Congratulations to Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden, Mitchell Institute Fellow: Legacy, who was one of five distinguished academics from Queen’s University Belfast to be officially admitted to the Royal Irish Academy at a ceremony on 26 May 2025, in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the humanities and social sciences.

Anne-Marie is Professor of Law and Criminal Justice in the School of Law.  Her pioneering scholarship focuses on legal responses to sexual offending as well as the dynamics of abuse, including in digital and institutional contexts.

The Royal Irish Academy is an all-island independent forum of peer-elected experts.  Membership of the Academy is the highest academic honour in Ireland.  The Academy has been honouring Ireland’s leading contributors to the world of learning since its establishment in 1785.  Each member is formally admitted in a special ceremony, during which they subscribe to the Member’s Declaration of Obligations and sign the Roll Book of Members.  Past members have included Nobel laureates WB Yeats, Ernest Walton, Max Planck, and Seamus Heaney.  They are entitled to use the designation ‘MRIA’ after their name.

Commenting on her election, Professor McAlinden said:

“I am delighted and extremely honoured to have been elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy. The Royal Irish Academy funded my doctoral studies, and it will be my privilege and pleasure to give back as part of a community of leading experts from the social sciences and humanities. I very much look forward to supporting the Academy in advancing publicly engagement through promoting academic research and knowledge.”

Commenting on Anne-Marie’s success, Professor Richard English said:

“It's wonderful to see Professor McAlinden's distinguished scholarship justly recognized with this election to the RIA.  It's a richly deserved honour, and I know that everyone at the Mitchell Institute will want to join me in offering warm congratulations.”