As a postgraduate research student at Trinity College Dublin, writing about human rights in Northern Ireland, I have taken classes, attended conferences, listened to lectures, and worked at the Corrymeela peace and reconciliation centre.  This has helped me gain insight and knowledge into the complex history and culture of this divided society, and the role of human rights today.

Current Studies at the Trinity College Dublin, Founded in 1592

Trinity College Dublin is recognised  internationally as Ireland's premier university and is ranked in 52nd position in the top 100 world universities by the QS World University Rankings 2010.

Irish School of Ecumenics,     

Doctor of Philosophy
Irish School of Ecumenics
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
2008 - Present
(Studies in progress)

The Irish  School of Ecumenics (ISE) is Ireland’s only cross-border post-graduate institute dedicated to the study and promotion of peace and reconciliation on  the island of Ireland and in the wider world.

The Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, is located in Dublin and Belfast. It is committed to the study and promotion of dialogue, peace and reconciliation in Ireland and  around the world. It is recognised for its interdisciplinary approach to taught  programmes and research, drawing on the fields of politics, sociology, ethics, theology and religion.

Corrymeela Peace Centre in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland:

As part of my overall education about the people and history of Ireland, from 2010 to 2011 I served as the Project Administrator for the Corrymeela Peace and Reconciliation Centre in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland.
The Centre is a ministry of the Corrymeela Community, an intentional Christian group of 130+ members with a shared commitment to cross- community and cross-border peace building and reconciliation.  My family and I lived at the Centre, and we contributed to the operational, educational and spiritual mission of the community.  In particular, I was part of a team that planned and organized specific activities and events.

Outstanding Class:
"Ethical Remembering"
Summer 2011

One of the best courses I took was called "Ethical Remembering" with Kathy Higgins, Ph.D. and Johnston McMasters, Ph.D.  

Overview of the Course: The events of 1912-1922 provided a decade of enormous change in Ireland leaving a legacy for good and ill. The events shaped the rest of the 20th century and still cast a long shadow into the 21st.

The centenaries of these dramatic events will be remembered between 2012-2022. The critical question is how? In a very different world and context how will we remember events of change steeped in violence? Both the change and the violence need to be remembered and acknowledged together in Ireland and Britain. Ethical remembering will mean asking critical and ethical questions about violence, justice, peace in the context of the present and the desired shared future.

I wrote an article about the class:
Ballycastle Chronicle, May 19, 2011