I joined Queen's as a Lecturer in Political Theory and Philosophy in 2020, prior to which I worked at the University of Limerick. My research engages with a range of academic literatures and civil society debates on freedom of speech, academic freedom, feminist philosophy, civility, recognition theory, critical republicanism, and media ethics. I have a specific interest in the central role communication and dialogue play in sustaining relations of free and equal standing, particularly in plural societies.

My research projects are summarised as follows:

1. Republican Political Theory: My 2021 monograph, A Republican Theory of Free Speech: Critical Civility, is the first to offer a comprehensive neo-republican account of freedom of speech. Here, I argue for a critical republican conception of civility as a solution to the free speech conflicts currently plaguing liberal democracies. My proposed framework of ‘critical’ civility defends a concern for expressive respect alongside the need for citizen responsibilities of contestation and vigilance as an alternative to competing ‘non-interference’ models of freedom of speech that continue to dominate understandings of the debate today. Further journal articles and chapters in edited collections explore how this proposed framework can be used to inform discussions around counterspeech (Ethical Theory & Moral Practice, 2023), academic freedom (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), structural injustice (Philosophy & Social Criticism, 2022), and responses to COVID-19 (Notizie di Politeia, 2022).
2. Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: I explore how freedom of speech can be unjustly constrained by institutional rules, policies, and social norms, thereby impacting the equal standing of society’s members. My work on hate speech aims to illuminate the effects the phenomenon has on targets’ enjoyment of recognition (Critical Review of International Social & Political Philosophy, 2018; Ethical Theory & Moral Practice, 2019), and explores potential formal and informal responses to harmful speech (e.g., social media bans, public shaming, protest, no-platforming, etc.), defending extra-legal solutions over those that engage the criminal justice system (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming). Further discussion of these issues can be found in my six-part podcast series,'Fire in a Crowded Theatre: Philosophers on Free Speech' and in contributions made to The Conversation(which includes commentary on academic freedom, no-platforming, and freedom of speech on university campuses), as well as in numerous debates and radio panel discussions. From 2018-2020, I was a member of the Core Expert Group on the NI Hate Crime Review, providing oral and written evidence and informing the upcoming Hate Crime legislation. I have also acted in an advisory capacity with universities on their response to recent campus free speech conflicts.
3. The Critical Civility Project (R1493HAP): I am currently PI on an AHRC IAA project that takes the findings of my research on freedom of speech, respect, toleration, and civility to advance a specially designed philosophy programme across the education and youth sectors of Northern Ireland. To date, I have delivered sessions with hundreds of primary children and young people, working closely with schools and leading youth service providers to deliver long-term curriculum and provision change. Along with colleagues at University College Dublin and the Thinking Changes Project, I am engaged in a variety of activities aimed at increasing access of philosophical education to children and young people across the island.
4. Silencing: My current book project (provisionally entitled Feeling Silenced) employs work in feminist theory of language, emotions, and affect, democratic theory, and moral philosophy to assess the experential, emotional, and political aspects of feeling silenced, with a particular focus on how such emotions can motivate social change. A central part of the project involves speaking to those who describe themselves as having been silenced across a range of different spheres, thereby gaining an understanding of how those effected have engaged with and responded to their experiences. 

Undergraduate:

PHL1004 Philosophy and the Good Life 

PHL2028 Philosophy of Race 

PHL2000 Moral Theories

PHL2016 History of Philosophy

PHL3064 Applied Ethics

Postgraduate:

PHL7056 Global Ethics

PHL7057 Social Injustice 

(2024-) Treasurer of the Association for Social and Political Philosophy (ASPP).

(2023-) Committee Member of the Association for Philosophy Teachers (Northern Ireland representative) (APT).

(2023-) Fellow of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. 

(2022-) Member of the Institute of Philosophy Advisory Council (School of Advanced Studies).

(2022) Award of Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching (PGCHET)

(2022) Award of SAPERE Level One Certificate