I’m currently doing research at The University of Limerick under the supervision of Dr. Rory Costello, on the origins and consequences of Negative Partisanship in Europe between 1989-2024.

The aftermath of the 2007-2016 decade of crises has sparked academic interest in the role that negativity plays in electoral politics (i.e. Affective Polarisation/Negative Partisanship) against the background of increasingly polarised party systems and dealigned electorates. My research aims to further our understanding of emerging patterns in partisan politics in Europe.

My PhD dissertation is entitled “The mobilising effect of Positive and Negative Partisanship in conditions of multidimensional elite polarisation in Europe between 1989-2024” and completion is expected in January 2026

During my PhD, I was fortunate to be offered teaching roles, including as module leader and lecturer in courses related to comparative European politics and European studies.

More recently, with Prof. Jos Elkink (P.I.) we have been working on the Irish Election Studies Archive (IESA), which is an initiative which brings together Irish election datasets into a single, accessible online repository built on a harmonised coding scheme and a unified codebook structure. To date we have recoded and merged over 35 datasets covering elections between 1989-2025. I also gained a great deal of experience from working under the supervision of Prof. Jane Suiter in DCU, on two papers on deliberative minipublics as part of the EuComMeet project. This involved the analysis and dissemination of two survey experiment papers.

Outside of academia, you may come across me if you’re into running as I perform at large-scale running events as Master of Ceremony. I have also been a Spinning instructor for many years, and I am a member of the Killaloe Male Voice Choir and East Clare Musical Society.

Download my CV here.