Dr. Lydia Bracken

Biography

Dr Lydia Bracken is the Assistant Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) and a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Limerick (UL). She is a graduate of UCC (BCL, 2010; LLM, 2011; PhD, 2015) and the Honorable Society of King's Inns (Barrister-at-Law, 2012). Lydia also completed a Masters in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship at UL in 2020. Lydia researches in the areas of child and family law, with a particular focus on the legal recognition of 'non-traditional' and 'new' families.

Lydia is the author of two books, Same-Sex Parenting and the Best Interests Principle (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and Child Law in Ireland (Clarus Press, 2018), and has published her research in a range of high-ranking national and international journals. Lydia's research has been influential in guiding national debates on law reform in Ireland and abroad: for example, Lydia has presented her research to the Special Joint Oireachtas Committee on International Surrogacy; the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on the rights of the child in domestic and international surrogacy; the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health during pre-legislative scrutiny of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill 2017; as well as the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) Task Force on LGBTI Rights; and her research has been cited by the Law Commission for England and Wales and the Law Commission for Scotland, among others.

Lydia chairs the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team and led the faculty's successful Bronze Athena SWAN award application in 2020. She is a member of the University of Limerick Athena SWAN Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee and sits on many other University committees in UL, including the Human Rights, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and the Education and Student Experience Committee.

Lydia is the inaugural course director of both the Graduate Certificate/Diploma in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Policing and Criminal Justice. She was Director of Clinical Legal Education at the School of Law, UL from 2016 -2019.