Prof. S O'Niell
School of Politics and International Studies
Queen’s University Belfast
Biography and Irish Studies research interests
Shane O’Neill was born and raised in Dublin and studied for his BA (History and Politics 1989) and MA (Moral and Political Philosophy 1991) in UCD. He graduated with a Ph.D. in political theory from Glasgow University in and held a Lectureship post at the University of Manchester before arriving at Queen’s in 1994. He is now Professor of Political Theory and Head of the School of Politics and International Studies. His research interests focus primarily on contemporary debates in normative political theory, particularly concerning the demands of justice and democratic legitimacy in diverse societies. His interest in Irish Studies has developed in the past decade from his attempts to apply normative theoretical frameworks to aspects of the peace process in Northern Ireland. He has published several articles in international journals exploring issues such as the demands of justice in culturally and nationally diverse societies such as Northern Ireland, the marching controversy at Drumcree, the role of political theory in managing ethno-national conflict democratically, and the normative merits of the Belfast Agreement and other proposed constitutional settlements for Northern Ireland.
1. 2003: ‘Are National Conflicts Reconcilable? Discourse Theory and Political Accommodation in Northern Ireland’ Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory, 10/1, 75-94.
2. 2001: ‘Mutual Recognition and the Accommodation of National Diversity: Constitutional Justice in Northern Ireland’ in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon and James Tully (eds) (Cambridge University Press), pp. 222-241.
3. 2000: ‘Liberty, Equality and the Rights of Cultures: The Marching Controversy at Drumcree’ British Journal of Politics and International Relations 2/1, 26-45.
4. 1996: ‘The Idea of an Overlapping Consensus in Northern Ireland: Stretching the Limits of Liberalism’ Irish Political Studies 11, 83-102
5. 1994. ‘Pluralist Justice and Its Limits: The Case of Northern Ireland’ Political Studies 42/3, 363-377.