Current Research

There are currently 48 PhD students in the School. Profiles of some of the students are given below.

Jemimah Bailey

Jemimah Bailey is undertaking her PhD research on Irish fathers' experiences of the transition to parenthood and her work is funded by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Science (IRCHSS). The aim of the research is to explore the contemporary culture of fatherhood in Ireland and describe the way in which first time fathers construct their identity as parents. It will examine what factors influence the involvement fathers have with their infants, by looking at their parenting ideology, work/life balance, sources of support and information, and how their day-to-day life changes with the arrival of a new baby. One focus of the research will be to look at fathers' attitudes towards infant feeding and how this influences the involvement that they have with their infant. Jemimah graduated from the University of Manchester in 1995 with BA Hons in Combined Studies (Literature and Politics) and worked as a newspaper journalist for the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times in London. She completed an MSc in Applied Social Research in TCD in 2005 and is supervised by Dr Evelyn Mahon.

Andrea Bobersky

Andrea's PhD project is funded by the Living With Dementia Research Programme (LiD), which she joined in April 2008. The programme is based at the School of Social Work and Social Policy and the Dementia Services and Information Development Centre at St. James's Hospital Dublin. In her thesis she explores the experiences of nursing home residents with dementia and their caregivers of relocating to a specialist dementia care unit. Andrea holds a diploma in Psychology from the University of Trier / Germany . She has worked as a formal caregiver for people with dementia in day care centres in Germany and as a lecturer in Social Gerontology. Her research interests are in the area of dementia care environments, the experience of dementia, and qualitative research.

Jessica Breen

Jessica Breen is a graduate of Regis University, Denver, CO, where she majored in Sociology (B.A., 2005) and minored in Anthropology. She holds an MSc in Applied Social Research from Trinity College (2006). Her doctoral research is an investigation into the secondary or “collateral” effects of imprisonment in Ireland . This study is exploratory in nature and is aimed at describing the ways in which imprisonment impacts prisoners, their families and communities in the North Inner City of Dublin. In particular it seeks to look at the ways that social capital and norms interact in the context of a community which experiences concentrated levels of incarceration (as well as a high rate of crime). Her broader research interests include the secondary effects of imprisonment, crime, juvenile delinquency, and prisoner reintegration. Her work is funded through an Ussher studentship (2006-2009) and her supervisor is Dr. Eoin O'Sullivan. Jessica is a student member of the Sociological Association of Ireland, the Irish Prisoner Education Association, and the Irish Penal Reform Trust.

Nicola Carr

Nicola is undertaking her Phd research on the experience of Traveller children within the criminal justice system in Ireland , this research is being supervised by Dr Eoin O'Sullivan. She graduated from the University of Hertfordshire with BA Hons in Community Justice (Probation Studies) and worked as a Probation Officer in London. In Ireland Nicola has worked with the Special Residential Services Board (SRSB), a statutory body that advises the Minister for Children, this organisation provided funding for the first stage of her studies. She has also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Child Protection and Welfare in Trinity College Dublin. She is currently working as a Research Fellow in the Children's Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin on A Qualitative Study of 'Out of Home' Young People in the Southern Region.

Mary-Louise Corr

Mary Louise’s PhD is a qualitative study investigating the onset and history of offending (or criminal ‘career’) among young people in contact with criminal justice agencies in Dublin. Using primarily the in-depth interview, the research aims to identify and understand factors related to young people’s offending transitions, set in the wider context of their ‘life histories’. Mary Louise was funded by the Children’s Act Advisory Board (2006-2009) and is supervised by Dr. Paula Mayock. Before starting her PhD, Mary Louise was based at the Children's Research Centre as a research intern, working on a number of projects including the second phase of a longitudinal cohort study of homeless young people in Dublin city. She continues to work on the third phase of this study. Mary-Louise graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2003 with LLB (Law) and completed an M.Sc Criminology at the University of Edinburgh in 2005.

Noëlle Cotter

Funded by the Health Research Board under Dr. Evelyn Mahon's supervision, Noëlle Cotter is undertaking research on couples' experiences of infertility and its treatment. This is a longitudinal study interviewing couples who are undergoing in-vitro fertilisation treatment at four different times over a treatment cycle and in its aftermath. As well as having particular interest in qualitative and quantitative methodologies, Noëlle's research interests include human reproduction, sociology of health and illness, as well as sociology of the life course.

Jennifer Cronly

Jennifer's research interests include illicit drug use, injecting risk behaviour, harm reduction and prevention strategies, drug treatment effectiveness and criminal behaviour among drug users. Jennifer's PhD work investigates young people's initiation into heroin use with a focus on injecting and other risk behaviour. The study utilises ethnographic research methods including observation and life-history interviews. Jennifer's PhD is funded through an IRCHSS scholarship (2008-2009) and her supervisor is Dr. Paula Mayock.

Martha Doyle

Martha is a Research Fellow and part-time PhD student in the Social Policy and Ageing Research Centre (SPARC). Her PhD thesis is on the subject of older people’s interest groups and their influence on the policy-making process in the Irish context. Prior to commencing work in 2005 in Trinity she worked as a Researcher in the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, Dublin and the Australian Guidance and Counselling Association, Sydney. She  also completed an internship in the Equality Authority, Dublin and worked as a Quantitative Project Manger in New Zealand's' largest market research fieldwork company. She holds a first class honours degree in Psychology from the National University of Ireland, Galway and a Masters in Applied Social Research and a postgraduate Diploma in Statistics from Trinity College Dublin.

Donal Fitzsimons

Donal qualified as a registered nurse in intellectual disability (RNID) in 1992. He graduated with a BA in Healthcare Management in 2003 and graduated from Coventry University in 2005 with a Masters in Business Administration. He has held both clinical and managerial healthcare positions in Ireland and abroad. He is currently employed with the Heath Service Executive and holds the position of Manager of Disability Services with responsibility for Longford, Westmeath, Laois and Offaly.

Donal is currently undertaking a part-time PhD with the National Institute for Intellectual Disability. His study focuses on people with intellectual disability leaving the institution and moving to a community setting where an emphasis is placed on person centred planning (PCP) as a means to better community participation, choices and increased friendships. His study looks primarily at evaluating PCP outcomes for people with intellectual disability following this de-institutionalisation process. Dr Philip Curry is supervising the study.

Lindsey Garratt

Lindsey Garratt is currently undertaking a PhD under the Trinity Immigration Initiative. Her work explores the interaction and integration of international children and indigenous Irish children in the inner-city, using primary schools as research hubs. Lindsey holds a MSocSc in Sociology (1:1) and a BA in Sociology and English from UCD. Lindsey is based in the Children's Research Centre under the supervision of Prof. Robbie Gilligan . She first joined the centre as an intern in October 2006, were she worked on several projects, including an evaluation of an early intervention service for children with intellectual disabilities and an evaluation of an adult and child education centre. Prior to joining the centre Lindsey worked for both Amnesty International Irish Section and Oxfam Ireland , she also volunteered with a number of organisations in South-West Dublin.

Eoin Healey

Eoin is currently undertaking a PhD as part of the Trinity Immigration Initiative looking at the national policy impacts of immigration on penal policy under the supervision of Dr Eoin O'Sullivan and funded by the TII. Eoin graduated from Trinity with a BA in Sociology and Social Policy in 2006. His research interests include criminology, welfare states and harm reduction policies.

Zoe Hughes

Zoe is a PhD student in the National Institute for Intellectual Disability (NIID). Zoe is a graduate of the TCD Masters in Social Work program and has worked for a number of years in various intellectual disability services. This included working with people with mental health problems, dementia and medium and high support needs. Her PhD is based on the 'A Story to Tell' lifestory project which she has co-ordinated from January 2009.The project looks at the stories told by older adults with an intellectual disability across Ireland, at how life is perceived and interpreted by people with intellectual disabilities.

Elena Moore

Elena graduated from DCU with a BA degree in European Business and German in 2004 and completed an MSc in Applied Social Research, TCD in 2006. She is undertaking PhD research on custody and access agreements and arrangements based on attending family circuit court cases. Her research will also cover a qualitative review of family transition and how access and custody orders shape the level and nature of contact between parents and their children.

Marita O’Brien

Marita O’Brien graduated from UCD with a BA degree in Social Policy and Linguistics in 1999 and completed an MSc in Applied Social Research, TCD in 2003. She was a research and teaching fellow with UCD School of Applied Social Science from 2004 to 2005, where she taught in the area of needs and service provision for older people and evaluation research. She joined the Social Policy and Ageing Research Programme in October 2005 on a PhD Studentship funded by Atlantic Philanthropies.
Marita O'Brien is undertaking PhD research on assessment and decision-making in the discharge of older people from acute hospital, focusing on older people's participation in this process.

Ciara O'Dwyer

Ciara is a Research Fellow and part-time PhD student in the Social Policy and Ageing Research Centre (SPARC). Her PhD is funded through the Social Policy and Ageing Programme. The aim of her PhD is to explore the process through which the National Quality Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People in Ireland , published in March 2008 by the Health and Information Quality Authority, were developed. The thesis will take the form of a retrospective stakeholder analysis. It is hoped that the findings from the research will provide policy-makers with more information on the potential benefits and shortcomings of using a similar approach to develop standards in related sectors, both in Ireland and elsewhere (e.g. home care for older people, residential care for people with disabilities). Ciara holds a Masters of Science in Applied Social Research (2004) and a postgraduate Diploma in Statistics (2004) from Trinity College Dublin. She received a higher second class honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and English from Trinity College Dublin, with first class honours in sociology. Prior to commencing work in Trinity College, Ciara worked as a Research Consultant with Fitzpatrick Associates Economic Consultants. She has also worked as a researcher on the National Flexi-Work Partnership, in Trinity College and for Goodbody Economic Consultants.

Caroline O'Nolan

Caroline's PhD research is concerned with policy issues that arise within the Irish Criminal Justice system as a result of changes in offender profiles which have accompanied recent high levels of immigration. Her research examines the treatment of immigrants within the Irish Criminal Court system and specifically the District Court system and is part of the wider Trinity Immigration Initiative. Caroline's research is supervised by Dr Eoin O'Sullivan and funded by a Trinity Postgraduate Studentship. Caroline holds a BA in Sociology and Social Policy from TCD.

Treena Parsons

Treena is undertaking a PhD as part of the 'Living with Dementia' programme.  She is carrying out an exploratory study into the experience of reminiscence therapy amongst people with dementia in Ireland.  She holds a psychology degree from the Open University and an MSc in Social Work from Royal Holloway, University of London.  She has worked for many years in England, most recently as a Care Manager for Surrey County Council.  She is supervised by Dr Suzanne Cahill.

Maria Pierce

Maria Pierce is a Ph.D. student affiliated to The Social Policy and Ageing Research Programme, School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin. Her doctoral thesis is examining the social construction of ageing in Ireland. Before joining the Ageing and Social Policy Programme in TCD, Maria was a staff member of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University College Dublin (UCD) and held the position of Research and Teaching Fellow there from September 2001 to September 2004.

Eoghan Quigley

Eoghan's PhD research examines the contemporary history of Irish drug policy from an international perspective. His research is supervised by Dr Shane Butler. Eoghan holds a BA in Sociology and Social Policy. His research was previously funded by a Trinity Postgraduate Studentship, and is currently funded through an Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) Government of Ireland Research Scholarship.

Maria Quinlan

Maria is currently undertaking a PhD in the area of career development and progression, focusing specifically on the financial and professional services in Ireland . This research aims to explore the attitudinal and structural barriers and enablers to career progression. This study uses a mixed quantitative and qualitative methodological approach. Maria's other research interests include the political economy of the media, news values and issues of representation in the media. Maria holds a BA in Sociology and English from UCD (1997),  and an MA in Media Studies from DIT (2004). Prior to pursuing her PhD full-time, Maria spent over eight years working as a researcher within the telecommunications industry.

Paul Sargent

Paul is researching the Irish Juvenile Justice System from a 'governmentality' perspective. In so doing, he draws inspiration from the work of Michel Foucault who pioneered this particular theoretical approach. The completed research will take the form of a 'history of the present' and will be influenced by authors such as Mitchell Dean, Nikolas Rose and others working within the 'governmentality' tradition.   

Jennifer Scholtz

Jennifer is a postgraduate researcher on the ‘Trinity Immigration Initiative: Children, Youth and Community Relations Project' which aims to explore the relations between Irish and migrant young people using primary schools as research hubs. Her Ph.D research project, entitled 'Immigration, Identity and Children's Community Relations', is funded by a Family Support Agency Postgraduate Research Scholarship. Prior to joining the Centre, Jennifer completed a Diploma in Public Relations through the Public Relations Institute of Ireland in 2003 and in 2006 she was awarded a BA in Sociology and Social Policy from University College Dublin. She has also completed an MSocSc in Sociology at UCD for which her dissertation title was; ' Between the National Action Plan Against Racism and a Taskforce on Integration: Discourses of Integration in Ireland '. Since 1995 Jennifer has been involved in youth work and various youth development projects both in Ireland and South Africa. She is also a member of the Discovery Gospel Choir. Jennifer's research interests include immigration and integration; social networks and social capital; citizenship, identity and belonging.

Lesley Sherlock

Leslie is a PhD student in TCD's Children's Research Centre under the supervision of Dr. Paula Mayock. Previously she worked as a researcher, authoring projects for the Crisis Pregnancy Agency as well as work for European Group on Gender and Employment. She holds an MA in Women's Studies from UCD (1:1) where she evaluated the Relationships and Sexuality Education programme (RSE). She also holds BA degrees in Business Administration and in Accounting with a minor concentration in Mathematics from Graceland University, Iowa, USA. Before coming to academia, Leslie held an eight year career in NGOs, having worked primarily in grants management and accounting for America's 'Head Start' preschool programme, also working in direct service provision with homeless people and volunteering extensively in rape crisis work. She has served on a number of NGO boards, including an upcoming position on the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) board and the committee for Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) for the past year. She frequently facilitates workshops on gender, sexual health, sexuality and sexual empowerment. Leslie is funded by IRCHSS and her working thesis title is 'Reconceptualising Sexual Health Services for Dublin's 'at-risk' Adolescent Girls'. Her theoretical interests include queer and feminist theories. She combines theoretical knowledge with her career background, aiming to critically evaluate existing sexual health services. She uses qualitative ethnographic research methods to identify holistic models of best practice and formulate conclusions based on lived embodied experiences of a radically inclusive service user base.

Alana Smith

A graduate of State University of New York (BA:History and Minor:French) and the New School (MS:Urban Policy Analysis), Alana is currently undertaking PhD research that explores the housing pathways of labour migrants in Dublin. She is part of the Trinity Immigration Initiative National Policy Impacts research group supervised by Dr Eoin O'Sullivan and her work is funded by a Trinity Postgraduate Scholarship and the Centre for Housing Research. Alana's wider interests lay in social equity issues, homelessness, community reinvestment and real estate finance. Prior to starting her project, Alana was a Project Manager for Enterprise Community Partners where she oversaw a portfolio of NGOs and mission-aligned private companies engaged in building affordable housing in NYC.

Kathryn Waterhouse

Kate is undertaking her PhD in conjunction with the Trinity Immigration Initiative and is funded by a Trinity Postgraduate Research Studentship. Her research, supervised by Dr. Eoin O'Sullivan, focuses on issues of language and interpreting as related to immigrants in the Irish criminal justice system. She holds a B.A. in Applied Languages from DCU and an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUIG. Before starting with the School of Social Work and Social Policy she worked as an intern with the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre in New Delhi.

Austin Warters

Austin qualified as a social worker in Sheffield University in 1983 and has worked in social services and child protection in England , Scotland and in Ireland since 1994. He was Principal Social Worker in Co Meath before being seconded to lead a national project on the implementation of Children First, the national child abuse guidelines. For the last 3 years he has been working in the area of elder abuse, and has a particular interest in institutional abuse.

Austin is undertaking his Phd work on a part-time basis and his research interest is elder abuse in nursing homes, with a particular focus in why staff do not report abuse and/or their experience where they have reported it. The work involves both the public and private sector. He is supervised by Dr Evelyn Mahon.