Lydia Bracken

Dr Lydia Bracken is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Law at the University of Limerick (UL). She is a graduate of UCC (BCL; LLM; PhD) and the Honorable Society of King's Inns (Barrister-at-Law degree). Lydia has also completed a Masters in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship (UL). 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 Same-Sex Parenting and the Best Interests Principle (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and two editions of Child Law in Ireland (1st Edition, Clarus Press, 2018 and 2nd Edition, Clarus Press, 2025), and has published her research in a range of high-ranking national and international journals. Lydia's research has been influential in guiding discourse on law reform in Ireland and abroad. For example, Lydia has appeared as a legal expert before three seperate Oireachtas [Parliament] Committees to inform the development of Irish surrogacy law and has presented her research by invitation to the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) Task Force on LGBTI Rights to inform policy development. Her research has been cited by international bodies, including the Law Commission for England and Wales and the Law Commission for Scotland in their recent report on the reform of UK surrogacy law. In April 2023, Lydia was selected as a member of the first cohort of the Young Academy of Ireland, an initiative of the Royal Irish Academy.

Lydia was the inaugural Assistant Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in UL's Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) from 2019 to 2024. During this time, she chaired the AHSS Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team and led the faculty's successful Bronze Athena SWAN award application in 2020. She established and chaired the AHSS Widening Student Participation working group and sat on a number of University-level committees including the University of Limerick Athena SWAN Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee and the Human Rights, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee.

Lydia is currently course director for the Postgraduate Certificate in Law Enforcement Oversight and the Graduate Certificate/Diploma in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. She is also Director of Teaching and Learning in UL School of Law. She was previously founding course director of 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.

My research interests are in the areas of child and family law and European human rights. In particular, I am interested in examining the legal recognition of non-traditional and 'new' families and exploring how such recognition can be provided in a manner that respects the rights and interests of children. Topics within my research include issues pertaining to parentage, parental responsibilities and guardianship, adoption, and the legal regulation of assisted human reproduction including surrogacy.

I am interested in supervising doctoral research that pertains to any of my core research areas listed above. Interested students should first compile an outline research proposal before contacting me on [email protected] to discuss further.