Centre for Disability Law and Policy

03/06/2026

The GenCare research project based at the CDLP is looking for young disabled people to be co-researchers in the project! Co-researchers will be young disabled people, age 18 – 24, living in Ireland.

In this research it is very important that young disabled people are involved in conversations about what care and support should look like in the future but that we also learn from older disabled people about what happened before, what works and what doesn’t work. To make sure this happens the co-researchers will be involved in all aspects of the research from finalising the project plans to interviewing participants and telling people about the results.

Please share widely with anyone who might be interested! Find out more about the project and getting involved as a co-researcher on the website at https://gencareresearch.ie/get-involved/

28/05/2026

We are delighted to offer our congratulations to Dr Emma Q Burns who passed her PhD viva with no corrections today! Emma is pictured below with Professor Sara Ryan (external examiner), Dr Bernadine Brady (internal examiner), Prof Roja Fazaeli and Professor Eilionóir Flynn (supervisor).

Emma’s PhD is titled “Getting hold of the wheel”: The National Platform of Self Advocates pursuing the right to participation in public and political life. Her research was supervised by Professor Eilionóir Flynn and completed with the The National Platform Of Self Advocates Ireland.

26/05/2026

Twenty years on from the adoption of the CRPD this panel will ask are we realising the CRPD’s vision for all disabled people?

We will be joined by Joe McGrath, (The National Platform Of Self Advocates Ireland, Nicolas Joncour (European Network on Independent Living - ENIL) and Ashraf Frugh and Mari Siilsalu (Independent Living Institute (Sweden)) to discuss how well the CRPD ensures the rights of people with intellectual disabilities, non-speakers and refugees among others. We will also consider strategies to ensure everyone benefits from the rights in the Convention.

The 17th International Disability Law Summer School will be held from the 15th to the 17th of June in person at the Institute for Lifecourse and Society, University of Galway and online via Zoom. We look forward, as usual, to a world-class faculty and participants from around the globe. Registration is open!

More information about summer school is available at https://lnkd.in/d5yxHGb5

21/05/2026

Speaker Announcement! We excited to share that Pamela Molina Toledo, Executive Director of DOVE: Deaf Overcoming Violence through Empowerment will speak at our 17th International Disability Law Summer School.

Pamela Molina (Chile–USA) previously served as Executive Director of the World Federation of the Deaf Ry and contributed to the drafting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). With over 17 years of experience, she is an international expert on disability and linguistic rights, inclusion, and equity, and a recognized advocate from the Global South.

This year’s International Disability Law Summer School will mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). will be held from the 15th to the 17th of June in person at the Institute for Lifecourse and Society, University of Galway and online via Zoom. We look forward, as usual, to a world-class faculty and participants from around the globe. Registration is open now!

More information about summer school is available at https://cdlp.clr.events/event/139678

20/05/2026

Earlier this morning Dr Clíona de Bhailís appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Disability Matters alongside Inclusion Ireland and EPIC, Empowering People in Care regarding a representative advocacy service for children with disabilities.

Clíona outlined the international human rights framework and presented the research on a representative advocacy service for children with intellectual disabilities completed by the CDLP for Inclusion Ireland in 2024. A full draft of that report is available on our website at this link - https://www.universityofgalway.ie/centre-disability-law-policy/research/projects/completedprojects/childrensadvocacy/

An Easy Read version of the report is also available at this link -https://www.inclusionireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Easy-to-Read-Exploring-the-need-for-a-Representative-Advocacy-Service-for-Children-with-Intellectual-Disabilities-in-Ireland.pdf

14/05/2026

Find out more about our LLM in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy and the full range of programmes offered by the University of Galway School of Law through the recent webinars with programme directors available at https://www.universityofgalway.ie/business-public-policy-law/school-of-law/courses/postgraduatetaughtcourses/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRyzyVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe_O5pFu-mNqtJ_BTGGL6BhWVAR_tvOh0EIIRMzruC1r-oKsQYB5olIujaqzk_aem_f1mZ4T51BLaPkc9LxEODmA

Our award-winning School of Law offers a range of postgraduate courses in international business law, law and digital innovation, human rights, disability law, criminology and many other areas. You can watch recent webinars for all our postgraduate courses at: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/business-public-policy-law/school-of-law/courses/postgraduatetaughtcourses/

13/05/2026

Students on our LLM in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy get an exclusive opportunity to complete prestigious internships with the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The CDLP is delighted to be able to support the Committee's work in this way and that our students can gain this invaluable experience in influencing international disability rights.

Jorge Araya, Secretariat to the UNCRPD Committee said "The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee’s Secretariat have had very positive experiences hosting LLM students from the Centre for Disability Law and Policy over the years, as interns, supporting the work of the Committee. They consistently bring strong academic preparation, excellent research and drafting skills, and a genuine commitment to human rights work, making them a valuable contribution to our team.

This opportunity offers students the distinct benefit of working in close contact with members of the Committee and the Secretariat, while making substantive contributions to the preparation of draft lists of issues, draft concluding observations, as well as draft general comments and guidelines."

Applications for September 2026 are open now. Learn more about our LLM at https://www.universityofgalway.ie/courses/taught-postgraduate-courses/law-intl-comparative-disability-policy.html

University of Galway School of Law | Irish Centre for Human Rights | University of Galway

12/05/2026

We are excited to welcome Theresia Degener back to Galway to speak at our 17th International Disability Law Summer School.

This year’s International Disability Law Summer School will mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Theresia was a member of the CRPD Committee from 2011 to 2018 and Chair of the Committee in 2017 and 2018. She also co-authored the background study of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with Professor Gerard Quinn in 2002 and participated in drafting the CRPD.

will be held from the 15th to the 17th of June in person at the Institute for Lifecourse and Society, University of Galway and online via Zoom. We look forward, as usual, to a world-class faculty and participants from around the globe. Registration is open now!

More information about summer school is available at https://cdlp.clr.events/event/139678:17th-international-disability-law-summer-school

11/05/2026

We are all delighted at CDLP to offer our congratulations to Eilís Ní Chaoimh who has successfully defended their PhD on: Accommodating Neurodiversity in the Mens Rea of Intention. Eilís was supervised by János Fiala-Butora and their research was funded by a University of Galway Hardiman Scholarship.

Pictured: Dr Charles O’Mahony (University of Galway School of Law), Professor Linda Steele (University of Technology Sydney), Eilís Ní Chaoimh, Eilionóir Flynn (CDLP), and János Fiala-Butora, CDLP.

08/05/2026

We are delighted to share that Umesh Balal Magar, Research Fellow at the Center for Inclusive Policy, will speak at our 17th International Disability Law Summer School .

Umesh is a passionate climate justice advocate and MSc Environmental Science student who has led youth-led, disability-inclusive campaigns in Nepal and around the world for more than six years. He presently works as a Research Fellow at the Center for Inclusive Policy (2025–26), where he analyses policy gaps regarding the inclusion of people with disabilities in Nepal's climate policies. He will contribute to our panel on Adapting to Emerging Challenges which explores how the CRPD can be re-imagined and adapted in response to emerging issues.

This year’s International Disability Law Summer School will mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). will be held from the 15th to the 17th of June in person at the Institute for Lifecourse and Society, University of Galway and online via Zoom. We look forward, as usual, to a world-class faculty and participants from around the globe. Registration is open now!

More information about summer school is available at https://cdlp.clr.events/event/139678