Rory Costello

My primary teaching interests lie in European politics, including both the European Union and the comparative study of European countries. I have also taught in the areas of political behaviour, research methods, and Irish politics.            

Rory Costello specialises in electoral and legislative politics in Europe, with a particular focus on Ireland and on the European Union. He received his PhD from Trinity College Dublin in 2009. Before coming to UL in 2011, Rory worked at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Rory has published on topics such as election pledge fulfilment, party politics, voting behavoiur, coalition government, and political representation. His research has appeared in a variety of international journals including (among others) European Journal of Political Research, Party Politics, European Union Politics, Journal of European Public Policy, Electoral Studies, West European Politics, and American Journal of Political Science. He is co-editor (with Neil Robinson) of the book 'Comparative European Politics: Distinctive Democracies, Common Challenges' (Oxford University Press; 2nd edition 2024).

Rory founded and runs the widely-used voting aid application www.whichcandidate.ie. He is a member of the editorial board for the journal Irish Political Studies and is co-convenor of the Irish Political Studies Association specialist group on Voters, Parties and Elections. He is on the management board for the Electoral Commission's National Election and Democracy Study