Alison graduated from University College Dublin in 2016 with a 2.1 Law with Politics BCL. She then graduated with a 2.1 LLM in Criminology and Criminal Justice from University College Dublin in 2018. She commenced the structured PhD Programme in Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin and then received a scholarship in 2021 from The Irish Research Council Employment-Based Programme, which is co-funded by The Probation Service. As this co-funded programme is part of a wider initiative that links the researcher with workplace experience, Alison has dual status as an employee of Deonach and as a PhD candidate. Her 3-year research project on Custodial Transitions in the Republic of Ireland is near completion. 

 

Alison is an active member of the ACJRD, the Irish Women Lawyers Association, UCD Right’s Education Network, and the Irish Penal Reform Trust. The future of justice in Ireland requires specialists, creative innovators, and passionate activists. The intersection of the Irish youth justice service and the adult justice system requires attention, knowledge, and researchers with holistic, interdisciplinary approaches. This research will enable Alison to specialise in a pivotal area of reform, inform policy, and shape the future of justice in Ireland for this cohort.