Dr Reilly is an Associate Professor in Geography, specialising in research focused on social, cultural and environmental themes. She completed her PhD at University of Galway in 2009; this work was funded by a prestigious Government of Ireland Postgraduate Research Scholarship funded by the Irish Research Council. Dr Reilly's PhD explored geographies of educational opportunity in Ireland, the UK and France. Following this work, Dr Reilly was appointed as a Postdoctoral Researcher on a Marie Curie and Irish Research Council funded project, working with Dr Valerie Ledwith, exploring migrant educational experiences in Galway City and urban-fringe. This work focused specifically on issues of educational attainment, achievement and aspiration. In 2010 - 2011 Kathy was appointed as a Lecturer in Geography at St Patrick's College (Dublin City University), where she further developed her interest in critical geographies of children, young people and families. In 2012 Dr Reilly returned to Galway as a University Fellow and was appointed lecturer in Geography in 2014. Dr Reilly was a Dobbins Scholar in 2014, where she spent time as a Visiting Fellow in Geography at University of York in Canada. From 2016 - 2019 Dr Reilly held the position of Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) for the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies. She has won numerous teaching awards (a European Comenious Award to support teaching and a team award for teaching excellence from NAIRTL) and was recognised as a National Teaching Hero for her work supporting student learning during the global pandemic in 2021. In recognition for her work as Chair of EUGEO 2019 (with Professor Frances Fahy) Dr Reilly was awarded the inaugural Spotlight on Sustainability Award and was recognised for her excellence in conference organisation by Fáilte Ireland . In 2024, as part of her work on the CCC-CATAPULT project, she was awarded an ENLIGHT IMPACT Award.

My expertise and central research interests straddle a number of arenas within critical geographic inquiry; these include: geographies of children, young people and families; geographies of social justice (migration and homelessness); and participative field-based research practice. To date my research has engaged communities in Ireland, France, UK, Finland, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Canada. My research practice is principally underpinned by participative field-based methodologies, allowing for co-productive and creative methods with various communities in Ireland and globally. I acknowledge the need to work with research communities within and beyond the academic, connecting with community collaborators, activists and practitioners across various disciplinary fields. I am cognisant to the importance of listening to the communities with whom I work and in allowing the development of a reciprocal dialogue, whereby future research agendas and methodological design are informed by and through conversations with collaborating partners. I have also had success in securing funding and financial support for a number of on-going projects.

Ongoing research projects:

• LOcalised ADaptation (LOAD) for Climate Change in Ireland and Timor-Leste: Co-Developing Frameworks for Nature-based-Solutions (Marine Institute, as funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs):

As part of the Our Shared Ocean Programme, the LOAD project investigates the application of good practice in adaptation implementation methods to address knowledge gaps in Ireland and Timor Leste. The outcome is to tailor good practice and guidance on key elements at certain procedural stages invoking the values and practices inherent to a nature-based solutions (NbS) approach. With a focus on adaptation, the project aims to develop a `learning comparison, co-producing reciprocal and multi-directional knowledge transfer between Timor-Leste and Ireland to enhance NbS capacities in both countries. Focusing on a small number of case studies, the project harnesses local expertise to develop a series of location-specific adaptation measures. The site-specificity of this approach contrasts with mitigation initiatives that often occur at the national scale. The project incorporates co-productive, creative and qualitative methodologies that can be tailored to support outputs that are distinctly local and therefore will have immediate impact and influence. The developed methodological sequence in itself presents a valuable output, in that the steps can be replicated across any site with capacity to acknowledge local contexts. The LOAD project will run from January 2024 December 2026. The project PI is Dr Kevin Lynch and the Co-PI is Dr Kathy Reilly from the Geography Department at the University of Galway. The project is also joined by PhD researcher Arsenia de Cruz from Timor Leste. For further details on the project contact: [email protected] or [email protected] .

• CCC-CATAPULT (Childrens Agency to Tackle Policy Underpinned by Learning for Transformation; JPI CLIMATE and EPA RESEARCH Award):

CCC-CATAPULT examines young peoples' climate agency, the value-action gap and means to bridge this gap in four European city-regions. Through an ethos of co-production we explore young peoples' social norms, worldviews, and emotions in relation to climate change, in addition to educators' views on climate change education. The project strives to enable transformative learning for climate change education, proposing policies to support these developments. The project is funded through the JPI CLIMATE initiative from Dec 2020 to May 2024. Further details on the CCC-CATAPULT project can be viewed here: https://ccc-catapult.org/ 

Recently Completed Projects:

• The Places and Spaces of Childhood Project:

This project was a participative project that transcends classroom learning through the development of field-based research skills. The project is built on the participation of three elements: university staff, Final Year Geography students and children aged 8 - 10. As part of this experience Final Year Geography students were required to complete a mental-mapping methodology with children; facilitating the production of a mental map, a recording of the childs explanation of that map and a student reflective journal. In addition to constructing a picture of childhood in Ireland, this participatory project evaluates student performance in field-based contexts, reviewing students effectiveness in co-creating geographic knowledge. By extension the project explores the relationship between theory and practice, whereby classroom learning becomes practiced in a field-based (and real world) context. This project was published as part of the edited volume Narrating Childhood (Moran, Reilly and Brady, 2021).

Deconstructing Homelessness: Finding a Place for Geography (IRC Policy for Society Award):The Deconstructing Homelessness project engaged a multi-stakeholder approach drawing from contemporary policy, mediated non-profit (or NGO) campaign perspectives, community and social worker experiences, and the voice of the homeless person. Ultimately, the project examines an emerging disconnect between the mediated representations of homeless communities in Ireland and the multiple lived realities of being homeless. In doing so, the project aims to make a significant contribution to Irish policy interventions on homelessness (and its associated legislation and action plans) in addition to challenging societal perceptions of the homeless experience. Outputs from this project included the West Region Homelessness Action Plan (2019 - 2024)

• Exploring Geographies of Opportunity among Young Migrants:

Working with Dr. Valerie Ledwith and a number of community partners this research explored the emergence of a two-tiered schooling system in Galway City and County. This mixed-method project examined young migrant experiences of educational opportunity; including a focus on access, participation, aspiration and attainment. The project also examined a variety of family, school and neighbourhood effects, to consider the influence of each on overall student experiences. The project facilitated the development of a network between researchers at University of Galway, community development practitioners across Galway City and County, and most importantly with migrant and newcomer communities.

• Critical and Participative Field-Based Learning Pedagogies:

This research project was informed directly through staff and MA ESD student field experiences. Working with colleagues in Geography at University of Galway, the University of Northampton (UK), and a series of community partners (including UNDP Bosnia; EU Delegation to Bosnia; British Council, and a series of NGOs and CSO organisations), we consider the complexity of engaging critical field-based learning pedagogies in `post-conflict Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research highlights some of the key challenges to initiating and practicing field-based learning pedagogies in fluid, dynamic and unsystematic research contexts. I reflect on the complexities involved in seeking to facilitate and practice critical participatory knowledges that comprise academic, student and civic engagement values. I am interested in unpacking the liminal, often uncomfortable, position of researchers (student or academic staff) during and post field-based learning, balancing the contentious and necessary arena of data collection with community perceptions of extractive research practice. 

My teaching commitment for the 2025-2026 academic year is as follows:

Postgraduate Teaching:

• TI6146:Children, Young People and Families: Geographic and Social Science Perspectives (Semester 2)

Undergraduate Teaching:

• TI150 Principles in Human Geography (Semester 1)
• TI229 Political and Cultural Geography (Semester 1)
• TI317 Critical Geographies of Children, Young People and Families (Semester 1)
• TI3110 Research Seminar in Political and Cultural Geography (Semester 2)
• TI3100 Research Seminar in Geographies of Children, Young People and Families (Semester 2)

Team Taught Contributions:

• TI251/2 Theory and Practice 1
• TI335 Research Project Design and Development

Teaching outside the Discipline:

• I contribute to a number of interdisciplinary modules at undergraduate and graduate levels that focus on children and young people.