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Church of Ireland Centre

Research

Staff Research

The agreed functions of the Church of Ireland Centre include:

  • Maintaining and developing active links with the primary schools under Church of Ireland, Methodist, Presbyterian and Society of Friends patronage and with the broader Reformed Christian communities across the Republic of Ireland. 
  • Provision and development of Religious Education for the Church of Ireland Centre students and to support the Protestant school network.
  • Provision of teaching and development of expertise to support leading, teaching and learning in small schools.
  • Celebrating the history, values and culture of the Church of Ireland College of Education. 

The research focus of the Centre follows from those agreed functions.  

 Projects in the Centre include: 

  1. Faith in the Public Square of the University – developing an Anglican voice in a secular space (Anne Lodge) 
  2. Exploring an Anglican educational ethos in the Irish context (publication in preparation edited by Anne Lodge, Michael Jackson and Jacqui Wilkinson)
  3. Children’s attitudes towards Christianity and Spiritual Wellbeing (Jacqui Wilkinson)
  4. 2017-2018 SCoTENS funded research project with Dr Anita Gracie of Stranmillis College, Belfast. ‘Spirituality in the Classroom: Assessing the impact of student teachers’ own religious identity’.

Publications by Centre staff:

Lodge, A. (2025) ‘The beauty of the place and the beauty of the liturgy’: exploring the mission and ministry of Christ Church Cathedral Dublin, Journal of Beliefs and Values, 46, 4, pp. 728-742,

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13617672.2025.2501597?src=exp-la 

Lodge, A., Duffy, M. & Feeney, M. (2024) ‘I think it depends on who you have, I was lucky I had a teacher who felt comfortable telling all this stuff’.  Teacher comfortability: key to high-quality sexuality education? Irish Educational Studies, 43, 2, pp.171-188.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03323315.2022.2061561

 Lynch, K. & Lodge, A. (2024) Metricisation in school: an affective and epistemic injustice, Emotions and Society, 20, 20, pp. 1-18.

https://doi.org/10.1332/26316897Y2024D000000036

Lodge, A. (2024) ‘Who Cares for the Carers?’ Pastoral Care Package 2018 – 2024 Summary Evaluation.  December 2024.  https://dublin.anglican.org/news/2024/12/04/who-cares-for-thecarers#:~:text=A%20Summary%20Evaluation%20Report%20of,Who%20Cares%20for%20the%20Carers%3F

 Lodge, A. (2022) But the Lord looks on the Heart, part 2: International voices from the Church of Ireland parishes of Dublin & Glendalough.

https://dublin.anglican.org/resources/diocesan-reports/cultural-and-ethnic-diversity-in

Lodge, A. (2020) But the Lord looks on the Heart, part 1: International voices from the Church of Ireland parishes of Dublin & Glendalough.  https://dublin.anglican.org/cmsfiles/files/Cultural--Ethnic-Diversity-Report.pdf 

Lodge, A. (2020)   ‘The Church of Ireland College of Education’, in DCU: a new beginning.  Illustrated histories of the Church of Ireland College of Education Rathmines, St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra, Mater Dei Institute of Education and Dublin City University. pp. 8-59

http://www.summerisland.co.uk/DCU-A-New-Beginning-Flipbook/mobile/index.html

Wilkinson, J. (2017) “Pupil attitudes toward Christianity: a study amongst 4th – 6th class pupils”  Search 40.3, 207-216. 

Lodge, A. and Tuohy D. (2016) 'Teaching and learning in Small Schools' 

Lodge, A., Tuohy, D. and Fennelly, K. (2011) 'Our Schools Our Communities'  

Lodge, A. and Tuohy, D. (2011) ‘Parental Values in Protestant Primary Schools: a new survey’, Search, 34, 3, pp. 188-195.  

Lodge, A. and Dunne, D. (2010) ‘Crossing the Boundaries – implications for leadership in the Church of Ireland’, Search, 33, 3, pp. 176-182.

Wilkinson, J. (2025). Assessing the influence of the home in sustaining church attendance in Anglican children attending Anglican primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2022.2101988

Gracie, A., & Wilkinson, J. (2022). Mindfulness, meditation and me: student teachers’ willingness to engage with spiritual activities in the primary school classroom. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 27(3-4), 195-213. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2022.2101988

Wilkinson, J. (2021). The Church of Ireland primary school in an expanding educational marketplace: The use of school websites to promote school identity and ethos. Irish Educational Studies, 40(1), 71-85.  https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2020.1779110

Wilkinson, J. (2019). The rural and small Church of Ireland primary school: The use of school websites to define school ethos. Rural Theology, 17(2), 72-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2019.1649822

Wilkinson, J., Francis, L. J., & McKenna, U. (2018). Personal prayer, worship attendance and spiritual wellbeing: A study among fourth, fifth and sixth class students attending Church of Ireland schools in the Republic of Ireland. Journal of Religious Education, 66(3), 203

Wilkinson, J., Francis, L. J. and McKenna, U.  “Personal prayer, worship attendance and spiritual wellbeing: A study among fourth, fifth and sixth class students attending Church of Ireland schools in the Republic of Ireland” Journal of Religious Eductaion. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40839-018-0068-6. Available at https://rdcu.be/baAsB

(For full lists of publications and research activity by Centre staff please see our individual DCU staff profiles).

Laura O’Sullivan’s doctoral studies focus on the areas of care and women’s leadership. The study examines the leadership practices of women primary school principals in the Irish context, with a particular focus on how they conceptualise care as a dimension of their leadership and what this care looks like in practice. Findings from Laura’s previous research, and from the literature more broadly, indicate that care is the most significant influence on women principals’ leadership journeys and continues to be identified in the literature as a key factor influencing women leaders. By foregrounding care in leadership practice, this study seeks to highlight its significance for women leaders and for leadership in primary education more broadly.

Affiliations

The Centre is a member of the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion (CUAC).