Biography
Alan is a graduate of University College Cork (BCL, LLM, PhD), University College Dublin (Dip. Emp) and the Law Society of Ireland (Solicitor, 2012).In 2017, Alan completed a PhD in the School of Law at University College Cork in the area of access to justice for victims of crime with intellectual disabilities. In pursuit of his studies, Alan was awarded a Government of Ireland PhD scholarship from the Irish Research Council as well as a Faculty of Law PhD Scholarship from University College Cork. Alan's research has been widely published in national and international journals including, The International Journal of Law and Psychiatry; Policing: An International Journal; The International Journal of Evidence and Proof; Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly and The Irish Judicial Studies Journal. He has has acted as an Expert Advisor to the Minister for Justice, Garda Commissioner, the Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee, the European Commission, the High Level Taskforce on Mental Illness, RCNI, and the Department of Justice and he has provided expert analysis on the treatment of vulnerable witnesses for national media outlets in Ireland including Drivetime (RTÉ Radio 1), Newstalk FM and The Irish Examiner. Alan
In 2021 Alan was appointed by the Department of Justice to design, deliver and evaluate Ireland's first training and accreditation programme for Registered Intermediaries. Alan has also been appointed, as principal investigator, to a series of outstanding policy and procedural reform projects within An Garda Síochána. These projects which are being conducted with the Human Rights Department of An Garda Síochána include:
- Cusack, A. (2020). Review of An Garda Síochána Custody Record Risk Assessment Form C.84(a) (University of Limerick) 1-23.
- Cusack, A. et al. (2021) Disability Awareness Training Pilot for BA in Applied Policing and MA in Serious Crime Investigation (University of Limerick)
- Cusack, A. et al. (2022) Introducing an Easy-Read Notice of Rights Form C.72(s) for Persons in Garda Custody (University of Limerick).
- Acting as research partner for the rollout of a Crisis Intervention Team on a pilot basis in Limerick.
Alan is a qualified solicitor and, subsequent to commencing his doctoral research, practiced for a number of years with Arthur Cox solicitors in Dublin. In 2013 Alan was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights at University College Cork and, more recently, in 2018 he was elected to the Board of Directors for the Irish Criminal Justice and Disability Network. Alan is a professional member of The Law Society of Ireland and is also a member of the Society of Legal Scholars and the Socio-Legal Studies Association. In 2015 Alan was an Academic Visitor at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford (January - March 2015). Alan was appointed in 2018 to the editorial board for the Irish Judicial Studies Journal.
Research Interests
Alan's research interests lie in the broad areas of criminal procedure, criminal law, victimology, criminology, the laws of evidence and disability studies.Alan's PhD thesis was entitled
"Ireland's Criminal Justice System and its Response to Victims of Crime with Intellectual Disabilities: Adversarial Procedure on Trial". The project involved a critical analysis of the manner in which Ireland's adversarial model of justice impacts upon victims of crime with intellectual disabilities. Specifically, the project assessed how Ireland's traditional adherence to normative adversarial processes at each of the pre-trial and trial stages of the criminal justice system inhibits participation by victims of crime with intellectual disabilities.
Professional Activities
Award
- 2021 - Special Merit Award, HSE Open Access Research Awards 2021, December 2021
- 2017 - Postgraduate Course of the Year in Law, LLM General (Author)
- 2017 - Gold Medal, Best Letter to the Editor, Cork Online Law Review
- 2015 - Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford
- 2014 - PhD Research Training Scheme Scholarship, Graduate School of the College of Business and Law, University College Cork
- 2014 - IALT Conference 2014 PhD Scholarship, Irish Association of Law Teachers
- 2013 - Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Scholarship
- 2013 - Faculty of Law PhD Scholarship, University College Cork
Committee
- 2021 North-South Criminology Conference Organising Committee, University of Limerick,
- 2019 COST Action 18121: Cultural Victimology, This COST Action intends to develop an innovative, functional and overarching theoretical framework for cultural victimology. The economic dimension of the activities carried out under the Action has been estimated at 56 million.
- 2018 Victimology Working Group, European Society of Criminology,
- 2018 FAHSS Athena Swan Committee, University of Limerick,
- 2018 FAHSS Athena Swan Committee, University of Limerick,
- 2014 The Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR), University College Cork,
- 2013 The Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR) Postgraduate Conference Organising Committee, University College Cork,
Association
- 2018 Member of Editorial Board, Irish Judicial Studies Journal
- 2018 Director, Irish Criminal Justice and Disability Network
- 2017 Member & Media Manager, Centre for Crime, Justice and Victim Studies, University of Limerick
- 2017 Alternate Chair, Quality Assurance Board, Garda Training College, Templemore, Co. Tipperary
- 2015 Member, Socio-Legal Studies Association
- 2015 Member, Society of Legal Scholars
- 2013 Member, Arthur Cox Alumni Network, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2
- 2012 Member, The Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7
Education
- 2017 University College Cork - PhD
- 2011 University College Dublin - Diploma in Employment Law
- 2011 The Law Society of Ireland - Solicitor's Parchment
- 2008 University College Cork - LLM
- 2007 University College Cork - BCL
Employment
- 2014 School of Law, University College Cork - Part-Time Assistant Lecturer in the Law of Evidence
- 2009 Arthur Cox, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 - Associate Solicitor
Other
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- Investigator, Disability Awareness Training Pilot, An Garda Síochána (2021 - To Date)
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- Principal Investigator, Design and Evaluation Intermediary Training Scheme, Department of Justice (2022-2025).
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- Reviewer, International Journal of Evidence and Proof (2019 - To Date)
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- PhD Examiner, Andrew Lacey, University of Limerick (20 April 2021)
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- Reviewer, Journal of Criminology (2021 - To Date)
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- Investigator, Design Easy-Read Notice of Rights (Form C.72s) for vulnerable suspects, An Garda Síochána (2021 - To Date)
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- Researcher, Vulnerable Witness Inter-Agency Group, Rape Crisis Network Ireland (2016- To Date)
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- Reviewer, Criminology and Criminal Justice (2021 - To Date)
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- PhD Examiner, Stephen Strauss Walsh, University of Limerick (21 November 2020)
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- Researcher, Victim Participation in Criminal Proceedings, University of Oxford (February - April 2015)
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- Investigator, Review of Services to Assist in Finalisation of New Victims Charter, Department of Justice (2019 - 2020)
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- Editor, Irish Judicial Studies Journal (2018 - To Date).
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- Management Committee Delegate, COST Action CA18121: Cultural Victimology (2019 - 2023).
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- Investigator, Review of Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence 2016-2021 (2019 - To Date).
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- Convener and Founder, CCJHR Working Group Book Club (2014- 2017)
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- Completed Disability Law Summer School, Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway (June 2014)
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- Investigator, Review of Risk Assessment Form C.84(A), An Garda Síochána (2020 - To Date)
Outreach
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- June 2011: Participated as an on-site construction volunteer for an infrastructure relief project in Mwandi, Zambia.