Caroline McGregor was apppointed to NUI Galway, now University of Galway in 2012 as Professor at the School of Political Science and Sociology (Social Work) and Senior Researcher at the UNECSO Child and Family Research Centre.  Caroline is also the Director of the Institute for Lifecourse and Society (ILAS) since Sept 2024.  Formerly known as Dr Skehill, Caroline worked at Queen's University as Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Social Work from 1999-2012.  Before this, she worked and studied at Trinity College and practiced as a child protection and welfare social worker in Dublin, Ireland.  Caroline qualified in 1992 and throughout her career, her work has focused on areas including child protection, welfare and family support,  safeguarding across the lifecourse, history of the present approaches and sociio legal practice. In her role as Director of ILAS, she is currently engaged in leading the Institute focused on an integrative approach to research, teaching, policy and practice to enable equity across the lifecourse. Increasingly, her work focuses on participatory research methodologies, public engagement, promotion of knowledge equity approaches and policy and societal impact.  

Current research interests include: Protective Support and Supportive Protection, Support and Protection across the lifecourse, Child and Family policy in Ireland including child protection and welfare, family support and community services, Child Protection and Welfare Social Work as a Socio-Legal Practice, Young People In and Leaving care, mentoring and youth support, Cultural Competence in Social work, critical social theory and practice connections, histories to inform the present in Ireland and Europe,  political and civic engagement of marginalised young people, Research impact within context of the Ecological Model and Science Advocacy .

Teaching and Training Interests Include: child protection and welfare social work,  protective support and supportive protection, Support and protection across the lifecourse, history and present critical social work, children in and leaving care, critical social work perspectives, nternational European perspectives, culturalcompetence; history of social work, inclusive research methods, research practice and social work, human rights and social work.