Professor Gary Murphy admitted to the Royal Irish Academy
Dublin City University Professor Gary Murphy has been admitted to the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).
28 newly elected members were officially admitted to the Academy for their exceptional contributions to the sciences, humanities and social sciences and to public service.
Prof. Murphy has worked in DCU since 1995, and is now Full Professor of Politics in the School of Law and Government. He was the Head of the School of Law and Government between 2012 and 2018. He is an acknowledged authority internationally on the subject of political lobbying and an expert in the reconstruction and interpretation of Irish politics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The author of the definitive and best-selling life of Charles J. Haughey, he is one of Ireland’s leading political commentators.
The RIA is an independent, all-island learned society established in 1785. It has approximately 680 members, chosen for their distinguished contributions to scholarship and research in the sciences, humanities, social sciences and public service. Membership is by election and is considered the highest academic honour in Ireland.
Prof. Murphy's work has received considerable external recognition, and his research has been funded by the Irish Research Council, the Irish Department of the Environment, and the Fulbright Commission among others. He has appeared before a number of Irish Parliamentary Committees to speak on lobbying regulation, electoral reform, and parliamentary inquiries and his work has been cited in both Dáil Eireann and Seanad Eireann.
Prof. Murphy appears regularly in the Irish print and broadcast media. He was an analyst for RTÉ on each of the last four Irish General Elections, as well as Irish Presidential elections, local and European elections, British general elections and the previous four US presidential elections. He also writes a weekly column for The Times, and regularly offers analysis in his areas of expertise for multiple outlets.
DCU President Professor Dáire Keogh said;
“On behalf of all his DCU colleagues, I want to congratulate Prof Gary Murphy on his admittance to the Royal Irish Academy. Membership of the RIA is considered Ireland’s highest academic honour and Prof Murphy is a worthy addition to this great institution, having distinguished himself as a highly respected academic, commentator and teacher over the past three decades.”
Commenting on his election to the Royal Irish Academy, Professor Gary Murphy said;
"I am deeply honoured to have been elected to the academy and I greatly look forward to helping advance its mission of promoting research excellence to benefit society. I thank my colleagues and students at the School of Law and Government and at Dublin City University more widely for their support and encouragement of my work over the three decades I have been fortunate to work here. The journey is never singular and that is certainly true in my case.
Professor Derek Hand, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at DCU said;
"Professor Murphy is only the fourth member of the Faculty to hold this significant honour. Few people embody the DCU spirit like Gary, as a graduate and co-worker he has been central to the growth of the University and Faculty since the 1990s. He was a founding member of the School of Law and Government and the first Dean of Graduate Studies, and I would like to warmly congratulate him on this honour."