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Dr. Róisin Costello

Dr. Róisin Costello

Assistant Professor, Law

3531896 1939

Biography

Róisín is an Assistant Professor of EU and International Law and a practicing barrister. Róisín is a graduate of the LLB and PhD programmes at TCD, as well as The Honorable Society of Kings Inns, the Institut d'études politiques de Paris and Georgetown Law. Prior to joining TCD Róisín was an Assistant Professor at Maynooth University (2019-2020) and at Dublin City University (2020-2023).

Róisín is currently the Deputy Director of the Trinity Centre for Constitutional Law, and is Director and principal investigator for "DEMCONEX" The Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence in Freedom of Expression and Democratic Resilience in Europe's Digital Age which will run from 2025-2028.

She is the author of `Privacy Law in Ireland (Bloomsbury, 2023), `Law in Irish Literature' (Edinburgh University Press, 2026) and is the co-author of the forthcoming 'The Data Protection Acts and the GDPR: A Commentary' (Bloomsbury, 2026). Róisín has also co-edited the volumes 'Critical Reflections on the EU's Data Protection Regime' (Hart, 2024) and 'Data Protection After Brexit: Reflections from the UK and Ireland' (Hart, 2023).

Róisín researches and works on EU law (with a particular focus on privacy/data protection and EU constitutionalism), and law and language. Her research on language rights has been cited by the House of Lords Public Services Committee report "Interpreting and language services in the courts" and her work on the right to privacy has been relied on by the Irish Supreme Court in Hyland v Commission of An Garda Síochána [2025] IESC 43.

Róisín's research has been funded by Erasmus+, The Irish Research Council (now Research Ireland), The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). She has also received smaller grants from the SLSA and SLS.


Róisín welcomes expressions of interest from prospective PhD students and post-doctoral researchers whose research is focused on:

(i) privacy and/or data protection law
(ii) EU constitutionalism
(iii) Political Economy approaches to EU law
(iv) the intersection of fundamental / human rights and digital technologies
(v) language rights / law and language
(vi) the intersections of law and humanities with a particular focus on: law and history / law and literature / law and culture

PhD or postdoctoral students interested in working with Dr Costello should meet the requirements for admission to the Law School's PhD programme and (in general) should have a jurisdictional focus on: Europe (including EU Member States), Ireland, or common law jurisdictions or should be working on comparative research drawing in whole or in part on these jurisdictions.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • Róisín Á Costello, International criminal law and the role of non-state actors in preserving open source evidence, Cambridge International Law Journal, 7, (2), 2018Journal Article, 2018, DOI
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The Right to be Forgotten in Cases Involving Criminal Convictions: NT1 & NT2 v Google and the Information Commissioner, European Human Rights Law Review, 3, 2018, p268-Journal Article, 2018
  • Róisín Á Costello, Reviving Rylands: How the Doctrine could be Used to Claim Compensation for Environmental Damage Caused by Fracking, Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 23, (1), 2014Journal Article, 2014
  • Maria Grazia Porcedda, with David Fennelly and Róisín A Costello, Data Protection and the COVID-19 Pandemic, https://www.tcd.ie/law/2020.21, Covid-19 Law and Human Rights Observatory, Trinity College Dublin, 2021Report, 2021
  • Róisín Aine Costello, Privacy Law in Ireland, 1, Dublin, Bloomsbury, 2023Book, 2023, URL
  • Irish Language Rights under the 1922 Constitution: Symbolism and Substance in, editor(s)Laura Cahillane and Dónal Coffey , The 1922 Constitution, Dublin, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, [Róisín Aine Costello]Book Chapter, 2023
  • Brian Merriman in, editor(s)Eric Falci , The Cambridge History of Irish Poetry, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2024, [Róisín Áine Costello]Book Chapter, 2024
  • Constructing a Non-Popular Populism: Freedom of Expression and Democratic Discourse Online in, editor(s)Thiago M. Moyano and Laura P. Z. Izarra , Transatlantic Crises of Democracy: Cultural Approaches, Sao Paulo, University of São Paulo Press, 2023, pp230 - 254, [Róisín Áine Costello]Book Chapter, 2023
  • The Brussels Effect: Regulatory Standard-Setting and Constitutional Conflicts in Post-Brexit Privacy Law in, editor(s)Róisín Á Costello, Edoardo Celeste, Edina Harbinja, Napoleon Xanthoulis , Data Protection After Brexit: Reflections from the UK and Ireland, London, Hart, 2023, [Róisín Áine Costello]Book Chapter, 2023
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Review of Law and Literature: The Irish Case, by Adam Hanna and Eugene McNulty , Estudios Irlandeses, (18), 2023, p250-308Review, 2023
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Faux Ami? Interrogating the Normative Coherence of `Digital Constitutionalism, Global Constitutionalism, 12, (2), 2023, p326 - 349Journal Article, 2023
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Citizenship, Identity and Veiling, Journal of Law and Religion, 38, (1), 2023, p81 - 107Journal Article, 2023
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Lost in Translation: Courtroom Interpretation and the Right to a Fair Trial in DPP v HM and BO [2021] IECA 315, The Irish Jurist, 68, (1), 2022, p130 - 139Journal Article, 2022
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Poetry, Politics and the Law in Modern Ireland", Review of Poetry, Politics and the Law in Modern Ireland", by Adam Hanna , Irish Studies Review, 30, (4), 2022, p511-513Review, 2022
  • Róisín Á Costello, To be British, Irish, or both: Understanding Language Rights as a Tool for Reconciliation in Northern Ireland, Irish Studies in International Affairs, 33, (2), 2022, p1 - 22Journal Article, 2022
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Genetic Data and The Right to Privacy: Towards a Relational Theory of Privacy?, Human Rights Law Review, 22, (a), 2022, p1-Journal Article, 2022
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The ECtHR Decision in Volodina: Intimate Images, Domestic Violence and the Positive Obligations of Member States under Article 8 ECHR, European Data Protection Law Review, 4, (7), 2021, p614 - 617Journal Article, 2021
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The Barbarian and the Cart: Citizenship, Law and Language in Macaronic Verse, Law & Humanities, 15, (2), 2021, p219 - 230Journal Article, 2021
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Laws Governing Data Retention in Graham Dwyer v Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Irish Journal of European Law, 23, (1), 2021, p119 - 132Journal Article, 2021
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Conflicts Between Intellectual Property and Consumer Property Rights in the Digital Market, European Journal of Law and Technology, 11, (1), 2020, p1 - 24Journal Article, 2020
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The Impacts of AdTech on Privacy Rights and the Rule of Law, Technology Regulation, 2, (1), 2020, p11 - 29Journal Article, 2020
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Courtroom Dialogues and Feminist Legal Theory in Irish literature, Irish Studies Review, 28, (3), 2020, p370 - 384Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Law, Policy and the Internet, Review of Law, Policy and the Internet, by Lilian Edwards , International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 27, (2), 2019, p204-208Review, 2019
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Remedies for Breach of Privacy, Review of Remedies for Breach of Privacy, by Jason Varuhas , SCRIPTed, 16, (1), 2019, p78-63Review, 2019
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Whats Left in the Sieve: The Law as History Maker in the Modern State, Law and Humanities Workshop, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, 2022, 2022Conference Paper, 2022
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Political Economy in European Law and Policy, Society of Legal Scholars,, Durham, United Kingdom, 2021, 2021Conference Paper, 2021
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The Official Languages Act: More than Performative Allegiance in Public Spaces?, The Legal Status of Irish, Trinity College Centre for Constitutional Law & Governance, Dublin, 2021, 2021Conference Paper, 2021
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Smart borders, vulnerable subjects: migrant experiences in liminal spaces, Out of Bounds: Borders in Crisis, Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation, Trinity College Dublin, 2021, 2021Conference Paper, 2021
  • Roisin Aine Costello, Citizen Datafication as a Condition of Access to Public Services: the Poverty of Privacy Rights in the EU, Data & Disorder Conference, Oxford Internet Institute & LSE Alan Turing Institute, 2019, 2019Conference Paper, 2019
  • Róisín Áine Costello, EU Accession to the ECHR: Data Protection in the Caselaw of the ECtHR and its Impacts for the Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU Accession to the ECHR, University of Liverpool, 2023, 2023Invited Talk, 2023
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Symbolism and Substance: Irish Language Rights in the 1922 Constitution, The Centenary of the 1922 Constitution, Dublin, 2022, 2022Invited Talk, 2022
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Data Protection and Audio-Visual Recording of Police Interviews under the Law Enforcement Directive, Data Protection Concerns for Law Enforcement, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, 2022, 2022Invited Talk, 2022
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The CJEU Decision in GD v Ireland: Consequences for National and EU Law, Annual Data Protection Conference, Irish Centre for European Law, 2022, 2022Invited Talk, 2022
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Mixed Data and Data Protection Following Recent CJEU Decisions, Annual Data Protection Conference, Irish Centre for European Law, 2023, 2023Invited Talk, 2023
  • Róisín Á Costello, To what extent can cyber evidence repositories, and digital and open-source evidence, facilitate the work of the OTP, and the ICC more generally?, International Criminal Court Forum/UCLA, 2019, 2019Report, 2019
  • Non-Material Damages under Article 82 GDPR in, editor(s)Róisín Á Costello and Mark Leiser , Critical Reflections on the EU"s Data Protection Regime, Oxford, Hart, 2024, [Róisín Á Costello]Book Chapter, 2024
  • Irish Language Rights and the Courts of Justice Act 1924 in, editor(s)Niamh Howlin , The Courts of Justice Act 1924, Dublin, Four Courts Press, 2024, [Róisín Á Costello and Judge Úna Ní Raifeartaigh]Book Chapter, 2024, URL
  • Róisín Á Costello, The Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 and compliance with the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages, Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 2024Journal Article, 2024, DOI
  • Róisín Á Costello, Law in Irish Literature: Critical Approaches to Institutions, Power and Identity, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2024Book, 2024
  • Róisín Á Costello, McGee v Attorney General: The Beginning (and the End?) of Patriarchal Privacy in Irish Law, Dublin University Law Journal, 2024Journal Article, 2024
  • Róisín Á Costello, A Computer"s Body and Its Soul: Search and Seizure of Digital Devices Following DPP v Quirke, The Irish Jurist, 2024Journal Article, 2024
  • Róisín Á Costello, The Test in Kelly v Hennessy and Article 82(1) GDPR, Irish Judicial Studies Journal, 8, (2), 2024, p22-Journal Article, 2024
  • Róisín Á Costello and Liz Heffernan, Subsequent Legal Developments and Admissibility of Evidence: DPP v Smyth [2024] IESC 22, Irish Supreme Court Review, 2025Journal Article, 2025
  • Róisín Á Costello, Anglophone Presumptions in the Courtrooms of Wales and the Republic of Ireland: Some Initial Thoughts on Achieving Language-neutral Courtrooms, Revista de Llengua i Dret, 2025Journal Article, 2025, TARA - Full Text
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Complicity and the Colonial Force of Law in the Courtroom of Katie Kitamura"s Intimacies, Law & Literature, 36, (1), 2023, p87 - 114, p87-114Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Róisín Á Costello, Unreasonable and Impracticable: Interrogating the scope of the State"s duty to facilitate legal proceedings in the Irish language, Just. Journal of Language Rights & Minorities, 2026Journal Article, 2026
  • Roisin A Costello, Ireland (mostly) at The Bar, Dublin University Law Journal, 2026Journal Article, 2026
  • Reserve and Revelation: Modern Conceptions of Privacy in the novels of Jane Austen in, editor(s)Patrick O"Callaghan and Paolo Astorri , Privacy Before the Right to Privacy: Past as a Prologue to a Technological Future, Hart, 2027, [Róisín Á Costello]Book Chapter, 2027
  • Róisín Á Costello, Strasbourg"s Consideration of Article 267 TFEU and the ECtHR as a Shadow Constitutional Court of the European Union, German Law Journal, 2026Journal Article, 2026
  • Deepfakes and Digital Trust: Authenticating Open Source Evidence in, editor(s)Richard H Steinberg , The International Criminal Court: Legal, Policy and Political Challenges, Brill, 2025, pp93 - 99, [Róisín Á Costello]Book Chapter, 2025
  • Róisín Á Costello, James Kneale, Seán Hurley, The Data Protection Acts and the GDPR: A Commentary, Bloomsbury, 2027Book, 2027
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Unreasonable and impracticable, Just Journal of Language Rights & Minorities Revista de Drets Lingüístics i Minories, 4, (2), 2025Journal Article, 2025, DOI
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Personal DNA tests might help research but they put your data at risk, 2019Journal Article, 2019, DOI
  • Law as Spectre in `The Giant O"Brien" in, editor(s)Marco Man Ho Wan , Cambridge Handbook of Law, Literature and Colonialism, Cambridge University Press, 2026, [Róisín Á Costello]Book Chapter, 2026
  • Róisín Á Costello, A Dyadic Future: The Rule of Law in the European Union, UACES Annual Conference, University of Bath, 2018, 2018Conference Paper
  • Róisín Á Costello, Fade to Black: the declining influence of the common law and its implications for the rule of law in Europe, ICON-S Great Britain and Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, 2017, 2017Conference Paper
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Brittle Constitutionalism in the European Legal Order: Re-embedding the Social and Economic Aspects of the European Union"s Constitutional Identity, 1, Bologna, Italy, 2022Book
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The Need for a Constitutional Prohibition on Unreasonable Search and Seizure in a Digital Age," Building a 21st Century Bill of Rights, WG Hart Legal Workshop, IALS, London, 2018, 2018Conference Paper
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The Expanding Scope of Privacy in European Law: Relational, Social, Contextual, Common Market Law Review Annual Conference,, Dublin, 2022, 2022Invited Talk
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Language Use and Language Learning in Northern Ireland: Building Linguistic Capacity for Reconciliation / Úsáid Teanga agus Foghlaim Teanga I dTuaisceart Éireann: Cumas Teanga a Fhorbairt don Athmhuintearas, 2022, 2022Report, TARA - Full Text
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Reflections and Recommendations on the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill 2022 / Machnaimh agus Moltaí ar an mBille Féiniúlachta agus Teanga (Tuaisceart Éireann) 2022, 2022, 2023Report, TARA - Full Text
  • Róisín Áine Costello, The Decision in Quirke v DPP: Dividing A Computer's Body and its Soul, UCD Public Law Conference, University College Dublin, 2023, 2023Invited Talk
  • Róisín Áine Costello, Mionteangacha agus léirmhíniú reachtúil i R on the application of Driver v Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council [2020] EWCA Civ 1759, Cumann Barra na Gaeilge: Ceardlann Forbairt Gairmiúil, An Leabharlann Dlí, 25 September 2023, 2023Invited Talk
  • Róisín Á Costello, Critical Reflections on the EU's Data Protection Regime, Oxford, Hart, 2024Book

Research Expertise

Róisín is an EU lawyer and researches and works on EU law with a particular focus on privacy and data protection law and EU constitutionalism, including the intersectional of constitutionalism and digital technologies. Róisín's research in EU law has been funded by the IRC and ESRC.


The second strand of Róisín's research focuses on law and language, with a particular focus on regional and minority language rights in Ireland and the European Union. Róisín's research has afforded particular attention to the rights of minority language speakers in courtroom settings, and the role of courtroom interpretation in the right to a fair hearing. Róisín has received funding from the SLS, the SLSA, The Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the Irish Research Council & The Department of Foreign Affairs for research projects related to her research in minority language rights.

Róisín is also interested in the intersection of law and the humanities - in particular the portrayal of law and lawyers in literature and what this can tell us about the impacts of law on identity, language and expression.

  • Title
    Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law in a Digital Future
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    Irish Research Council
    Date From
    2018
    Date To
    2020
  • Title
    Building a Cross-border Data Protection Network
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    Economic & Social Research Council/Irish Research Council
    Date From
    2020
    Date To
    2022
  • Title
    Court Interpretation in Wales and the Republic of Ireland
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    Arts and Humanities Research Council
    Date From
    2023
    Date To
    2025
  • Title
    Supporting Irish Language Use on a Cross-Community Basis"
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    Irish Research Council & The Department of Foreign Affairs
    Date From
    2021
    Date To
    2022
  • Title
    International Student Scholarship
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    Georgetown Law
    Date From
    2014
    Date To
    2015
  • Title
    Court Interpretation in Wales and the Republic of Ireland
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    SLSA
  • Title
    DEMCONEX Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence
    Summary
    The DEMCONEX Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence for Freedom of Expression and Democratic Resilience in Europe"s Digital Age will examine how freedom of expression and its regulation supports the ability of citizens to participate in political processes and contribute to Europe"s democratic project and will provide a wider umbrella for promoting EU Studies at TCD.
    The JMCE has 3 complementary, integrated strands -
    Research: The JMCE will facilitate interdisciplinary research including the production of: a monograph examining the development of freedom of expression and its association with political participation; articles and book chapters on topics such as participatory democracy, de-platforming, regulation of social media platforms, and EU law in national constitutional courts; and conference papers and participation.
    Teaching: The JMCE will lead an ambitious expansion of teaching and the promotion of excellence in EU studies teaching. It will deliver two new modules on freedom of expression and democratic participation, integrate materials on freedom of expression, constitutionalism and democratic theory into existing modules and deliver seminars to students in universities outside the EU.
    Events: The JMCE will host events including an annual Public Lecture series, two interdisciplinary seminar series and a multi-day international conference. Connecting theory and practice, the events will reach students and key stakeholders including government and civil society.
    The JMCE represents a consolidation and an ambitious expansion in events, teaching and research on EU Studies at TCD, and will lay the groundwork for future ERASMUS+ activities. It will also provide support to capitalise on the `competitive advantage" that Dublin now enjoys as a centre for EU studies as a result of its position as the capital city of the only English-speaking Member State, and the jurisdiction where many digital undertakings central to this research are located and regulated.
    Funding Agency
    Erasmus+
  • Title
    The Legal Future of the Irish Language
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    Society of Legal Scholars
    Date From
    2020
    Date To
    2021

Law and legal studies, Other social sciences,

Recognition

  • International Student Scholarship (Georgetown Law) 2014-2015
  • Fellow of International Economic Law (Georgetown Law) 2014-2015
  • Postgraduate Studentship (Trinity College Dublin, Law School) 2017-2018
  • Incorporated Council of Law Reporting of Ireland Present
  • Director and Board Member of the Irish Centre for European Law October 2023
  • Board Member of the Irish Supreme Court Review Present
  • Ordinary Member Society of Legal Scholars Present
  • Ordinary Member Socio-Legal Studies Association Present
  • Ordinary Member Council of European Studies Present