Graduate Student, Law
About
At present, I am completing a PhD study in the area of minority language rights in Ireland, Scotland and northern Ireland. In particualr, the thesis focuses on the application of language legislative regimes and the realisation of rights under such regimes. My research study is being conducted under the supervision of Professor Siobhan Mullally.
The objective of my thesis is to probe further the impact and application of langauge legislation, in practice. The thesis seeks to critically analyse the application of language legislation and the fulfilment of language rights in Ireland and Scotland from a positive duty perspective. This examination takes place against the background of shifts in international human rights law recognising language rights as positive rights demanding positive obligations as opposed to negative rights. Adopting a positive duty/obligations approach to this study offers the opportunity to critically examine language regimes in practice. In particular, to analyse the impact such legislation has in terms of fulfilling rights and also as a tool contributing to language use and language promotion.
Before commencing on my doctoral study I worked as a legal researcher for the Law Reform Commission of Ireland and the Irish Penal Reform Trust.
