Róisín is a Partner in ARC Mediation, Waterford City Ireland, is a founder and Chair of the Irish Professional Mediators’ Organisation CLG www.theipmo.ie She is also a mediation and conflict resolution trainer, legal academic, qualified barrister and IMI Certified Mediator.
She was awarded a Ph.D. in 2014, funded by the Irish Research Council, for her doctoral research on Judicial Separation and Divorce in the Circuit Court, Ireland. Part of her research was carried out in Ontario Canada, both in the family courts and meeting court linked mediators, on the invitation of the then Chief Justice Beverly McLachlan.
She has significant experience as a mediator completing over 500 cases since 2009 including Family, Work-place, Farm family, SME mediations, Commercial disputes, Succession disputes, Wards of Court and EPA (Enduring Power of Attorney) disputes and Personal Injury claims. Many of these cases have been referred to Róisín after legal proceedings have been initiated, and the majority of cases subsequently came to a mutually satisfactory agreement.
Valued Expert, Legal Academic
Róisín was the Principal Investigator for the ‘The Family Mediation Project’ (SETU 2015-2019), trialing a family mediation process she developed, informed by global innovations, with a particular focus on developments in Canada. She and her colleague Dr Conneely carried out empirical research attending family law sittings with Ministerial consent in the District Courts in Ireland 2017-2019. In March 2019 she was invited as an expert to attend a meeting at Leinster House of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality to make a submission and present her views on the topic of “Reform of the Family Law System” including the use of ADR. Roisin was appointed by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection as a member of the Child Maintenance Review Group (2020-2022) chaired by former Circuit Court Judge Catherine Murphy.
Recent Publications
Róisín has published a series of co-authored papers (2019-2021) in the Irish Journal of Family law presenting her research findings from observing family law cases in the District Court, and along with her colleague Dr Sinead Conneely co-authored the chapter on Ireland (chapter 4) in
‘Family Mediation Contemporary Issues’ Bloomsbury Professional, May 2020
Conneely, Dempsey, O’Shea, ‘Ireland’s Mediation Adventure – A practitioner flying on “mutinous winds”, IMI blog post, 14th July 2021
Roisin presents at conferences and seminars nationally and internationally and is frequently invited as an expert guest on webinar panels and Irish radio and has been interviewed and invited to write several opinion editorials for Irish newspapers, and online, discussing legal issues, particulalry in relation to family law and mediation.
