Reflections on Irish Criminology: Conversations with Criminologists, Orla Lynch, Yasmine Ahmed, Helen Russell and Kevin Hosford (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)

• Author: Margaret Fitzgerald O'Reilly
• Position: University of Limerick
• Pages: 89-92

IRISH JUDICIAL STUDIES JOURNAL

89

[2021] Irish Judicial Studies Journal Vol 5(2)

89

BOOK REVIEW

Orla Lynch, Yasmine Ahmed, Helen Russell and Kevin

Hosford, Reflections on Irish Criminology:

Conversations with Criminologists (Palgrave Macmillan

2020), xi+167pp. (hardcover), ISBN: 9783030605926

Author: Dr Margaret Fitzgerald O'Reilly, University of Limerick

This book aims to fill a gap in current knowledge by providing the reader with a critical

insight into the origins of criminology as a discipline in Ireland. The authors utilise a key

resource often untapped in research methodology – the experience and perspectives of the

criminologists at the centre of the discipline – in order to chart the evolution of a fascinating

area of study. From the earlier ad hoc, yet important, rumblings of multi-disciplinary and

inter-disciplinary dialogue, to the establishment of the Institute of Criminology and Criminal

Justice in UCD and beyond, the authors highlight the significance of ‘community’ as a

propelling force in the success and recognition of Irish criminology.

Prolific progress has been made in the past two decades in particular, with ‘significant growth

in criminology modules and programmes in both Northern Ireland and the republic’.

1

With

such development has come a greater (if not consistent) appreciation for the value of

criminological expertise amongst state and non-state agencies working in the field of criminal

justice. Of course it is the uniqueness of the Irish historical backdrop which has moulded

much of the approach taken to criminal justice here. As the authors astutely note, ‘[f]orms

of imprisonment, the treatment of women, the role of the church in social censure, the

Troubles and preceding periods of political violence and the dual system of administration

on the island have all contributed to how we think about and write about criminology’.

2

While history has generated the blueprint, diversity (among academic schools of thought)

has nurtured and cultivated a rich tapestry of research that continues to thrive.

A central feature of this book is the idea that ‘criminology in Ireland is what it is and where

it is because of the people’, a contention with which I would certainly agree.

3

The book is

divided into eleven chapters. Chapter one contextualises the narrative to come by setting out

the terrain upon which criminology has grown into a recognised discipline in Ireland. The

remaining chapters of the book chart the career paths of some notable Irish researchers in

this area. Each has garnered the attention and admiration of scholars of their discipline for

advancing the field and enhancing our understanding of criminological research. The fact

that these individuals all hail from ‘different disciplines, different academic traditions and

eras’

4

is extremely significant as it emphasises that the Irish approach to criminology is

premised upon inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary collegiality. No one researcher works

alone or in isolation from the influences of others. There is a shared goal and it is this

approach which has allowed criminology in Ireland to flourish as it has.

1

Orla Lynch, Yasmine Ahmed, Helen Russell and Kevin Hosford, Reflections on Irish Criminology: Conversations

with Criminologists (Palgrave Macmillan 2020) 4.

2

ibid 5.

3

ibid 8.

4

ibid.