The Department's staff are often asked to participate in public debates and events.
While there are a variety of ways to do this, below you will find links to blogs, articles and media appearances by staff.
Maynooth University Department of Sociology
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Dr Eoin Flaherty talks 5G, conspiracies, and the post-truth era on Making it Awkward Podcast, April 2025
Dr Eoin Flaherty (Maynooth Sociology Department) joined Making it Awkward podcast host Jessica to talk about conspiracism and the post-truth era in which we’re living.
Eoin explains 5G and why some people believe it’s dangerous. The two talk about Wi-Fi and 5G-free chicken, RFK Jr., how conspiracies generate and spread and Jessica asks him if she could be the next one to spread a theory of her own.
Jessica came to Eoin's work via the article “The conspiracy of Covid-19 and 5G: Spatial analysis fallacies in the age of data democratization”, which he co-authored.
Listen to the full podcast episode released 17 April 2025 via Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Q3maPWJWVuzgm1cKNclUM?si=hg9bZGKHRAWY2eiZ5lbbag
Ukraine is Europe’s best weapon for achieving strategic autonomy writes Sociology PhD Student Oleg Chupryna. Published on London School of Economics & Politics, April 2025
In this piece published on the London School of Economics and Politics website on 7 April 2025, Oleg examines the need for Europe's strategic autonomy from the US and suggests the most effective approaches to dealing with the issue. The link to the article is here: Ukraine is Europe’s best weapon for achieving strategic autonomy
Why 'pronatalist' politicians want women to have more babies. Mary P. Corcoran writes for 360info, September 2024
Why 'pronatalist' politicians want women to have more babies. Professor Mary P. Corcoran writes for 360info: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-pronatalist-politicians-want-women-have-more-babies-360info-nqjlc/?trackingId=LnzQaFPjOCZJmfYbqOx2oQ%3D%3D. Published 9 September 2024.
Barry Cannon discusses the Far Right in Ireland on Swedish National Radio, March 2024
Dr Barry Cannon is featured on Swedish National Radio discussing the Far Right in Ireland: https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/invandring-har-blivit-politisk-stridsfraga-i-irland published 25 March 2024.
Pauline Cullen discusses women’s underrepresentation in politics on Oireachtas TV, February 2024
Dr Pauline Cullen discussed women’s underrepresentation in politics on Oireachtas TV. Watch back here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/oireachtas-tv-productions/oireachtas-tv-monthly/9051/ published 26 February 2024.
Why do sanctions against Russia succeed or fail? By Sociology PhD student Ali A. Ghareh Daghi. RTE Brainstorm, February 2024
Why do sanctions against Russia succeed or fail? By Ali A. Ghareh Daghi.
Published on 1 February 2024, RTE Brainstorm: https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2024/0201/1429665-russia-sanctions-assessment/
Sociology doctoral student Shamsoddin Shariati on 'Why do people break traffic rules and laws? via RTE Brainstorm, 21 November 2023
Sociology doctoral student Shamsoddin Shariati on 'Why do people break traffic rules and laws? via RTE Brainstorm, 21 November 2023
John O'Brennan chairs a session of the prestigious MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Donegal, August 2023
On 17 August 2023, Professor John O' Brennan chaired a session of the prestigious MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Donegal.
The session focused on the future of the European Union, with guest speakers Tony Connolly (Europe editor, RTE Television), Professor Brigid Laffan (European University Institute) and Mairead McGuinness (European Commissioner). The event attracted an audience of more than 300 people.
For more see the website of the summer school: https://www.macgillsummerschool.com
John O' Brennan hosts the 2023 'Start for Future' Summit in Bulgaria & meets with university partners in the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence Project, June 2023
On 23-24 June 2023, Professor John O' Brennan hosted the 2023 'Start for Future' Summit in Bulgaria, having been invited to host the event by Milena Stoycheva, the Bulgarian Minister for Innovation and Growth. The event gathered together more than 200 participants from academia, civil society, industry and government from across Europe to collaborate on ideas about innovation and cross-sectoral cooperation.
The event was extensively covered by European media organisation:
During the summer Professor O' Brennan also participated in a number of project meetings with colleagues from Sofia University and Leiden University, partners in the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence project, 2020-23.
John O' Brennan on Ireland's approach to security and defence, June 2023
Professor John O' Brennan will be a speaker at the Irish government's Consultative Forum on International Security Policy at Dublin Castle on Monday, 26 June 2023. The forum has been convened to discuss the changing international security landscape and how Ireland should respond to these changes. More on the Forum: https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/e2a6b-consultative-forum-on-international-security-policy/#
John took part in a debate on Ireland’s security and defence policy on Today with Claire Byrne on RTE Radio One on 2 June 2023, https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22258746/
John O' Brennan on Ireland's military neutrality and Europe's changing security landscape, May 2023
Professor John O' Brennan published a new opinion piece for The Irish Examiner on 17 May 2023, analysing Europe's changing security landscape and where Ireland fits into this landscape. He argued that Ireland's policy of military neutrality is outdated and should be jettisoned. He contributed to a number of public discussions on this topic.
Link - ‘Can Ireland’s ‘Ourselves Alone’ stance be justified?, The Irish Examiner, 17 May 2023: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41139826.html
John also discussed Neutrality with Gavin Reilly on On the Record, Newstalk FM, 14 May 2023: https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/on-the-record-with-gavan-reilly/the-issue-of-irelands-neutrality
John also debated Ireland's military neutrality with Matt Carthy of Sinn Féin, on The Last Word, on Today FM: https://www.todayfm.com/podcasts/the-last-word-with-matt-cooper/tanaists-says-ireland-more-vulnerable-as-military-neutrality-to-be-reviewed
Finally, he also spoke with Jude Weber of the Financial Times about the upcoming national consultative forum on security and defence: https://www.ft.com/content/67279122-7cf4-41ad-bc98-24fe8a51538f
Seán Ó Riain speaks on Raidió na Gaeltachta about the recent passing of Fr Micheál Mac Gréil & his contribution to sociology & Irish society, January 2023
Professor Seán Ó Riain spoke on RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta on 23 January 2023 about the recent passing of Fr Micheál Mac Gréil & his contribution to sociology & Irish society.
John O'Brennan delivers lectures in Bulgaria on the EU & interviews on Bulgarian National Radio, January 2023
Professor John O' Brennan delivered a lecture in Sofia hosted by the Irish Embassy in Bulgaria at European Union House on 19 January. The lecture covered Ireland's experience of 50 years of membership of the EU and the lessons that might be derived from the Irish participation in European integration. The lecture was attended by a number of Sofia-based ambassadors, EU officials and faculty and students from Sofia University.
John delivered a second lecture on the future of EU Enlargement policy at Sofia University on 20 January. This was part of a series of events organised with Sofia University, which is a partner with the Maynooth Centre for European and Eurasian Studies in the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (2020-2023).
While in Sofia, John also gave an interview to Bulgarian National Radio. The transcript can be read here.
John O'Brennan media appearances on Ireland's fiftieth anniversary of EU membership, December 2022 - January 2023
Professor John O' Brennan engaged with a number of media outlets over the Christmas and New Year period. On 30 December, John published an opinion piece in The Irish Examiner (with Dr. Mary C. Murphy of UCC), reflecting on Ireland's 50 year anniversary of EU membership and argued that much more effort needed to go into 'Communicating Europe' to the Irish public in the years ahead: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41037701.html
John also appeared on the Newstalk programme, Talking History, on 1 January 2023 to reflect on the lessons learned from Ireland's experience of 50 years of European integration: https://link.goloudplayer.com/s/pGfstkr92G5W
On 5 January 2023 John appeared on The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk, to talk about the European Parliament's role in the European Union and how Irish MEPs contributed to the EU over five decades of membership.
Passport Diplomatic interview John O'Brennan on Romanian television, December 2022
Professor John O Brennan was interviewed by Passport Diplomatic on Romanian television during his recent visit to Bucharest.
He spoke about Ukraine's relationship with the European Union and what role the EU might have in the Western Balkans in the years to come: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmH8Pt43lBA
From talk to walk - what we need to build eco-social welfare by Mary Murphy via UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab, December 2022
Read Professor Mary Murphy's new blog published on 22 December 2022 by UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab, "From talk to walk – what we need to build eco-social welfare"
John O'Brennan addresses the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs, December 2022
On Wednesday, 7 December 2022, Professor John O' Brennan addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs on the theme of recruitment of Irish nationals to the EU institutions and how Ireland might better 'communicate Europe' to the Irish people. You can view the meeting here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/33/european-union-affairs/
A transcript of the exchanges with members of the Oireachtas can be viewed here: Joint Committee on European Union Affairs debate - Wednesday, 7 Dec 2022 (oireachtas.ie)
John O'Brennan recent keynote lectures on Ireland and Europe, November-December 2022
Professor John O Brennan delivered a number of keynote lectures in the latter part of 2022, focusing on Ireland's experience of EU membership. On 9 November, he delivered an address at Bucharest University, Romania in an event organised by the Irish Embassy in Romania. Later that day he addressed the Euro Atlantic Resilience Centre at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest on the future of EU Enlargement policy. John also met with colleagues at Bucharest University to discuss new partnership agreements with Maynooth University:
https://twitter.com/IrishEmbBuch/status/1590727464162295808
On Monday 21 November, John was part of a Maynooth University team which participated in a public roundtable on Irish-German relations within the EU at Marburg University, Germany in conjunction with the Irish Consulate-General in Frankfurt. The Maynooth team was led by Professor Mark Maguire, Dean of Social Science, and also included Professor Hana Cervinkova of the Department of Anthropology, Dr. Brid Quinn, University of Limerick and Francis Jacobs, former head of the European Parliament office in Ireland: https://twitter.com/IRLinFrankfurt/status/1595046262671560704
John also delivered an address on Ireland and Europe on 2 December at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, in the United States and participated in a panel at the American Conference for Irish Studies on 3-4 December on the theme of Ireland and borders: https://acis2022.uga.edu/programme/
Finally, on Tuesday 13 December, John delivered the keynote lecture at the conference organised by the EU Academy at Dublin City University on the theme 'Ireland and the European Union 1973-2023: from the margins to the centre of Europe? https://mobile.twitter.com/euacademy_dcu/status/1602350374576349186
Jane Gray talks about researching social change over time in this NCRM UK podcast, November 2022
In this episode of the National Centre for Research Methods podcast, host Catherine McDonald talks to Professor Jane Gray about researching social change over time. Jane is the programme leader for the Irish Qualitative Data Archive and played a key role in the development of the Digital Repository of Ireland and her research looks at families, households and social change: https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/resources/podcasts/?id=jane-gray recorded 29/11/2022
John O'Brennan addresses the 'Ireland and the EU at 50' Conference, October 2022
Professor John O Brennan addressed the 'Ireland and the EU at 50' conference on 27 October in Dublin. The conference was one of the flagship events in the Department of Foreign Affairs' programme reflecting on Ireland's 50 years of membership of the European Union. The conference brought together all of Ireland's European-based ambassadors and senior diplomats and was addressed by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness, and the French Minister for European Affairs, Laurence Boone. John's contribution was on the rule of law in the EU and the extent to which it matters for governance of the Single Market.
John O'Brennan co-publishes 'Ireland' chapter in annual Bertelsmann Stiftung Sustainable Governance Indicators, October 2022
Dr Barry Colfer (Director of Research, Irish Institute of European and International Affairs) and Prof John O' Brennan and have just published the 'Ireland' chapter in the annual (2022) Bertelsmann Stiftung Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI). The study compares and contrasts the performance of 41 countries in implementing sustainable governance measures. The Irish report can be found here: https://www.sgi-network.org/2022/Ireland/Key_Challenges
John O'Brennan speaks to Claire Byrne, RTE Radio 1 about the death of former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Euronews about the EU's proposed ban on Russians visiting the EU, August 2022
Professor John O' Brennan spoke to Claire Byrne on RTE Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne (31 August 2022) to reflect on the death of former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev and his significane for Europe:
https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22140817/
John also spoke to Euronews (31 August 2022) about the European Union's proposed ban on Russians visiting the EU:
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/08/31/eu-foreign-ministers-agree-to-scrap-russia-visa-deal-but-stop-short-of-full-tourist-ban
Are the far right a threat to Irish democracy? By Barry Cannon & Joseph Munnelly via RTE Brainstorm, August 2022
Are the far right a threat to Irish democracy? writes Dr Barry Cannon and Joseph Munnelly for RTE Brainstorm.
Opinion: research finds that civil society strategies are needed to help prevent any future far right growth in Ireland.
Read the full article here, originally published on 26 August 2022 via RTE Brainstorm.
Rebecca King O'Riain explains social factors behind drinking culture & population decline in Japan on RTE Radio 1's Claire Byrne Show, August 2022
Why Japan is asking its young people to drink more? Dr Rebecca King O'Riain joined RTE Radio 1's Claire Byrne Show to explain the social factors behind drinking culture & population decline in Japan.
John O'Brennan on Extradition & Election Pose Test of Bulgaria’s EU Commitment in Balkan Insight & Euronews, August 2022
Professor John O' Brennan published a new piece on 17 August 2022 in Balkan Insight which argues that a recent decision by a Bulgarian Court to extradite a Russian dissident to Russia represents a flagrant challenge to Bulgaria's membership of the European Union. Link: https://balkaninsight.com/2022/08/17/extradition-and-election-pose-test-of-bulgarias-eu-commitment/
John was also interviewed at length by Euronews on this case and its implications for Bulgaria's relationship with the EU. Link: https://www.euronews.com/2022/08/12/alexey-alchin-bulgaria-risks-violating-eu-principles-over-russia-extradition-request
John O'Brennan discusses the continuing crisis in Ukraine & the response of the EU to Russian provocations on Oireachtas News, July 2022
Professor John O' Brennan (Maynooth University Sociology Department & Maynooth University Centre for European & Eurasian Studies) appeared on Oireachtas News on 27 June 2022, in an interview with host Flor McCarthy, on the continuing crisis in Ukraine and how the European Union has responded to Russian provocations.
John O' Brennan talks Brexit & the leadership contest within the UK Conservative party on RTE Radio One's Today show, July 2022
Professor John O' Brennan (Maynooth University Sociology Department & Maynooth University Centre for European & Eurasian Studies) appeared on the Today with Claire Byrne show on RTE Radio One on 26 July, to talk about Brexit and the leadership contest within the UK Conservative party.
Mary Corcoran delivers keynote address at the Sociological Association of Ireland’s 49th Annual Conference, May 2022
Professor Mary Corcoran delivered a keynote address on her transdisciplinary visual sociological research at the Sociological Association of Ireland's 49th Annual Conference on 13 May 2022.
Jane Gray features in this Irish Examiner piece on the changing paths to parenthood in Ireland, May 2022
"Shifts in attitudes and improvements in fertility treatment have driven many of the changes. Technology has opened up the possibility of parenthood to more people, says Gray. “Our families have changed accordingly and become much more flexible as a result."
Jane Gray is a Sociology Professor at NUI Maynooth (NUIM) and co-author of Family Rhythms: The Changing Textures of Family Life in Ireland, a book that charts the evolution of Irish families from the early 20th century to the current day, which is featured in this Irish Examiner Piece on the changing paths to parenthood in Ireland, published 3 May 2022.
Research from Pauline Cullen & Shane Gough - 'Women from ethnic minorities reveal abuse experienced on election trail' via Irish Examiner, March 2022
Research from Dr Pauline Cullen and Shane Gough of Maynooth Sociology Department highlights abuse women from ethnic minorities reveal experienced on election trail via at Irish Examiner, published 31 March 2022.
'This is who he is' writes John O'Brennan on Vladimir Putin for Dublin Review of Books, March 2022
"As Ukraine endures the agony of a brutal assault by Russian forces, the world is beginning to confront the cost of misreading Vladimir Putin ‑ his character, his intentions, his obsessions, his risk calculus and his worldview."
Professor John O'Brennan of Maynooth University Sociology Department writes about Vladimir Putin in 'This is who he is" for Dublin Review of Books: This Is Who He Is - DRB, March 2022.
Sociology PhD student, Oleg Chupryna, writes about Ukraine across multiple global media platforms, February 2022
Maynooth Sociology PhD Student, Oleg Chupryna, recently published a number of articles on the current crisis in Ukraine and the legacy of Revolutions in Ukraine:
- In the piece which was published by the RTE Brainstorm, Oleg examines the root causes of the current Ukraine crisis and suggestions about the most effective approaches to dealing with that. Published on 2 February 2022.
- Published on 26 January 2022 by Spain's online media diariosigloxxi.com - Orange Revolution in Spanish is aimed at the Spanish speaking readership.
- In the article published by the Canadian online media the Geopolitical Monitor, Oleg gives an assessment of the recent dramatic events in Kazakhstan. Published on 26 January 2022. Spanish version also available via diariosigloxxi.
- Published on 24 January 2022 by The Eurasia Review. The piece is dedicated to the 17th anniversary of the successful conclusion of Ukraine’s second revolution in the last thirty years – the Orange Revolution, which played a key role in the country’s democratization.
- Ukraine: Will Zelenskiy’s Presidency Last the Full Term? – OpEd, 29 December 2021 via Eurasia Review. An assessment of Ukraine’s Zelenskiy presidency in the middle of his cadency. Two and a half years ago a complete novice in politics, comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy won the presidential race in Ukraine with the overwhelming 73 per cent votes in his favour beating the seasoned politician incumbent president Poroshenko. Now it's time to analyse his achievements and failures halfway through his presidential term.
- The Euromaidan Revolution, the popular rebellion that shook European geopolitics, 21 December 2021. This article is aimed at the Spanish speaking readership and is written in Spanish. It is Oleg's first publication in the Spanish language and is published by Spain's digital media platform diariosigloxxi.com. Oleg gives an overview of Ukraine's Euromaidan Revolution. It could be said that the said revolution was one of the crucial events in contemporary European political history that triggered many processes in current international politics. The current tensions between the West and Russia have been one of those processes.
- Without stronger support from the West, Ukraine will continue to live under the threat of invasion, 10 December 2021 . In this article published on The London School of Economics and Politics website, Oleg examines the Euromaidan Revolution and it's legacy which is now under threat given recent Russia's military build-up along Ukraine's border, and the Kremlin's rhetoric suggesting that a full-scale military offensive is now on the cards, and a potential invasion may be taking place early next year.
- To the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the Ukrainian Euromaidan: how was it?, 22 November 2021. The piece by Oleg about the Euromaidan Revolution in Ukrain was published by Kasparov.ru media platform in Russian is aimed at the Russian speaking readership and is written in Russian.
- Ukraine’s Revolution on Granite: A Prelude to Independence published by Geopolitical Monitor on 1 November 2021. Oleg assesses the student Revolution on Granite in Ukraine, an important historic event little known to the international community, the thirty-first anniversary of which was recently marked. Arguably, it was one of the crucial events which triggered many processes in contemporary history, such as Ukraine's independence, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the geopolitical consequences of that.
- Assessing Ukraine’s future thirty years after its independence published on 15 October 2021 in multi-disciplinary London School of Economics and Politics blog, assessing Ukraine’s origins, national identity & perspectives thirty years after its independence.
Oleg is currently undertaking a PhD study in the Sociology Department at Maynooth University, supervised by Professor John O'Brennan and Dr Barry Cannon. Oleg is also a member of Maynooth University Centre for European and Euraisan Studies.
Pauline Cullen discusses gender-based violence on Newstalk's On The Record podcast, January 2022
Dr Pauline Cullen joined Newtalk's On The Record podcast with Gavan Reilly to discuss gender-based violence and what can be done to stamp it out in Ireland.
Listen to the full podcast here, recorded 16 January 2022.
Watch STOPFARRIGHT Seminar Series 1-5 led by Barry Cannon, December 2021
STOPFARRIGHT is an Irish Research Council funded project, led by Dr Barry Cannon of the Department of Sociology at Maynooth University in association with Crosscare. The project aims to promote discussion and debate between academics and civil society groups on how best to counter-strategise against the growth of the far right in Ireland. As part of its activities, STOPFARRIGHT held a series of online seminars with leading Irish and International academics and civil society members working on the theme of resisting the Far Right:
- 20 October 2021, Seminar Series 1: Misinformation and the Far-Right. Watch the first seminar.
- 28 October 2021, Seminar Series 2: Anti-Far Right Strategising 1: European Perspectives. Watch the second seminar.
- 15 November 2021, Seminar Series 3: Anti-Far Right Strategising: Global Problem, Local Responses. Watch the third seminar.
- 29 November 2021, Seminar Series 4: Far-Right and Racism in Ireland. Watch the fourth seminar.
- 8 December 2021, Seminar Series 5: Civil society and the Far-right. Watch the fifth seminar.
Mary P. Corcoran discusses 'Even if a higher power didn't exist, would humans create on?' on RTE Radio 1's The Leap of Faith, December 2021
Mary P. Corcoran joined Ian Robertson, psychologist & Kenneth Pearce, philosopher to discuss the question “Even if a higher power didn't exist, would humans create one?” on RTE Radio 1’s The Leap of Faith, on Friday, 10 December. Listen back here.
John O'Brennan on Euronews discussing the proposed EU 'sanctions hammer', December 2021
John O’ Brennan appeared on Euronews on 8 December 2021, to discuss the proposed EU ‘sanctions hammer’ and whether it is likely to be adopted in EU legislation in the near future. His comments can be found in this piece: https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/08/brussels-is-vowing-to-fight-back-against-economic-coercion-but-how-far-will-it-go
Read Rebecca King O'Riain's interview about Squid Game with the Hong Kong Economic Journal Monthly, December 2021
Dr Rebecca Chiyoko King-O'Riain discussed the Netflix hit, Squid Game, with the Hong Kong Economic Journal Monthly.
Read the interview here https://monthly.hkej.com/monthly/article?id=2987388, published December 2021.
John O'Brennan hosts IIEA webinar by world renowned intellectual, Ivan Krastev, November 2021
Professor John O Brennan hosted a talk by the world renowned intellectual, Ivan Krastev (Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna and Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia) for the Irish Institute for International and European Affairs, on Wednesday 24 November. The theme of the talk was how COVID has impacted on the European Union and how the pandemic might further change Europe. The talk was based on the recent book on that theme published by Mr Krastev with Allen Lane publishers.
You can watch back the webinar here:
Watch back Care Provision: A Feminist Economist's Perspective seminar with Mary Murphy, November 2021
Care Provision: A Feminist Economist's Perspective took place via Teams on 15 November 2021. This online seminar was hosted by The CareVisions research project, Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century at University College Cork.
Watch back the seminar here.
Abstract: Care provision builds on personal commitments and social obligations, but as a result, is often taken for granted. How can we make a case for more generous public support and more equitable sharing of care responsibilities? A feminist economic perspective provides a helpful vocabulary for answering this question.
Discussant: Professor Mary Murphy, Department of Sociology, Maynooth University
Speaker: Professor Nancy Folbre, Director of the Program on Gender and Care Work at the Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst
John O' Brennan discusses the Northern Ireland Protocol & Brexit on the Sean Moncrieff Show on Newstalk FM, October 2021
Professor John O' Brennan was interviewed on the Sean Moncrieff Show on Newstalk FM about the Northern Ireland Protocol and Brexit on Thursday 14 October.
Listen back to the full discussion here.
Mary Corcoran chairs Kildare County Council's panel on Women & Diversity in Local Government, October 2021
Professor Mary Corcoran chaired a Government panel discussion hosted by Kildare County Council with support from the Department of Local Government, Environment and Heritage on Wednesday, 13 October 2021. The event was directed in particular at Transition Year students around Kildare to encourage them to consider careers in politics and public service.
The event featured six high profile panellists: Cllr. Naoise O’Cearuil, Cllr. Chris Pender and Cllr. Angela Feeney all of Kildare County Council alongside, Celina Barrett, Chief Fire Officer, Kildare CoCo, Sonya Kavanagh, Interim Chief Executive, Kildare CoCo and Alison Crowzer, entrepreneur, investor and chair of Women for Election.
Interestingly, three councillors on the panel are all Maynooth University graduates: Cllr. Naoise O’Cearuil studied Politics; Cllr. Chris Pender studied Community Work; and Cllr. Angela Feeney holds a doctorate in Education.
Watch the full event back (https://vimeo.com/601060039#) and see pictures below:
John O'Brennan talks Brexit, EU-UK relations & The Northern Ireland Protocol on TRT World Television, October 2021
Professor John O’Brennan was interviewed on 13 October 2021 by TRT World television on Brexit, EU-UK relations and the Northern Ireland Protocol. You can view the segment via this YouTube link:
Why is the Netflix series Squid Game so popular? writes Rebecca King O'Riain for RTE Brainstorm, October 2021
The hit Netflix series, Squid Game, is the latest in a growing global engagement with Korean popular and commercial culture.
Read the full article here by Dr Rebecca King O'Riain published via RTE Brainstorm on 11 October 2021, on why the show is so popular.
Delma Byrne shares commentary in Irish Times article - Boys will be boys: are schools guilty of unconscious gender bias? October 2021
"Teachers were more generous to girls than boys in this year’s Leaving Cert – but some academics say the evidence doesn’t hold up"
Dr Delma Byrne shares comments on the topic in this Irish Times article boys will be boys: are schools guilty of unconscious gender bias? published on 5 October 2021
John O'Brennan gives interview to Sarajevo-based N1 television in Bosnia discussing the upcoming EU-Western Balkans Summit Meeting, September 2021
In the run-up to the EU-Western Balkans Summit Meeting on 6 October, 2021, Professor John O' Brennan gave an interview to Sarajevo-based N1 television in Bosnia. assessing what was at stake in the Summit Meeting and evaluating the significant problems exhibited by the EU enlargement process.
Watch the full interview back here, published on 30 September 2021: https://ba.n1info.com/english/news/professor-obrennan-tells-n1-will-western-balkans-countries-ever-join-the-eu/
John also gave an interview to Reuters on the same topic and this article was much discussed in international media: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-no-longer-agrees-balkan-membership-guarantee-diplomats-say-2021-09-28/
John O'Brennan on Newstalk's On the Record podcast, discussing German federal elections & the legacy of Angela Merkel for Germany & the EU, September 2021
Professor John O' Brennan took part in a in-studio discussion on Newstalk FM's 'On the Record: Sunday Paper Review 19 September'. The discussion focused on the German federal elections and on the legacy of Angela Merkel for both Germany and the European Union.
Listen back to the full podcast here: https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/on-the-record-with-gavan-reilly/on-the-record-sunday-paper-review-september-19th-2
Mary Murphy discusses a new welfare imaginary for the island of Ireland in RIA's ARINS project blog, September 2021
In this Royal Irish Academy ARINS (Analysis and Research: Ireland North and South) blogpost, Professor Mary Murphy discusses a new welfare imaginary for the island of Ireland and how our society can collaborate to imagine a better welfare state across issues of social security, poverty and inequality, north and south.
Read the full blogpost here, published on 13 September 2021.
Mary P. Corcoran explains the key points of her paper published on food apartheid in the USA, July 2021
In light of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, ‘food apartheid’ has come under the spotlight. Food justice movements are expanding, and re-politicizing hunger in poor communities across US cities and beyond. Embedded structural and racialized inequalities are being exposed and challenged. Professor Mary P. Corcoran illuminates the extent of community-based activism around food justice in New Haven, CT in her research paper Beyond ‘food apartheid’: Civil society and the politicization of hunger in New Haven, Connecticut, published 9 June 2021.
Watch and listen to Professor Corcoran explain the key points of her paper in this video published on ScienceSocieties, YouTube:
Seán Ó Riain & Mary Murphy discuss low pay in SIPTU's Low Pay Republic Webinar, June 2021
Professors Seán Ó Riain and Mary Murphy took part in a webinar with SIPTU on "Low Pay Republic: Combatting Low Pay in the Irish Labour Market". They discussed low pay and the suite of labour market and enterprise-level policies which are required to tackle Ireland’s low pay epidemic.
Articles in the Irish Times & Irish Examiner about The National Women's Council's, Women on Boards Report authored by Pauline Cullen, June 2021
Articles published in the Irish Times and The Irish Examiner discuss the The National Women's Council (NWC) of Ireland's new Increasing Gender Balance on Boards: The Case for Legislative Gender Quotas in Ireland report, authored by Dr Pauline Cullen of the Sociology Department at Maynooth University. The NWC's report highlights that women remain significantly underrepresented in boardrooms of Irish companies, and in senior leadership roles. Furthermore, they are facing a very slow pace of change, as well as evidence of stagnation and regression. The NWC has called for mandatory gender quotas to apply to corporate boards.
Read the articles here:
The Irish Times published on Thursday, 24 June 2021
The Irish Examiner published on Thursday, 24 June 2021
Rebecca King O'Riain writes in the Irish Independent about the challenges facing students during the pandemic, April 2021
Dr Rebecca King O'Riain (Department of Sociology, Maynooth University) writes in the Irish Independent Opinion section about the many challenges faced by our resilient students during the pandemic.
Read the full article here.
Published in the Irish Independent on Friday, 30 April 2021
Mary Corcoran chairs Full & Plenty, Farming & the Future webinar hosted by Limerick Gallery of Art, April 2021
Professor Mary P. Corcoran chaired the "Full and Plenty- Farming and the Future" panel discussion with Professor Stephen Kinsella (University of Limerick) and Dr. Monica Gorman (University College Dublin). The webinar was hosted by Limerick Gallery of Art on 13 April 2021.
View the full webinar here.
Irish feminists need to mobilise for a post-pandemic future by Pauline Cullen & Mary Murphy in the Irish Politics Forum, March 2021
Dr Pauline Cullen and Professor Mary Murphy, both of the Sociology Department at Maynooth University, write about the Irish feminists need to mobilise for a post-pandemic future built on an ethic of public care in the Irish Politics Forum.
This blog was orignally published in March 2021.
How Ireland’s response to the pandemic is impacted by austerity era reductions writes Mary Murphy in the Irish Politics Forum & Transforming Society blog, March 2021
In this blog, Professor Mary Murphy (Sociology Department, Maynooth University) and Dr John Hogan (College of Business, Technical University Dublin), editors of Policy Analysis in Ireland, consider how Ireland’s response to the pandemic is impacted by austerity era reductions.
The blog was originally published in March 2021 in the Irish Politics Forum and the Transforming Society Blog.
Mary Corcoran on why the lockdown's bad hair days are no laughing matter, RTE Brainstorm blog & video, March 2021
Professor Mary Corcoran writes why the lockdown's bad hair days are no laughing matter for RTE Brainstorm.
Read the full article here, published in March 2021.
Watch the video by Laura Gaynor based on this blog featuring Professor Mary Corcoran: https://twitter.com/RTEBrainstorm/status/1379407566963367937
Mary Murphy publishes new blog in PublicPolicy.ie, UCD Geary Institute on 'A Post Pandemic Housing Imaginary', March 2021
Professor Mary P Murphy of the Sociology Department at Maynooth University, recently published a new blog titled, 'Build Forward Public: The Case For A Post Pandemic Housing Imaginary', on PublicPolicy.ie:
"A huge fault line exposed during the pandemic is Ireland’s globalised political economy model in which the country opened up to the market large parts of society, including housing, health, and pensions. For example, 80% of nursing home accommodation and 70% of childcare places are provided through the market (Murphy, 2020). Conversely, Irish pandemic responses are severely limited by poor capacity in public services in housing, health, nursing homes, creches, education and special needs. The pandemic offers an opportunity to revalue the concept of ‘public’."
Read the full blog here which was published on Wednesday, 24 March 2021 in PublicPolicy.ie, UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy
Pauline Cullen on gender-based violence in the Irish Times, March 2021.
In the Irish Times, Dr Pauline Cullen discusses how gender-based violence was ‘propelled’ onto the agenda by a large number of submissions to the Citizens Assembly ahead of its discussion of gender equality.
Read the full article here which was published on 13 March 2021.
Are we suffering from 'numerical fatigue' when it comes to Covid? writes Mary Corcoran via RTE Brainstorm, March 2021
"There are lots of moving parts with this disease which makes it difficult to capture through compiling raw numbers or generating statistical scenarios. To date, there have been multiple revisions made of statistical projections on Covid's trajectory. While there is lots of information out there, it may not translate straightforwardly into knowledge.
We can be forgiven if we have started to suffer from 'numerical fatigue'. Numbers tell us something, but they do not tell us everything."
Full article available here: https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2021/0303/1200578-covid-19-numerical-fatigue/
Article by Professor Mary Corcoran, Department of Sociology, Maynooth University. Published in RTE Brainstorm, Wednesday, 3 March 2021.
Laurence Cox on his new book The Irish Buddhist at the UCD Asia Pacific Research Network, February 2021
“The Irish Buddhist: the Forgotten Monk who Faced Down the British Empire”, a new book by Laurence Cox (Maynooth University, Sociology Department), Brian Bocking and Alicia Turner (Oxford University Press, 2020), tells the life of Dublin-born sailor, hobo, Buddhist monk and anti-colonial activist Laurence Carroll / U Dhammaloka. Dhammaloka had at least 5 pseudonyms, covered up 25 years of his life, was tried for sedition, put under police surveillance, faked his death and eventually disappeared.
Watch Laurence discuss this book in the video below, at an event for UCD’s Asia Pacific Research Network, held on 18 Februay 2021:
The authors of the book did multiple online events throughout the past year including at Princeton Fund for Irish Studies, Melbourne Irish Studies, Lausanne South Asian Studies, Mahidol University Religious Studies (Thailand), Shan State Buddhist University (Burma), EPIC the Irish Emigration Museum, UCC Study of Religions and Maynooth’s IFUT trade union.
Mary Corcoran on RTE Radio 1 series Like Family, discussing the impact of COVID 19 on young people, September 2020
Listen back to Professor Mary P. Corcoran as a guest panelist on RTE Radio 1 series “Like Family” - a special edition with Brenda Donohue, discussing the impact of COVID 19 on young people. Recorded September 9, 2020
Access podcast here: https://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/share/radio1/11231898
Aphra Kerr & colleagues write blog for Media Literacy Ireland on Ethical Artificial Intelligence, September 2020
Professor Aphra Kerr and colleagues write a blog post for Media Literacy Ireland - ‘We Expect Ethical Artificial Intelligence – Who will deliver it?’.
Read the full article here: https://www.medialiteracyireland.ie/news/we-expect-ethical-artificial-intelligence-who-will-deliver-it, orginally published on 4 September 2020.
Mary Corcoran chairs Childhood Development Initiative webinar on Engaging Dads, Supporting Families, September 2020
Professor Mary P. Corcoran chaired the "Engaging Dads, Supporting Families" webinar, organised by the Childhood Development Initiative on September 20, 2020.
View the full webinar here:
Why have over a million Irish people downloaded the Covid-19 app? Aphra Kerr, RTE Brainstrom, July 2020
‘Why have over a million Irish people downloaded the Covid-19 app?' writes Professor Aphra Kerr for RTE Brainstorm.
See the full blog post here: https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0720/1154327-covid-tracker-app-ireland-technology-privacy-data/, originally published on 20 July 2020.
Why making that call is better than texting or tweeting in these times of cocooning & social distancing writes Aphra Kerr. RTE Brainstorm blog & video, March 2020
'Why making that call is better than texting or tweeting' in these times of cocooning & social distancing writes Professor Aphra Kerr for RTE Brainstorm.
Read the full blog post: https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0324/1125022-why-making-that-call-is-better-than-texting-or-tweeting/ orignally published on 24 March 2020.
Watch a video by Laura Gaynor, based on this blog here: https://twitter.com/RTEBrainstorm/status/1244934821912162304
Reconfiguring welfare in an eco-social state - Social Europe blog by Mary Murphy & Dr Michael McGann, May 2020
The problem with existing systems of income support is not their conditionality but their presumption that only market participation is a legitimate contribution. Read more in this Reconfiguring welfare in an eco-social state: participation income and universal services blog published on Social Europe by Professor Mary Murphy and Dr Michael McGann, 29 May 2020.
Ten steps on a high road Covid era back to work strategy by Mary Murphy, MU Spotlight on Research, May 2020
"We need to avoid returning to a ‘normal’ that did not work for many people. Rather, we need to develop the most appropriate model of activation for this unique Covid-19 era, writes Dr Mary Murphy, Department of Sociology"
Read Ten Steps on a High Road Covid Era Back to Work Strategy by Professor Mary Murphy published on Maynooth University Spotlight on Research, May 2020.
The Vienna Model: Housing for the 21st Century - Dublin City FM Podcast with Mary Murphy, July 2019
Listen back to This is Where We Live - The Vienna Model: Housing for the 21st Century on Dublin City FM's Podcast with Professor Mary Murphy, Maynooth University Department of Sociology. July 2019.
Mary Murphy & Seán Ó Riain talk Nordic Models on the Reboot Republic Podcast, Tortoise Shack, June 2018
Why do we always hear the argument that we need to be more like the Nordic Countries? Well probably because they match the direction of their economies to meet the needs of their societies. Professors Mary Murphy & Seán Ó Riain discuss the ways we can adopt those systems on to our market based economy on the Reboot Republic Podcast via Tortoise Shack. Originally published on 15 June 2018.