St Mary’s Liberal Arts (with Irish) graduate, Meabh McAuley, has successfully passed her PhD viva. Meabh's doctoral thesis is entitled “Women, Daesh & Discourse: A Critical Analysis'. She has already published aspects of her doctoral research, on the ethics of conducting cross-language research with refugees.

Commenting on her time at the College, Meabh highlighted the positive impact St Mary’s had: “I’m delighted to have attained my PhD. St Mary’s University College played a pivotal role in giving me the confidence and ability to succeed in my academic career. My lecturers encouraged me to be the best that I could be, and for that I will always be grateful”.

Throughout her time at St Mary's, Meabh demonstrated a keen interest in the topic of women's voices in conflict societies. She successfully completed an undergraduate project on the role of republican women in the North of Ireland. She advanced this interest with her MA dissertation, which studied the experiences of loyalist women.

College Lecturer Dr Birgit Schippers, who was one of Meabh's PhD supervisors, said: "I am absolutely thrilled. This is such a fantastic achievement and it is testament to Meabh's commitment to her field of research."

Before commencing her PhD, Meabh successfully completed an MA in Politics and a PGCE (both at Queen’s University Belfast). Meabh is the first LA graduate to achieve success at PhD level.