Connie Healy

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 wasentitled Resolution of Conflict in Family Law Matters: An Alternative and Child-InclusiveApproach and was funded by the Irish Research Council.

Dr Healy's current research project, funded by Research Ireland (COALESCE - 2024-2026), aims to develop a model of child-inclusive mediation with input from key stakeholders to include, parents, medaitors and most importantly children themselves -https://www.universityofgalway.ie/business-public-policy-law/school-of-law/research/researchprojects/vocalresearchproject/

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 atthe University of Limerick.

In addtion, she has held a number of roles within the College of Business, Public Policy and Law to include: Director of Marketing and Promotions at the Law School (2015 - 2018); Programme director for the LL.M General and the LL.M in International and Comparative Business Law (2018-2023). In 2022, Connie was appointed Vice-Dean for Teaching and Learning at the College of Business, Public Policy and Law, completing her term as Vice-Dean in September 2023.

Connie's research interests include Childrens Rights, Alternative Dispute Resolution, 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.

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.