Research Excellence

The academic year 2024–25 witnessed exceptional research productivity across all faculties, evidencing a strong scholarly culture and a maturing research infrastructure that supports sustained intellectual leadership.

In the 2024-25 academic year, researchers at MIC produced over 300 scholarly outputs, including peer-reviewed journal articles, authored books, edited volumes, book chapters and conference contributions, amongst others. Journals included Policy and Practice, International Journal of Music Education, Frontiers in Education, Research in Corpus Linguistics, and Mathematical Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Book Publishers included J.B. Metzler, Routledge, Taylor & Francis, Palgrave Macmillan, and the Four Courts Press.

Research activity as reported by academic staff can be viewed on MIRIS, the Mary Immaculate Research Information System, which went live for public view in October 2024. 

We continued to grow our community of postgraduate research students, which numbered 192 in the 2024-25 academic year across our Limerick and Thurles campuses and by remote supervision all over the world. Reaching the highest academic level possible were 33 Doctoral candidates in Liberal Arts disciplines and in Education, including 10 graduates from the Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology (DECPsy). PhDs were awarded for research into numerous educational topics as well as History, English, Philosophy, Geography and Drama and Theatre Studies.

MIC was awarded €952,000 through the Higher Education Research Equipment Grant (HEREG), towards the purchase of new or additional research equipment and equipment upgrades.

This reporting period saw MIC become a member of DORA (Declaration on Research Assessment) and COARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment). 

This membership formed the next step in this important strategic journey in research assessment at MIC.

The College continued to demonstrate a strong track record of success in the Research Ireland Government of Ireland PhD scholarship programme. Awards in the 2024-25 academic year include:

• Augustus Sobeng: Circular Economy in the Global South: An investigation of non-Western perspectives and their application in delivering sustainability
• Desmond Lartey: Remote Sensing Applications in West African Savannahs: Evaluating vegetation change dynamics and their impact on conservation management strategies
• Katie Hallinan: An Exploration of Representations of Autistic Women in Contemporary Irish Literature
• Michelle Lehane: Voice and influence: exploring the lived experiences of the agentic child in early childhood educational settings in Ireland

Dr Catherine Dalton from the Geography Department received over €600,000 in funding as a Principal Investigator for her Lighthouse Project, examining natural heritage and the dynamic transformation of heritage assets in offshore island settings. MIC leads this project, which involves collaboration with academics based at Queen's Belfast (QUB) and University College Dublin (UCD), working in partnership with the Commissioners of Irish Lights and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Researchers in the Department of STEM Education received €400,000 in Erasmus+ funding through Léargas for the PROTECT (Pupil-led Response to Effects of Climate Change on their Local Communities) project, led by Dr Edward Corry, Prof. Aisling Leavy, Dr Mairéad Hourigan, and Dr Anne O’Dwyer. The three-year initiative, involving partners from Croatia, Norway, Serbia, Portugal, and Ireland, including the Clare Education Centre and three local schools, aims to enhance climate literacy, promote sustainability, and empower pupils to take climate action through innovative STEM-based learning.

The MIC Department of Psychology, in partnership with Parents, HSE, Tusla and Clarecare, launched a new study to examine the experiences of parents living with mental health challenges. Entitled 'Building Connections: The experience of parenting while living with a mental health challenge', the study aims to find out more about the difficulties parents face, and the supports and barriers that are in place in terms of seeking help.

A 2024 study from MIC, ‘Infants of the Pandemic: Teacher Perspectives on the Early Development and School Readiness of Children Starting School', conducted by Dr Suzanne Egan and Dr Jennifer Pope, revealed that 81% of teachers surveyed said they now have more pupils exhibiting emotional and behavioural issues compared to pre-pandemic times.

The online survey was completed by 107 junior infant class teachers from around Ireland in 2024. The survey aimed to find out if experiencing the pandemic during infancy influenced later development when starting school. The findings generated considerable interest across a broad spectrum of society and received extensive media coverage on Irish national television and radio broadcasts. Listen to the interview on RTÉ Radio One’s Drivetime here.
MIC News: MIC Academics released stark findings on the effects of the Global pandemic on young children

Dr Susan Liddy of the Department of Media & Communications Studies co-authored the first report on harmful behaviours and practices within the Irish screen industries. The timely report sheds light on the experiences of professionals within the Irish screen industries, highlighting ongoing challenges like bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment, and the urgent need for change within the sector.
MIC News: MIC Academic goes Behind the Scenes to report on harmful behaviour in the Irish screen industry

The Department of Psychology in MIC, along with parents, the HSE, Tusla and Clarecare launched findings from a new research project titled Building Connections: Experiences of parenting while living with mental health challenges. The work examined the experiences of parents living with mental health challenges and aimed to find out more about the difficulties parents face and the supports and barriers that are in place in terms of seeking help.
MIC News: New MIC National Study highlights the difficulties of parenting with mental health challenges

The National Citizens’ Parliament on Media and Democracy, as part of the European MeDeMAP project, was held at MIC and led by Dr Rosemary Day, Media & Communication Studies. This Citizens' Parliament studied the extent to which certain media types perform democratic functions and identified what is at stake for democratic media and democracy in general.

MIC researcher Dr Páraic Treacy, MIC Thurles, in collaboration with colleagues in UCC and UL, produced a national report on Senior Cycle Maths, highlighting significant changes in Senior Cycle Higher Level Mathematics between 2010 and 2024. The report showed that participation has increased by almost 130% since 2011, driven largely by the 2012 introduction of the Bonus Points Initiative (BPI).

While this growth reflects increased uptake, the report also identified several unintended consequences, such as increased demands on teachers, who report challenges in addressing widening attainment gaps and a need for additional professional support.