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Dr. Connie Healy

B.Comm,.LL.B.,PhD

 
researcher
 

Biography

 Dr. Connie Healy holds a B.Comm and LL.B from the National University of Ireland, Galway. She was admitted as a solicitor by the Law Society of Ireland and practised for a number of years, specialising in civil and commercial litigation. She is an accredited mediator (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, London) and is a trained collaborative lawyer. Connie completed her PhD in 2014. Her doctoral thesis was entitled "Resolution of Conflict in Family Law Matters: An Alternative and Child-Inclusive Approach" and was funded by the Irish Research Council.

Connie has won a number of awards nationally and internationally to include scholarships from the Commission on European Family Law; the Irish Association of Law Teachers; The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Limerick, the American Family Conciliation Courts and Irish Research Council (New Foundations). From 2020 to 2023, she authored the Thematic Report on the Rights of the Child for the EU Fundamental Rights Authority and was a member of the Family Justice Oversight Group (2021/2022) providing advice on reform of the family law courts in Ireland.

Prior to taking up her post at the Law School, NUI Galway, she lectured at the University of Limerick.  Connie has been Director of Marketing and Promotions at the Law School from 2015 to 2018. From 2018 to 2023, she was programme director for the LL.M General and the LL.M in International and Comparative Business Law. In 2022, Connie was appointed Vice-Dean for Teaching and Learning at the College of Business, Public Policy and Law.          

Research Interests

 Connie's research interests lie in the fields of Children's Rights. Alternative Dispute Resolution / Commercial Mediation, and Family Law. She is particularly interested in the benefits of a multi-disciplnary approach to law and legal education.  She has undertaken research into the potential benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to conflict resolution within the Family Courts system and the benefits of taking a life-course approach.  

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
Towards a Unified Family Courts' System in Ireland: The Lessons from Baltimore 19-MAY-19 05-JUN-19
New Foundations 2018 - Towards a Unified Family Courts' System in Ireland: The Lessons from Baltimore 01-MAY-19 30-OCT-19
IRC POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP 2016 MARIA CORBETT - To thoroughly examine and critically assess the extent to which Ireland's child protection decision-making mechanisms are ensuring the child and his or her parent's access to justice in accordance wit 01-SEP-16 30-SEP-23

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2021) '`Still my parents¿ child¿: Breaking through the Barriers of determining Best Interests and Voice of the Child post Separation and Divorce'
Connie Healy (2021) '`Still my parents¿ child¿: Breaking through the Barriers of determining Best Interests and Voice of the Child post Separation and Divorce'. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 33 [Details]
(2017) 'Commentary on CD v ST'
Healy, C (2017) 'Commentary on CD v ST'. Rewriting Children'S Rights Judgments: From Academic Vision To New Practice, :105-113 [Details]
(2021) 'Reform of the Family Courts: Lessons from Baltimore'
Connie Healy (2021) 'Reform of the Family Courts: Lessons from Baltimore'. Family Court Review, [Details]
(2021) 'Reform of the Family Courts: An Interdisciplinary Approach'
Connie Healy (2021) 'Reform of the Family Courts: An Interdisciplinary Approach'. Irish Journal Of Family Law, 24 (1) :9-16 [Details]
(2017) 'Once more with 'sympathy' but no resolution for intended mothers: the EU, Ireland and the surrogacy dilemma'
Healy, C (2017) 'Once more with 'sympathy' but no resolution for intended mothers: the EU, Ireland and the surrogacy dilemma'. Journal Of Social Welfare And Family Law, 39 :504-519 [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2015) 'Dispute Resolution through Collaborative Practce: A Comparative Analysis'
Healy, Connie (2015) 'Dispute Resolution through Collaborative Practce: A Comparative Analysis'. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 27 (21):173-193 [Details]
(2013) 'On the plus side, I empathise more with my clients. On the negative side, I empathise more with my clients! - Training as a Collaborative Lawyer: An Empirical Analysis'
Healy, Connie (2013) 'On the plus side, I empathise more with my clients. On the negative side, I empathise more with my clients! - Training as a Collaborative Lawyer: An Empirical Analysis'. Irish Journal Of Family Law, (3) [Details]
(2011) 'American and Irish Perspectives on Collaborative Practice'
Healy, Connie (2011) 'American and Irish Perspectives on Collaborative Practice'. Irish Journal Of Family Law, 14 (4) [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2010) 'The Collaborative Process, a 'Mechanism' to Hear the Voice of the Child?''
Healy, Connie (2010) 'The Collaborative Process, a 'Mechanism' to Hear the Voice of the Child?''. Irish Journal Of Family Law, 13 (4) [Details]

Books

  Year Publication
(2017) Collaborative Practice: An International Research Perspective.
Healy, Connie (2017) Collaborative Practice: An International Research Perspective. London: Routledge. [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2023) 'Financial consequences of ending marriage: Private ordering'
Connie Healy (2023) 'Financial consequences of ending marriage: Private ordering' In: Family Law in Context. Dublin: Clarus Press. [Details]
(2017) 'Commentary on CD v ST'
Healy, Connie (2017) 'Commentary on CD v ST' In: Rewriting Children's Rights Judgments: From Academic Vision to New Practice. London: Hart. [Details]
(2014) 'Collaborative Practice: An Interdisciplinary Approah to the Resolution of Conflcit in Family Law Matters'
Healy. Connie (2014) 'Collaborative Practice: An Interdisciplinary Approah to the Resolution of Conflcit in Family Law Matters' In: Family Law and Culture in Europe. :119-134 Cambridge: Intersentia. [Details]

Published Reports

  Year Publication
(2022) ¿ Thematic Report on the Rights of the Child, EU Fundamental Rights Authority Report.
Connie Healy (2022) ¿ Thematic Report on the Rights of the Child, EU Fundamental Rights Authority Report. Fundamental Rights Authority, Fundamental Rights Authority. [Details]
(2020) Thematic Report on the Rights of the Child, EU Fundamental Rights Authority Report.
Connie Healy (2020) Thematic Report on the Rights of the Child, EU Fundamental Rights Authority Report. Fundamental Rights Authority, Fundamental Rights Authority. [Details]
(2021) Thematic Report on the Rights of the Child, EU Fundamental Rights Authority Report, 2020.
Connie Healy (2021) Thematic Report on the Rights of the Child, EU Fundamental Rights Authority Report, 2020. Fundamental Rights Authority, Fundamental Rights Authority. [Details]

Other Journals

  Year Publication
(2012) 'The Child Specialist in Collaborative Practice'
Healy, Connie (2012) 'The Child Specialist in Collaborative Practice' The Collaborative Review, Journal of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, 12 (1) . [Details]
(2006) 'Resolve Conflict through Mediation'
Healy, Connie (2006) 'Resolve Conflict through Mediation' Inside Business, 1 . [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2022) Human Centred Design,
Professor Shannon Salter (2022) Human Centered Court Design. [Conference Organising Committee Chairperson], Human Centred Design, Online , 01-MAR-22 - 31-MAR-22. [Details]
(2016) Irish Association of Law Teachers,
Healy, Connie (2016) The Voice of the Child from the Perspective of Young Adults. [Oral Presentation], Irish Association of Law Teachers, Galway , 26-NOV-16 - 26-NOV-16. [Details]
(2017) Worild Conference on Family Law and Children's Rights,
Healy, Connie (2017) Child Participation: An alternative perspective. [Oral Presentation], Worild Conference on Family Law and Children's Rights, Dublin , 06-JUN-17 - 06-JUN-17. [Details]
(2015) Conference on the Children and Families Relationship Act,
Healy, C (2015) The Children and Families Relationship Act 2015: Enforcement Mechanisms. [Conference Paper], Conference on the Children and Families Relationship Act, University of Limerick , 19-APR-15 - 19-APR-15. [Details]
(2015) Association of Family Conciliation Court's Conference,
Healy, Connie and O'Kelly, Ann (2015) Divorce in Ireland: Children and Young Persons' Perspectives. [Conference Paper], Association of Family Conciliation Court's Conference, New Orleans , 30-MAY-15 - 30-MAY-15. [Details]
(2014) Irish Association of Law Teachers,
Healy, Connie (2014) Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks: Resistance to Collaborative Practice amongst Lawyers. [Conference Paper], Irish Association of Law Teachers, Kilkenny , 16-NOV-14. [Details]
(2014) Society of Legal Scholars,
Healy, Connie (2014) Dispute Resolution through Collaborative Practice: An Irish and English Empirical Analysis. [Conference Paper], Society of Legal Scholars, Edinburgh , 06-SEP-14. [Details]
(2013) Irish Society of Comparative law,
Healy, Connie (2013) Collaborative Practice:The Critics' View. [Conference Paper], Irish Society of Comparative law, National University of Irelad, Galway , 25-MAY-13. [Details]
(2013) Family Law and Culture in Europe,
Healy, Connie (2013) Collaborative Practice: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Resolution of Conflict in Family Law Matters. [Conference Paper], Family Law and Culture in Europe, Bonn, Germany , 29-AUG-13. [Details]
(2012) Irish Society of Comparative Law,
Healy, Connie (2012) The Uniform Collaborative Law Act: Law for the US alone or relevant to Ireland?. [Conference Paper], Irish Society of Comparative Law, University College Cork , 10-MAR-12. [Details]
(2012) The Normative Anatomy of Society - Relations between Norms and the Law in the 21st Century,
Healy, Connie (2012) Applying Norms to Relationship Breakdown: Black or White or a spectrum of shades between the extremes?. [Conference Paper], The Normative Anatomy of Society - Relations between Norms and the Law in the 21st Century, Lund, Sweeden , 05-APR-12. [Details]
(2011) Irish Association of Law Teachers,
Healy, Connie (2011) Collaborative Practice: A Value Added Approach to Separation and Divorce in Contemporary Ireland?. [Conference Paper], Irish Association of Law Teachers, Athlone , 19-NOV-11. [Details]
(2010) Law Student Colloquium, Trinity College Dublin,
Healy, Connie (2010) Rethinking Family Law, Examining the Collabortive Law Process as a Means of Giving a Voice to Children in accordance with our Obligations under Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. [Conference Paper], Law Student Colloquium, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin , 20-FEB-10. [Details]

Editorial

  Year Publication
(2017) Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) CD v ST.
Healy, C,di Torella, EC,Stalford, H,Hollingsworth, K,Gilmore, S (2017) Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) CD v ST. Editorial [Details]

Guest Lectures

  Year Publication
(2014) Collaborative Practice and Children.
Healy, Connie (2014) Collaborative Practice and Children. Guest Lectures [Details]
(2013) Collaborative Practice: Initial Research Findings.
Healy, Connie (2013) Collaborative Practice: Initial Research Findings. Guest Lectures [Details]

Seminar

  Year Publication
(2014) Children and Divorce: Lessons Learned, Lessons Lost.
Healy, Connie (2014) Children and Divorce: Lessons Learned, Lessons Lost. Seminar [Details]
(2014) Seminar on the Voice of the Child: Key Issues for the Judiciary.
Healy, Connie (2014) Seminar on the Voice of the Child: Key Issues for the Judiciary. Seminar [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2019 Irish Research Council (New Foundations) Irish Research Council
2019 Erasmus Mobility and Delta Scholarship EU
2017 Millennium Research Fund, NUI Galway NUI Galway
2014 Travel Bursary, Irish Research Council/ Irish Social Sciences Platform Irish Research Council/ Irish Social Sciences Platform
2014 Funding from the Faculty of Art, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Limerick University of Limerick
2014 Scholarship from the American Family Conciliation Courts American Family Conciliation Courts
2013 Commission on European Family Law Commission on European Family Law
2011 Postgraduate Scholarship, Irish Association of Law Teachers Irish Association of Law Teachers
2010 Scholarship from the International Academy of Collabortive Professionals International Academy of Collabortive Professionals
2010 NUI Galway Research Scholarship National University of Ireland, Galway
2010 Irish Research Council Irish Research Council
1991 Internship with the Office of the Public Defender, Los Angeles American Bar Association

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, London Member 08-JAN-06 /
Law Society of Ireland Member /

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
University of Limerick Teaching Assistant 27-JAN-14 / 29-JUN-15
National University of Ireland Galway Part-time lecturer 05-SEP-10 / 12-DEC-13
Brian Lynch and Associates Litigation Solicitor /

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2016 National University of Ireland, Galway Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning Teaching
2014 National University of Ireland Galway PhD Family Law
1994 Law Society of Ireland Solicitor Law

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Teaching (e.g. Service learning / comunity based learning) "Children's Rights in Ireland" 22-FEB-14 / 22-FEB-15
Teaching (e.g. Service learning / comunity based learning) "Children's Rights in Ireland" 20-FEB-15 / 20-FEB-15

Teaching Interests

 Teaching Interests include: Family Law;  Company Law; Business Law; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Constitutional Law; Administrative Law and  Human Rights.Completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning, CELT, NUI Galway (2016)
Programme Director of the LLM ( General) and LL.M in International and Comparative Business Law - winner of the gradireland Postgraduate course in Law 2020.

 

Recent Postgraduate Students

  Graduation Name Degree Primary Supervisor
2012 Colm Conway
2011 Jennifer Cunningham

Internal Collaborators

  Name Description of Collaboration
O'Kelly, Ann
 Collaboration with Ann O’Kelly of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway 2015.                  

External Collaborators

  Name Organisation / Institute Country Description of Collaboration
Children's Rights Judgment Re-Writing Project European Children's Rights Centre, University of Liverpool UNITED KINGDOM
Judgment Re-Writing Project
External Collaborators
                       International collaboration as part of the Children’s Rights Judgments Project 2015-2017, European Children’s Rights Unit, University of Liverpool. Appointed to the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals Research Committee (USA) to analyse collated statistical data and to contribute to their journal, The Collaborative Review.

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