Politics and public policy in Ireland; European comparative public policy; Europeanisation and the impact of Europeanisation on national politics and public policy, community-oriented research methods and praxis

Course Director, Masters in Community Research and Development

Course Director, CWELL diploma programme

Teaching areas: Engaged Research policy and praxis, Graduate Research Methods, Irish Politics and Public Policy, UL Practicum - applied research projects PO5103 Engaged Research Design PO5104 Engaged Research Delivery PO5105 Engaged Research Evaluation PO4043 Introduction to Irish Politics PO4013 Government and Politics in Ireland PO5005 Graduate Research Methods PS5131 Research Methods

Maura Adshead is Head of Community Engagement and Professor of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Limerick. She is a former president of the Political Studies Association of Ireland and a regular political commentator on Irish TV and radio. She is a strong advocate for community engagement, using her position to drive an engaged research agenda in Ireland concerning both engaged research praxis and policies. At national level, her work with the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and Campus Engage has contributed to a significant policy re-orientation in Irish Higher Education towards Engaged Research. At local level, Maura is head of UL Engage, responsible for developing and supporting community-university partnerships, engaged research and community engaged learning at the University of Limerick. Maura is an Executive Board member of the International Federation of Workers’ Education Association (IFWEA), responsible for developing community-based learning and research with IFWEA affiliates worldwide. 

She is author of Developing European Regions andnbsp;Ashgate, 2002, co-author (with Jonathon Tonge) of Politics in Ireland, Palgrave, 2009; and co-editor (with Michelle Millar) of Public Administration and Public Policy in Ireland: theory and methods, Routledge 2003 and (with Peadar Kirby and Michelle Millar) Contesting the State: lessons from the Irish case, Manchester University Press, 2008; and (with Tom Felle) Ireland and the Freedom of Information Act, 2015, Manchester University Press, 2016. She has published a variety of articles on aspects of Irish politics and public policy and has carried out commissioned research for Combat Poverty, the Health Service Executive, the National Economic and Social Forum, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Her latest book, Doing Community Research, will be published in April 2026.