Across decades, you have worked directly with leading international development organisations, ranging from UN agencies, governments, and bilateral donors to NGOs and more. What inspired you to pursue this career path?

I’ve always been curious about different places and geographies. My uncle, who lived in the Philippines, would write to us on delicate tissue-thin pages, each letter adorned with vivid and unusual stamps that captured my imagination. As a teenager, those letters became my window into a vast and diverse world beyond Ireland. 

After obtaining a Bachelor of Education, I taught in inner-city Dublin, where I witnessed firsthand the impact of poverty on children’s ability to attend school regularly and achieve their full learning potential. It became clear to me how deeply inequalities influence life’s opportunities, restricting access to education and limiting future prospects – the inequities were real, affecting every part of a child’s education and ability to dream of a different future. 

Having also taught in Spain and the UK, I remained curious about different social systems and how they shape the way people live and move and adapt to their surroundings. I travelled to India, a country so rich in culture but burdened by inequalities. Studying international development at the University of East Anglia, I was the only Irish student in my class. This gave me the opportunity to learn from peers from diverse regions and backgrounds, including South America, Africa, and the Pacific region, each bringing their own perspectives on the world’s most pressing challenges. 

I worked at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation on a programme in socioeconomic and gender analysis across Asia and Africa. This programme supported UN-funded initiatives by asking socioeconomic questions as part of a technical project, aiming to ensure work was grounded in local contexts. My journey was shaped by my interest in different cultures and environments, my travels, and my deep desire to understand the complexities of inequality. 

In addition to holding the role of Programme Director of the MA in International Development Practice, you lead two Irish Research Council (IRC) COALESCE-funded research projects. Can you give us a brief overview of these projects and their goals?

I worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) evaluating climate change and migration work in global initiatives, as I had prior experience evaluating programmes to support migrant domestic workers. I also reviewed a UNICEF programme supporting children on the move in the Horn of Africa, and consulted for Irish Aid. These experiences grounded my research proposals to the IRC COALESCE programme.

In collaboration with Addis Ababa University, we investigated how climate change impacts rural households and documented their perspectives on migration as an adaptation strategy. We also examined how social safety nets (access to cash and work opportunities) can enhance household resilience or facilitate mobility. Although climate-related disasters and slow-onset climate changes are affecting rural areas, our research found that those who migrated were primarily seeking jobs, bringing their rural and agricultural skills with them to urban areas. Our second IRC COALESCE project builds on these findings by exploring how support for rural-to-urban migrants can leverage their existing skills, clarifying what ‘green jobs’ mean in the East African context, and assessing whether climate finance mechanisms are effectively supporting this transition.

Our research aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1.3 (social protection), 10.7 (migration), and 13 (climate action). At COP28 I presented our work on the role of social safety nets for climate-related loss and damage, and moderated a panel discussion, underscoring the importance of our findings on the global stage.

As a UN Evaluator and Consultant, you’ve worked on a range of projects, particularly on child labour in agriculture. Can you describe the problem, and any solutions? 

International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 182 defines the worst forms of child labour, including mining, children as soldiers, prostitution, and hazardous work that harms children’s development. Child labour in agriculture is complex, and there are hazards for children in handling pesticides, operating heavy machinery, or engaging in strenuous labour. Long hours in the fields can lead to heatstroke, dehydration, or water-borne illnesses. Excessive physical work at a young age can lead to musculoskeletal injuries and stunted growth, and affect the ability of children to attend school. 

However, it is common worldwide – including in Ireland – for children in rural areas to help on family farms. Working in agriculture only becomes a challenge if it is physically damaging and prevents children from attending school, which can impede their future opportunities. Literacy is crucial for children’s futures – without basic reading and maths skills, they struggle throughout life. Illiteracy can prevent youth from understanding safety instructions, legal notices, or contracts, forcing them to rely on others for essential tasks.  

Through project evaluations, I assessed efforts to facilitate access to education, but poverty remains the main barrier. As one mother told me, she couldn’t send her child to school because there was no one to scare away birds from her newly planted crops – and there was no transportation to school in any case. School feeding programmes – a form of social protection – play a vital role in encouraging attendance, offering both sustenance and a reason to stay in school. 

You supported the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as an Expert Advisor in Working Group II, to scope the Panel’s Seventh Assessment Report, focusing on climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Can you explore your contribution at the intersection of climate change and human migration? 

I was honoured to be nominated by the Government to the Intergovernmental Panel, as an invited expert at a meeting to ‘scope out’ the outline for the next report. IPCC reports are published every 5 to 7 years and serve as the most authoritative assessments of the latest climate science, impacts, adaptation, and mitigation strategies. I participated in Working Group II, which focuses on assessing the impacts of climate change, adaptation strategies, and vulnerabilities. 

Working on this Panel with experts from every country was an exciting opportunity, and my experience, research, and ongoing work on migration and human mobility in the context of climate change enabled me to contribute substantively to this important work. 

I made efforts to ensure the scope of the new report highlighted how poverty intersects with the ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Compiling the agenda with colleagues, we discussed content for social protection or cash transfers to support climate change adaptation. Our Group worked closely with the others (Working Group I on the physical science of climate change and Working Group III on mitigation strategies) to present an integrated understanding of climate change. 

In February 2025, world governments gathered in Hangzhou in China to agree the draft outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), a landmark moment in the global effort to tackle climate change. 

You are currently undertaking research under the theme of Just Transition. Can you break down this theme into core concepts, describing its framework as applied to our contemporary global climate, both environmental and societal? 

Just Transition is concerned with ensuring fairness in climate actions, so that shifts toward sustainability do not worsen existing inequalities. Ideally, shifts to carbon neutral economies should strive to create opportunities for more just and resilient societies. The Just Transition concept has been gaining prominence since 2009, when the International Labour Organization held discussions with governments, trade unions, and employers to ensure that workers reliant on high-carbon industries receive retraining and support to diversify their livelihoods. The concept of Just Transition has now moved beyond workers in fossil fuel-intensive industries, to ensure those designing climate policies consider social justice. Inevitable change should prevent disproportionate burdens on vulnerable populations. Ireland’s Climate Action Plan and Just Transition Commission are already integrating these principles into policymaking. Key principles must include a focus on equity, recognising that climate change impacts are experienced unevenly. Without resources it is more difficult to adapt or readjust lifestyles, even though vulnerable and low-income groups may use less resources. 

My colleague Dr Hanna-Kaisa Hoppania from Political Science and I organised two ENLIGHT Galway Summer Schools focused on Equity and Sustainability Transitions. These were really powerful, with students discussing these issues at length. We also had contributions from colleagues across the University, enriching the discussions. We aligned the summer schools to our University’s Strategic Plan, where sustainability is a core value. Thirty postgraduate students from our University and seven other ENLIGHT universities unpacked what these concepts can look like in practice, exploring how to shift toward a low-carbon economy while ensuring that individuals, communities, and workers are not left behind. 

Continuing the discussion on Just Transition, can you describe key issues in this theme, how they will be investigated, your aspiration for a Just Transition cluster, and how the Ryan Institute can help facilitate these outcomes. 

University of Galway is well-positioned to lead in Just Transition research. Staff and students have strong interest in ensuring climate change actions embrace equity and enable pathways to Just Transition. The concept of Just Transition is increasingly shaping funding landscapes, and it would be important not to miss opportunities for funding, partnerships, and education. A research cluster on Just Transition would address key contemporary knowledge gaps related to the social, economic, and environmental consequences of shifting to a low-carbon economy. University of Galway research could enhance policy impact and the visibility of global research. The research could also lead to curriculum integration, ensuring our University remains at the forefront of cutting-edge interdisciplinary work.  

We already have active research in key areas, including climate mitigation and adaptation, social protection, energy transition, gender equality, and human mobility. In Geography, we have research on social protection and climate change adaptation, sustainable consumption and energy citizenship. In the Centre for Global Women’s Studies, we investigate gender, equality, and policy in this context. The Ryan Institute’s Agriculture, Food Systems, and Bioeconomy Research Centre is looking at climate resilience. Complementing all of this is research on climate change and human rights in the Irish Centre for Human Rights. 

The interdisciplinary topic domain of Just Transition, Equity and Climate Change would help to connect climate action-related research across the University with social impact. A focus on policy processes would also ensure that our University provides innovative contributions that have impact. The Ryan Institute’s Centre for International Development Innovation (CIDI) offers an excellent platform for networking and the sharing of research results, webinars, and debates. 

I strongly believe that a Just Transition research cluster at University of Galway can connect climate action research with social impact across disciplines, and facilitate policy contributions that directly influence decision-making. Initiatives such as these strengthen our global research networks and international collaborations. This Just Transition research cluster could contribute to the global public good and support Ireland’s role in climate action and social justice. 

Find out more about the Ryan Institute here.