Gearóidín McEvoy

Gearóidín is a PhD candidate at the School of Law and Government in DCU. Her research focuses on the right to a fair trial under international human rights law for minority language speakers. Gearóidín completed her BCL in Law and Irish at University College Cork in 2014 and has a Masters of Social Sciences from Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland. During her undergraduate degree, Gearóidín was a recipient of the JP McManus All Ireland Scholarship. Gearoidín has a background in translation, having worked with Fiontar in DCU and in Irish language teaching, having taught at the Irish Studies Program at the University of Montana. In 2017, Gearóidín was runner-up in the ‘Tell It Straight’ video competition organised by the Graduate Studies Office at DCU.

Supervisors: Dr Tanya Ní Mhuirthile and Dr Vicky Conway

Abstract: This PhD looks at the ways in which speakers of regional or minority languages access their right to a fair trial. The scope of the research focuses on United Nations and Council of Europe systems of human rights, with particular emphasis on the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. The research is socio-legal in nature and investigates the lived experiences of regional and minority language speakers in their interaction with the criminal justice system. There is a focus on four case study language groups; Irish speakers and Irish Sign Language speakers in Ireland and Swedish and Sámi (Saami) speakers in Finland.

Research Interests: Minority rights, right to a fair trial, criminal law, human rights, rights of the accused, language rights, minority language groups, Deaf studies, indigenous rights, languages

Publications:

McEvoy, ‘The Right of Minority Languages in Domestic Courts – Realisable Right or Illusory Concept?’ 2016 COLR 60

McEvoy, ‘Having Our Voices Heard – The Official Languages Act Foreshadowing the Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill’ Human Rights in Ireland (2^nd November 2016)

[VIDEO] McEvoy ‘Equating Justice: Using Minority Languages at Criminal Trials’. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCcw90fxm98

Conferences:

‘Feeding the Crocodiles – Depoliticising the Irish Language in Northern Ireland and the Irish Language Act’ – International Conference on Minority Languages XVI Aug 28-30 2017, University of Jyväskylä

Teaching:

Lecturer - Foundations of Law and Legal Research (LG128) 2017-2018

Marking Assistant - The Irish Legal System (LG131) 2017