Cathal O’Connell

Cathal O’Connell is Professor of Social Policy at University College Cork. He was Head of School of Applied Social Studies from 2018 to 2021 and in September 2022 was appointed Vice Head of College for Teaching and Learning in the College of Arts Celtic Studies and Social Sciences. He is a member of multiple university committees agus tá sé ina mbáll de Bórd na Gaeilge, Ollscoil Chorcaí, a member of Academic Standards Board of the Centre of Adult and Continuing Education, the Academic Council and the Academic Board. He has served on many review bodies and advisory groups at local, regional and national level in relation to social housing and is currently the Independent Chair of the Traveller Integrated Service Group (TIG) which oversees the delivery of services to the Traveller Community by statutory and state funded bodies. He has researched and published extensively on topics including social policy and provision, homelessness, sustainable urban and estate regeneration, Travellers rights and social inclusion and has been the recipient of numerous research funding grants. Current projects include Irish Research Council funded research into the social care needs of homeless persons, intergenerational family experiences of homelessness, a longitudinal study over two decades of quality of life on social housing estates (with Prof Michelle Norris UCD) and evaluation of social housing estate regeneration funded by Cork City Council.