New leadership for Boston College Irish Institute

Mary C. Murphy, an expert on the complex relationship between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Europe, especially in the post-Brexit era, has been appointed as director of the Boston College Irish Institute.

The head of the University College Cork (UCC) Department of Government and Politics since January 2023, Murphy will formally begin her duties as Irish Institute director, and as a professor in BC’s Political Science Department, in August.

Murphy is co-author of A Troubled Constitutional Future: Northern Ireland After Brexit, which was selected for the University Association for Contemporary European Studies Best Book Prize in 2023. UACES described A Troubled Constitutional Future as “an informative, well-researched book on the complexities of the UK-Irish relationship, the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland and its potential constitutional consequences...it weaves together insights from the different communities in and around Northern Ireland and highlights the challenges to be addressed.”

Her publications also include Europe and Northern Ireland’s Future: Negotiating Brexit’s Unique Case and Northern Ireland and the European Union: The Dynamics of a Changing Relationship.

“I feel very privileged to be joining the Boston College community and to be taking up the directorship of the Irish Institute,” said Murphy. “Boston College has long played a pivotal and valued role in supporting the economic, social, political, and cultural landscape of the island of Ireland. I look forward to building on that immense legacy over the years ahead and to positioning BC as a premier location for the study of Ireland in the United States.

“I also welcome the opportunity for the Irish Institute to continue to encourage the consolidation of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, to support North-South and British-Irish relations, and to help the island of Ireland to adjust and respond to the challenges it faces in the post-Brexit era. At a time of widespread political and economic upheaval, Boston College and the Irish Institute are committed to contributing positively to U.S.-Irish relations and to the future of both parts of the island of Ireland. I am hugely excited to be part of that endeavor.”

Murphy’s appointment represents a new beginning for the Irish Institute, launched in 1998 and widely praised for offering programs and initiatives to promote reconciliation between Ireland and Northern Ireland through increased mutual understanding and cross-border partnerships. During the early 2010s, the institute broadened its geographical scope to include other regions—notably the Middle East and North Africa—and took a broader role within the University to aid international outreach. Under director Robert Mauro, it became the Global Leadership Institute, retaining elements of the Irish Institute model while undertaking ventures such as a leadership program for Kuwaiti youths and an initiative to assist in the professionalization of Mexico’s police force.

But Mauro, who died in the fall of 2022, retained the institute’s ties to, and interest in, Ireland in the midst of various political and economic changes, including Ireland’s emergence as a landing place for major technology firms and the advent of Brexit.

“Irish Studies is looking forward to working with Professor Mary C. Murphy and enhancing insights from political science in our interdisciplinary programming, alongside our long-standing strengths in the study of Irish history, culture, and literature,” said Sullivan Chair in Irish Studies Guy Beiner. “The Irish Institute will cultivate relations between Boston College and Irish political networks, liaising with the diplomatic missions from Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The institute also will develop the study of political science for a better understanding of the many dynamic changes on the island of Ireland and the significance of its relations with Britain, Europe, and the United States.”

Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley noted that former U.S. Senator George Mitchell—a key figure in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement—“has recognized the critical work that the Irish Institute has done across three decades in helping further the peace process and in building meaningful ties in civil society across the island of Ireland.  

“The appointment of Mary Murphy as the institute’s new director brings a world-class scholar of comparative politics to Boston College, and one whose work explores the interplay of the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and contemporary European institutions. I join colleagues in Irish Studies and Political Science in looking forward to welcoming Mary to campus, and to her leadership in developing new partnerships and programs that will deepen our understanding of a rapidly changing Irish political landscape.”

Murphy joined UCC in 2003 as a lecturer and became a senior lecturer in 2019, and has taught classes such as Politics of the European Union, Politics of Northern Ireland, Conflict and Confliction Resolution, and European Political System and Policies. Previously, she was a junior lecturer at the University of Limerick Department of Politics and Public Administration and a researcher at the Belfast-based Northern Ireland Centre in Europe.

Her funded research projects have included “Regionalising and Strengthening the EU Debate in Ireland,” “Between Two Unions: The Constitutional Future of the Islands After Brexit,” and “Teaching the Teachers: Strengthening the Study of the EU in Ireland.”

Murphy has shared her expertise with the media, including RTÉ national radio, the Irish Examiner and Evening Echo, and various academic and professional blogs.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Limerick, master’s and doctoral degress from Queen’s University Belfast, and a postgraduate diploma in teaching and learning from UCC.