Dr. Maria de Almeida Silva

Dr. Maria de Almeida Silva

Dr Maria de Almeida Silva completed her Ph.D. in University of Galway's School of Law on access to justice for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) defendants in the Irish District Courts in December of 2023. This project was the first empirical study on the experiences of LEP defendants in the provincial District Courts with a focus on the implementation of national and international legislation, including the constitutional right to a fair trial, the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU Directive 2010/64 on interpreting and translation in criminal proceedings.  Maria is a social-legal researcher with an interest that focuses on access to justice and on access to health for persons with limited knowledge of English living in the Republic of Ireland. 

As a trained Portuguese/Spanish language interpreter, Maria has been working in Ireland as a legal interpreter for the Irish justice system in the Courts, Gardai stations and with the Irish Probation Service, the Prison Service, the Work Relations Commission (WRC) and with various legal teams bringing cases to the Circuit Court and the High Court since 2006.

Maria is a graduate of University of Galway with a Bachelor of Arts (Public and Social Policy), a Bachelor of Law LL. B and a Master of Laws Degree (Public Law). She is originally from Lisbon and has lived in Galway, Ireland, for over twenty-five years. Over this period, Maria has been assisting migrants, including asylum seekers and undocumented persons accessing justice and healthcare in Ireland. Maria is a founding member and the current chairperson of the only official Portuguese association in Ireland (P.A.I.). She has been involved with various migrant groups, including the Galway City Intercultural Forum (chairperson 2009/2012), member of the Ministerial Council on Integration, Connacht/Ulster appointee of the Office of the Minister of State for Integration,  Department of Justice and Equality (2009/2013), the western representative board member for the Integration Centre, Immigrant Network in Dublin (2008 /2010) and the chairperson of the Galway County Intercultural Forum (2012/2017).