School of Communications Spring Series 2025

All events are free and open to the public.

RSVP: Admission to all events is free but you MUST confirm attendance. Please click here  to register.

Thursday 6th March

Public Service Media in a United Ireland

In recent years, the notion of a unified Ireland has moved from being a distant, abstract objective to something which even more conservative political actors suggest may become a reality. But how would existing institutional arrangements be altered to accommodate this and what entirely new structures might be called for? This seminar, drawing together researchers from Ulster University and the School of Communications, DCU considers what Public Service Media could and should look like in the context of a unified island. Can a Reithian conception of public service media drawn from the 1920s still underpin the creation of new institutional arrangements designed to serve the informational/communicative needs of diverse communities. 

Speakers: Phil Ramsey (UU), Roddy Flynn (DCU), Stephen Baker (UU) and Dawn Wheatley (DCU)

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Thursday 13th March

Five years later - is Ireland ready for the next big shock?: comparing Covid-19 and climate emergency communication strategies

The first reported case of Covid-19 in Ireland was five years ago 29th February 2020.  It was a large-scale disruptive event that required coordination between politicians, health policy-makers and the evidence of health advisors, as well as rapid public co-operation.What lessons can be learned from Covid-19 communication strategies and how can they be applied to the expected disruptions caused by climate and other such emergencies?   Can we do better as a democratic state and as a society when responding to communicating crises?

This seminar will hear from those who were, or still are, at the frontline of communicating crises requiring rapid response and where there is large amount of important scientific data. The questions and discussion will draw from the National Risk Assessment report and research in DCU School of Communications on health, environment and risk communication.

Speakers include Prof Philip Nolan, (MU), Prof. Christine Loscher, (DCU), Dr. Cara Augustenborg (UCD), Prof Caroline McMullen (DCU), Dr. Pádraig Murphy (DCU)

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Thursday 20th March

Gender Disinformation in Online Ecosystems

Women and gender non-conforming people are disproportionately targeted with false and misleading information. Gendered disinformation is manifest in many forms including misogynistic comments, sexualised content, and harassment campaigns. More fundamentally, it is embedded in complex dynamics across the the manosphere of antifeminist influencers, debates about scientific discourse, and increasingly mainstream ‘anti-woke’ politics.  To disentangle these issues, this seminar will feature Prof. Kath Browne (UCD) on the rise of anti–gender politics; Dr. Catherine Baker (DCU) on the misuse of science; and Prof. Debbie Ging (DCU) on the role and tactics of manfluencers. Chair: Dr Eileen Culloty (DCU).

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Thursday 27th March

The Mary Raftery Prize: Journalist Alison O'Connor in conversation with former Irish Times religious correspondent Patsy McGarry

As religious affairs correspondent of the Irish Times from 1997 to 2024, Patsy McGarry reported on some of the most troubling scandals to have rocked religious institutions in Ireland. In conversation with Alison O'Connor, McGarry reflects on his career (as he puts it) as an Irish, Catholic, agnostic correspondent for one of Ireland's leading news outlets. As well as his recently published autobiography, Well, Holy God, McGarry is also the author of While Justice Slept: The True Story of Nicky Kelly and the Sallins Train Robbery and First Citizen: Mary McAleese and the Irish Presidency.