Prof John O'Brennan

Sociology, Centre for European and Eurasian Studies, Social Sciences Institute (MUSSI)

Professor
Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration

TSI Building
Biography

Biography

I am a Professor within the Department of Sociology. I also hold the Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration and am the Director of the Maynooth Centre for European and Eurasian Studies which is a designated Jean Monenet Centre of Excellence (2020-23). My work focuses on European Union institutions and politics, and, specifically on the process and politics of the EU's Enlargement policy. I also work on Ireland's relationship with the European Union and am currently finishing a monograph which examines Ireland's experience of EU membership over 50 years since accession in 1973. 

I am a board member and Vice-President of the Irish Association for Contemporary European Studies (IACES) and a member of the Irish government's Brexit Stakeholder Group since 2017. I am also a member of the Irish Institute for European and International Affairs' 'Global Europe' group. Previously, I worked as a Lecturer in European Union Politics at the University of Limerick (2001-2007) after holding Irish Research PhD and Post-Doctoral awards. I was also a Visiting Fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris (2005) and an Open Society lecturer in Politics at the Varna Economics University in Bulgaria (2000-2001).

I contribute regularly to national and international media on European Union issues, including Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, BBC News, The Irish Examiner, Irish Independent, and The Irish TimesLBC radio, Newstalk, Open DemocracyRTE Radio, RTE TelevisionSky News, Today fm, Virgin News Media, and many other outlets.

My recent research work also encompasses a focus on the Societal impact of Gambling in Ireland and Europe. I am co-PI (with my colleague, Prof Aphra Kerr and Dr. Paul Kitchen of Ulster University) on a new (2022-24) project examining the impact of gambling advertising on Young people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (YouGamSi). This project is funded by the HEA's 'Shared Island' scheme.
Research Publications Professional Teaching