Associations

      Association Function From / To
    President, Irish Association of Law Teachers President 01-DEC-13 / 09-NOV-14
    Treasurer, Irish Association of Law Teachers Treasurer 22-NOV-14 / 25-NOV-17
    President, Irish Association of Law Teachers President 01-DEC-03 / 01-DEC-04

    Committees

      Committee Function From / To
    Academic Programmes Committee, Maynooth University Member (Elected) 2015 / 2019
    MU Teaching and Learning Sub-committee Member 2017 /
    Chair, Faculty of Social Sciences Teaching and Learning Committee, Maynooth University Chair 2017 /
    Faculty of Social Sciences Teaching and Learning Committee, Maynooth University Member 2014 /

    Employment

      Employer Position From / To
    Dublin Institute of Technology Head, Department of Law, 2003-2009, 2013 01-SEP-03 / 31-DEC-09
    Trinity College Dublin Lecturer in Family Law, Part-time, 2002-2005 01-SEP-02 /
    Dublin Institute of Technology Asst Lecturer in Law 1999-2002, Lecturer in Law 2002-2013 01-NOV-99 / 01-JAN-14

    Education

      Year Institution Qualification Subject
    2001 University of Dublin PhD
    1995 University of Dublin LLB Bachelor of Laws (Hons)

    Languages

      Language Reading Writing Speaking
    Gaelige Functional Functional Functional
    English Fluent Fluent Fluent
    French Functional Basic Basic

    Outreach Activities

      Description

    One Family (formerly Cherish), Former Board Member and Director, Former Chairperson

    Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, Former Board Member and Company Director

    Teaching Interests

    At Maynooth University, I currently teach Family Law, Child Law, and Gender, Sexuality and Law. I  previously taught Contract Law, Constitutional Law, Tax Law, Company Law, Business Law at Maynooth.

    Since 2016, I have taught a module on the Law of Persons on the joint UCLy-MU BCL Études Juridiques.

    I continue to contribute to MU electives on Engaging Civil Society, and Gender and Sexuality in Society and Culture.

    At DIT I previously taught Constitutional Law, European Union Law, Contract Law, Administrative Law, Media Law, Core Legal Skills, Law for Social Care, and Jurisprudence.

    I have previously taught Family Law at Trinity College Dublin (School of Law, 2002-2005).

    Recent Postgraduates

      Graduation Student Name University Degree Thesis
    2021 Rebecca Murphy Maynooth University PhD
    2013 Fidel Taguinod Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), IRL PhD The Surrogate Nurse: Writing 'Self' and the Transnational Economy of 'Global Pinoy'
    2012 Sally Daly Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), IRL PhD Pick, Pack, Sell: Producing Horticulture in 21st Century Ireland
    2008 Carol Coulter Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), IRL MPhil M.Phil. Ancillary Orders in the Circuit Family Co