Research Interests
Open to PhD applications in:
- All aspects of law relating to the treatment of the recently dead, bodily disposal, funeral, exhumation and memorialisation
- Succession law
- Law and emotion
- Property and land law
Public outreach & key achievements
- I am a leading and internationally recognised expert on death laws with a specialist monograph on the subject (The Law and the Dead (Routledge, 2016)) and articles in top-ranked international journals and industry publications
- My death law research has had a significant influence beyond academia, and I have a strong track-record of sustained public engagement/knowledge transfer activity with a range of external stakeholders, including the National Association of Funeral Directors, Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors, and Cruse Bereavement
- A targeted piece in The Conversation in June 2016 Five Laws About the Dead that May Spook You attracted huge public interest, and has been read over 800,000 times
- I am the first person from Northern Ireland to become a council member and trustee of the Cremation Society of Great Britain
- I am a member of various interdisciplinary research networks, and have undertaken national and international media work. I sit on the editorial board of Mortality (a leading interdisciplinary death studies journal) and am co-editor of the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
- I have carried out externally funded research projects for the Changing Ageing Partnership in 2010 and the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland in 2013. As well as being a former member of the Law Reform Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, I have a sustained record of continuing professional development provision for the legal profession in Northern Ireland
- My book on co-ownership (Co-Ownership of Land: Partition Actions and Remedies (Bloomsbury, 2nd edn 2012) has been cited in the High Court of Northern Ireland, and in the Irish Supreme Court
Alumni: Where are they now
| PhD area | Remembering what they can never forget: Memoralisation of historical institutional abuse in Ireland |
|---|---|
| Name | Paula Shilliday |
| Years of study | PhD awarded 2022 |
| Quote |
It was my privilege to be guided and mentored by Prof Conway. Throughout my PhD journey, she provided detailed and constructive feedback, and was always supportive and available to help. Her insightful knowledge and experience encouraged me to think deeper about aspects of my PhD which fell within her area of expertise, and for that I am very grateful. |
| PhD area | The Irish law on adverse possession: The case for a qualified veto system |
| Name | Una Woods |
| Years of study | PhD awarded 2014 |
| Quotation | "My supervisor, Prof Conway, was always available to provide support during my time at QUB. Her feedback was thorough and yet constructive. It was a privilege to be supervised by such a renowned expert in the field of property law." |
Discover More
Get ahead: tips on how to prepare your application to study for a PhD at QUB Law
Read our guidance on the steps in our PhD applications process and how to present your research proposal.
Interested in a postdoctoral fellowship at QUB Law?
If you have already completed a PhD or are about to do so, and you are looking for a mentor for a postdoctoral fellowship in one of my areas of expertise, please get in touch via email. The School of Law has a strong track record in supporting able candidates who are working towards fellowship applications to funders such as the British Academy, EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie scheme, ESRC NINE and the Leverhulme Trust.