Dr Orla Kelleher
Biography
Dr Orla Kelleher joined the School of Law and Criminology in August 2022. Orla specialises in climate change, environmental, and human rights law. Her current research focuses on environmental rights, climate law and litigation, climate justice, and just transitions. Orla was awarded her Ph.D. without corrections from UCD Sutherland School of Law in March 2022. Her Ph.D. examined the impact of climate change on legal reasoning in rights-based systemic climate change litigation in European countries. Her Ph.D. was awarded dual research scholarships: an IRC Government of Ireland Postgraduate scholarship (2019-2021) and a UCD School of Law Doctoral Scholarship (2017-2019). Her work has been published in outlets such as the Journal of Environmental Law, the Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, the Review of European Comparative and International Environmental Law (RECIEL), the Irish Jurist, the Irish Judicial Studies Journal, and the Irish Planning and Environmental Law Journal. Orla has been funded to conduct engaged research with bodies such as the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Environmental Justice Network Ireland and Community Law and Mediation Centre for Environmental Justice.
Prior to joining Maynooth, Orla lectured at the University of Limerick. She holds a Ph.D. from UCD, an LL.M. from the College of Europe (Bruges) and a BCL (Law and French) from UCC. Orla is also a qualified barrister, having been called to the Irish Bar in 2020.
Research Interests
Orla's research interests include climate change law and policy, environmental and planning law and policy, public interest law, human rights law, constitutional and administrative law, European Union law, climate justice and just transitions.
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Orla Kelleher; Clodagh Daly (2025) 'Litigating the Fit for 55 Package: statutory and rights-based challenges to NECPs as a means of implementing and/or enhancing the ambition of the EU’s Fit For 55 package'. Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, . https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12587 | |
| 2024 | Mary Dobbs; Alison Hough; Orla Kelleher; Lisa Claire Whitten; Ciara Brennan (2024) 'Non-diminution, dynamic alignment and cooperation: exploring the potential of the Windsor Framework to protect the environment’'. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, . | |
| 2023 | Andrew Jackson and Orla Kelleher (2023) 'Ireland’s second generation Climate Act: still playing the laggard during the climate crisis?'. Irish Jurist, 70 . | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) 'Environmental constitutionalism: a transformative legal discourse'. Irish Judicial Studies Journal, 3 . [Full-Text] | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) 'Possibilities for a right to clean air after Case C-61/21 - JP v Ministre de la Transition écologique and Premier ministre'. Irish Journal of European Law, 25 (1). | |
| 2022 | Orla Kelleher (2022) 'Systemic Climate Change Litigation, Standing Rules and the Aarhus Convention: A Purposive Approach'. Journal of Environmental Law, 34 (1). [Full-Text] | |
| 2022 | Orla Kelleher (2022) 'Incorporating climate justice into legal reasoning: towards a risk-based approach to causation in systemic climate litigation'. Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, 13 (1). [Full-Text] | |
| 2021 | Orla Kelleher (2021) '‘The role of judges in systemic climate litigation: a comparative analysis of Ireland and the Netherlands’'. The Journal Of Comparative Law, 16 (2). [Full-Text] | |
| 2021 | Orla Kelleher (2021) 'A critical appraisal of Friends of the Irish Environment v Government of Ireland'. Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law, 30 (1). [Full-Text] | |
| 2018 | Orla Kelleher (2018) 'The revival of the unenumerated rights doctrine: a right to an environment and its implications for future climate change litigation in Ireland'. Irish Planning and Environmental Law Journal, 25 (3). |
Published Report
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ciara Brennan; Mary Dobbs; Alison Hough; Orla Kelleher; Lisa Claire Whitten (2025) The Environment, human rights and the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: A report for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, . | |
| 2023 | Ciara Brennan, Alison Hough, Orla Kelleher, Caitlín McIlhennon, Shea Anderson, (2023) Strategic Climate Litigation on the Island of Ireland: Building cooperation at domestic and transboundary levels. EJNI, . [Link] |
Conference Contribution
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Orla Kelleher; Aoife Daly (2024) Child/Youth-friendly Climate Justice Reflections on ‘The Anthropocene Judgments Project’ – the potential of future judgment writing projects for child friendly climate justice in scholarship and practice' at Child/Youth-friendly Climate Justice: Progress and Opportunities International Conference, UCC Cork, . | |
| 2024 | Orla Kelleher (2024) Climate Litigation Network and Berkeley Law Strategic Litigation in Climate Equality Symposium A constitutional guarantee of equality, human rights legislation and public sector equality duties: teasing out opportunities for the next wave of government framework climate litigation in the UK and Ireland' at the Climate Litigation Network and Berkeley Law Strategic Litigation in Climate Equality International Symposium UC Berkeley Law, . [Link] | |
| 2024 | Orla Kelleher; Andrew Jackson (2024) UCD Current Issues in Public Law Conference The implications of the ECtHR's climate rulings for future climate litigation in Ireland UCD Sutherland School of Law, . | |
| 2024 | Alison Hough; Orla Kelleher; Karen Ciesielski; Julián Suárez (2024) Mary Robinson Climate Conference The Reinvigorated Role of Rights in the Climate Crisis: EJNI-IEN Joint Session Ballina, . | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher and Clodagh Daly (2023) GreenDeal-Net Workshop (Brussels, December 2023) ‘Releasing the full potential of National Energy and Climate Plans under the Governance Regulation through the European Union’s Charter on Fundamental Rights’ GreenDeal-Net Workshop Brussels, . | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) Invited panellist at the MUSSI and Maynooth FSS Sustainability and Just Transition Research Group event on the Contribution of Social Science to Climate Change Research Invited panellist at the MUSSI and Maynooth FSS Sustainability and Just Transition Research Group event on the Contribution of Social Science to Climate Change Research Maynooth, . | |
| 2023 | Mary Dobbs; Orla Kelleher (2023) Irish Association of Law Teachers Conference ‘Safeguarding the environment on the island of Ireland: from the 1998 Agreement to the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland’ Dublin, . | |
| 2023 | Mary Dobbs; Orla Kelleher (2023) Workshop on the Northern Ireland Protocol ‘Article 2 of the Protocol & RSE: a pathway to environmental protections post-Brexit?’ Maynooth, . | |
| 2023 | Andrew Jackson and Orla Kelleher (2023) UCC Environmental Law Conference ‘Ireland’s second generation framework climate law: gaps between law, implementation, and justice’ Cork, . | |
| 2023 | Mary Dobbs and Orla Kelleher (2023) Irish Centre for European Law ‘Environmental Cases’ invited presentation at the ICEL Review of the CJEU in 2022 Dublin, February 2023 Dublin, . | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) New and Emerging Voices in Constitutional Law ‘Possibilities for a right to clean air after Case C-61-21’ Invited to present a paper at a symposium entitled New and Emerging Voices in Constitutional Law at the UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies Dublin, . | |
| 2023 | Mary Dobbs and Orla Kelleher (2023) Network of European Environmental Lawyers ‘Recent CJEU Judgments: Environmental Law’ invited presentation at the Network of European Environmental Lawyers Meeting Dublin (an event for State-employed lawyers), March 2023 Dublin, . | |
| 2022 | Orla Kelleher (2022) Constitutionalising a right to a healthy environment in Ireland: a transformative discourse or time-wasting distraction in a climate crisis?’ IUCN WCEL Oslo International Environmental Law Conference Oslo, . | |
| 2022 | Orla Kelleher (2022) Constitutionalising a right to a healthy environment in Ireland: a transformative discourse or time-wasting distraction in a climate crisis?’ Irish Association of Law Teachers Conference Belfast, . | |
| 2022 | Orla Kelleher (2022) UCC FLAC conference ‘Strategic Litigation the Courts as a vehicle for Change,’ Panellist UCC, . | |
| 2020 | Orla Kelleher (2020) ‘Causation and attribution of responsibility for climate harms in systemic rights-based climate change litigation: through a climate justice lens’ QUB School of Law SRN Symposium Belfast, . | |
| 2019 | Orla Kelleher (2019) ‘Climate justice and its influence on standing in systemic climate litigation’ SLS Postgraduate Conference University of Central Lancashire, Preston, . | |
| 2019 | Orla Kelleher (2019) ‘Climate Justice and its influence on judicial interpretation in systemic climate litigation’ Irish Association of Law Teachers Conference Limerick, . | |
| 2019 | Orla Kelleher (2019) ‘Climate Justice After the Paris Agreement’ College of Social Sciences & Law and College of Business Annual Research Student Symposium UCD, . | |
| 2018 | Orla Kelleher (2018) , ‘The Revival of the Unenumerated Rights Doctrine: A Right to Environmental Protection and its Implications for Future Climate Change Litigation in Ireland’ Postgraduate Research Symposium on Environmental Law UCC, . |
Article
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Orla Kelleher (2020) ‘A Reflection on Climate Justice in Ireland’. [Article] [Link] |
Blog
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Orla Kelleher (2025) Climate Litigation Brief: Coolglass v An Bord Pleanála, Judgment of 10 January 2025. [Blog] [Link] | |
| 2024 | Orla Kelleher; Andrew Jackson (2024) What does the latest European climate judgment mean for Ireland?. [Blog] [Link] | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) ‘What is the Climate Action Plan legal challenge all about?’ (RTÉ Brainstorm, 27 September 2023). [Blog] [Link] | |
| 2022 | Orla Kelleher (2022) What could a Citizens' Assembly on biodiversity in Ireland do?. [Blog] [Link] | |
| 2020 | Orla Kelleher (2020) The Supreme Court of Ireland’s decision in Friends of the Irish Environment v Government of Ireland (“Climate Case Ireland”). [Blog] [Link] |
Newspaper Articles
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) 'Does 2050 climate strategy give enough detail on how Ireland will reach net-zero?’ (The Irish Examiner, May 2023). [Newspaper Articles] [Link] | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) ‘Can Ireland tackle climate change without a credible medium or long-term plan?’ (The Journal.ie, April 2023). [Newspaper Articles] [Link] | |
| 2020 | Clodagh Daly, Orla Kelleher and Andrew Jackson (2020) 'Proposed Climate Bill is not good enough- we need clear and binding commitments’. [Newspaper Articles] | |
| 2020 | Orla Kelleher and Clodagh Daly (2020) ‘Ireland’s 2050 climate target: too little, too late’. [Newspaper Articles] [Link] |
Webinar
Policy Contribution
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Orla Kelleher (2024) Invited Expert to the Joint Oireachtas (Parliamentary) Committee on Environment and Climate Action for the Committee’s examination of Ireland’s revision of its National Energy and Climate Plan. [Policy Contribution] | |
| 2023 | Mary Dobbs and Orla Kelleher (2023) Invited oral and written evidence to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action (JOCECA) for the Committee's examination of the Citizens' Assembly Report on Biodiversity Loss. [Policy Contribution] [Link] | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) Is Ireland’s national long term strategy (nLTS) sufficiently detailed? (EJNI Briefing Paper, May 2023). [Policy Contribution] [Link] | |
| 2023 | CAN Europe (2023) National rapporteur for Ireland in the Climate laws in Europe – essential for achieving climate neutrality report (2023, CAN-E). [Policy Contribution] [Link] | |
| 2023 | CAN Europe and Together for 1.5 (2023) National rapporteur for Ireland in the Time to step up national climate action An assessment of the draft National Energy and Climate Plans updates report (CAN-E and Together for 1.5, October 2023). [Policy Contribution] [Link] | |
| 2023 | Orla Kelleher (2023) The role of NECP revision as a driver of net zero ambition, implementation and accountability in Ireland (EJNI Briefing Paper, March 2023). [Policy Contribution] [Link] | |
| 2022 | Mary Dobbs, Micheal O Cinneide, Vivianne Gravey, Sarah Hamill, Alison Hough, Orla Kelleher, Racheal Killean and Racheal Walsh (2022) Mapping governance for nature protection in Ireland - Briefing for the Irish Citizens. [Policy Contribution] |
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2025) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.