Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Allison Silink and Desmond Ryan, Reassessing the scope of the Non-Delegable Duty to apply to intentional wrongdoing: an analysis of the High Court of Australia"s judgment in Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle v AA [2026] HCA 2, Doing Law Differently: Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference 2026, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, 2-4 September 2026, 2026
Desmond Ryan, Redmond on Dismissal Law: Fourth Edition, Fourth, Dublin, Bloomsbury Professional, 2026, 1-778pp
Desmond Ryan, Lifting the compensation cap and reducing the qualifying period: a new `ERA' for unfair dismissal rights and remedies?, King's Law Journal, 2026
"A Decade of Distinctive Doctrinal Developments in Tort Law in Ireland: Analysing the Case Law of the Court of Appeal in Comparative Perspective" in, editor(s)Dr. Mark Coen and Dr. Noel McGrath , The Irish Court of Appeal: The First Decade of an Intermediate Appellate Court, 2026, pp153 - 170, [Desmond Ryan]
Desmond Ryan, Of Principles and Principals: Reasonableness and Remedies in Unfair Dismissal: An Bord Banistíochta, Gaelscoil Moshíológ v the Labour Court [2024] IESC 38, Irish Supreme Court Review, 7, 2025, p59 - 74
Desmond Ryan, Esther McGuinness, Rory O'Connell, A Review of Employment Law in Ireland, North and South, Irish Studies in International Affairs, 2025, p1 - 29
Desmond Ryan, "The Power and Limits of Close Connection: Analysing the Legacy of Bazley v Curry through three international case studies", The Supreme Court Law Review (Canada), 2, (Third Series), 2024, p31 - 47
Desmond Ryan, Marta Lasek-Markey, Andrea Mulligan, Linda Hogan, Bryana Tunder, Conscientious Objection in an Uncertain Time: New Challenges in Ireland, Religions, 14, 2023, p1 - 16
Desmond Ryan, Emerging institutional reforms of the labour law dispute resolution machinery in Ireland, and their implications for labour law norms, Labour Law Research Network, Warsaw, Poland, 24 June 2023, 2023
Desmond Ryan, Damages for false imprisonment by the state: counterfactual and vindicatory approaches in comparative perspective, Obligations X, Banff, Canada, 14 July 2023, 2023
Desmond Ryan, The Duty of Care in Negligence: University College Cork v Electricity Supply Board, Irish Supreme Court Review, 2022, p185 - 201
Connecting Cautiously: Vicarious Liability in Ireland in Comparative Perspective in, editor(s)Paula Giliker , Vicarious Liability in the Common Law World, Oxford, Hart, 2022, pp103 - 119, [Desmond Ryan ]
Allison Silink and Desmond Ryan, Twenty Years on from Lister v Hesley Hall Ltd - Is There Now a 'Tailored Close Connection Test' for Vicarious Liability in Cases of Sexual Abuse, or Not?, Professional Negligence, 38, (1), 2022, p5 - 23
The influence of Chief Baron Palles on the development of the doctrines of vicarious liability and the non-delegable duty of care in, editor(s)Oonagh B. Breen and Noel McGrath , Palles: The Legal Legacy of the Last Lord Chief Baron, Dublin, Four Courts Press, 2022, pp160 - 175, [Desmond Ryan]
Allison Silink and Desmond Ryan, The relevance of "control" in both stages of the test for vicarious liability in relationships that are "akin to employment" : an analysis of Blackpool in the Court of Appeal, Professional Negligence, 38, (4), 2022, p229 - 238
Desmond Ryan, Nano Nagle School v Daly, Irish Supreme Court Review, 2, 2021, p61 - 74
Rachael Walsh and Sarah Hamill (chapter authors) Deirdre Ahern and Suryapratim Roy (report editors), Policy Responses to Covid-19 In Ireland: Supporting Individuals, Communities, Businesses, and the Economy, COVID-19 Legal Observatory, Trinity College Dublin, December, 2020, p1 - 108
Desmond Ryan, Restating Restraint of Trade: The Implications of the Supreme Court's Judgment in Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd, Industrial Law Journal, 2020, p1 - 14
Desmond Ryan and Mark Bell, Disability, Reasonable Accommodation and the Employer's Obligations: Nano Nagle School v Daly, Modern Law Review, 83, 2020, p1059 - 1071
Cliodhna Murphy, Desmond Ryan, Work, Dignity and Non-Citizens: Reflections from the Irish Constitutional Order, Public Law, Issue 1 January 2020, 2019, p30-40
Desmond Ryan, Vicarious Liability for Independent Contractors: Orthodox Principles "On the Move"?, Irish Employment Law Journal, 16, (1), 2019, p4 - 9
Desmond Ryan, SAAMCO re-explored: BPE and the law of professional negligence, Journal of Professional Negligence, 34, (2), 2018, p71 - 86
Allison Silink and Desmond Ryan, Vicarious Liability for Independent Contractors, Cambridge Law Journal, 2018, p458 - 461
Desmond Ryan, Bullying and Harassment Litigation post-Ruffley: An Analysis of the Judgment of the Court of Appeal in McCarthy v ISS Ireland Ltd, Tort Law and Litigation Review, 2018, p19 - 28
Desmond Ryan, Vicarious liability and the non-delegable duty of care: application of the Supreme Court's guidance at first instance, Professional Negligence, 2018, p209 - 215
Part-Time Workers in, editor(s)Ailbhe Murphy Maeve Regan , Employment Law, Dublin, Bloomsbury, 2017, pp401 - 428, [Desmond Ryan]
Fixed-Term Workers in, editor(s)Ailbhe Murphy Maeve Regan , Employment Law, Dublin, Bloomsbury, 2017, pp429 - 467, [Desmond Ryan]
Desmond Ryan, 'From opportunity to occasion: vicarious liability in the High Court of Australia', Cambridge Law Journal, 76, 2017, p14-18
Bullying Harassment and Stress at Work in, editor(s)Ailbhe Murphy, Maeve Regan , Employment Law, Dublin, Bloomsbury, 2017, pp233 - 283, [Desmond Ryan]
Vicarious Liability in, editor(s)Ailbhe Murphy Maeve Regan , Employment Law, Dublin, Bloomsbury, 2017, pp285 - 325, [Desmond Ryan]
Desmond Ryan, Redmond on Dismissal Law: Third Edition, Third Edition, Dublin, 2017, 1-594pp
Individualism and Autonomy in Occupiers' Liability and Compensation Culture in, editor(s)Eoin Quill Raymond Friel , Damages and Compensation Culture: Comparative Perspectives, United Kingdom, Hart Publishing, 2016, [Desmond Ryan]
Desmond Ryan, "Close Connection" and "Akin to Employment": Perspectives on Fifty Years of Radical Developments in Vicarious Liability", The Irish Jurist, LVI, 2016, p239 - 260
Desmond Ryan, Atypical Work in the Emergence from Austerity: Assumptions and Expectations Re-Evaluated, Dublin University Law Journal, 39(1), 2016, p75 - 92
Whistleblowing: National Report for Ireland in, editor(s)PD Dr. Gerrit Forst LL.M. (Cantab.) Gastprofessor Gregor Thusig , Whistleblowing: International Academy of Comparative Labour Law, Germany, Springer International, 2016, pp181 - 186, [Dr. Desmond Ryan and Dr. Michael Doherty]
Desmond Ryan, Parallel Proceedings in Employment Law: An Analysis of the High Court judgments in Cunningham and Culkin, Dublin University Law Journal, 38, (1), 2015, p219 - 231
Dublin University Law Journal, 37, (2014), i, 1 - iv, 299p, Desmond Ryan and Oran Doyle, [eds.], 2010-2014
Desmond Ryan, Individual Autonomy and Personal Responsibility in Occupiers' Liability and Compensation Culture, Compensation Culture: Comparative Tort Reform in the 21st Century, University of Limerick, 23 May 2014, 2014
Desmond Ryan, The 'Constitutional Tort' in Ireland: Another Perspective on the Convergence Debate regarding Tort Law and Human Rights, Obligations VII, Hong Kong University, 15-18 July 2014, 2014
DESMOND RYAN, Tort Law Defences by James Goudkamp, Review of Tort Law Defences , by James Goudkamp , Legal Studies, 34, (4), 2014, p743
Dublin University Law Journal, 36, (2013), i, 1 - iv, 403p, Desmond Ryan and Oran Doyle, [eds.], 2010-2014
Desmond Ryan, From the Irish Supreme Court to the Strasbourg Grand Chamber: Domestic Approaches to Vicarious Liability under challenge in Europe', Society of Legal Scholars, Edinburgh, 3 September 2013, 2013
Dublin University Law Journal, 2012, 35, (2012), i, 1 - iv, 355p, Des Ryan and Oran Doyle, [eds.], 2010-2014
Delany, H. and Ryan D., "Springboard Injunctions: An Analysis of Emerging Principles in the Case Law of the English and Irish Courts, Civil Justice Quarterly, 31, (3), 2012, p284 - 303
Dublin University Law Journal, 34, (2011), i, 1 - iv, 280p, Desmond Ryan and Oran Doyle, [eds.]
Dublin University Law Journal, 33, (2011), i, 1 - ix,428p, Des Ryan and Oran Doyle, [eds.], 2010-2014
Dublin University Law Journal, Dublin, Clarus Press, [eds.], 2011-2014
Report on Ireland in, editor(s)Monika Schlachter , The Prohibition of Age Discrimination in Labour Relations, Germany, Nomos, 2011, pp293 - 308, [Desmond Ryan and Michael Doherty]
Oran Doyle, Desmond Ryan, Judicial Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003: Reflections and Analysis, Dublin University Law Journal, 33, 2011, p369 - 392
Dr. Desmond Ryan, "Article 2 ECHR and the Tort of Negligence: Where are we Now?", Society of Legal Scholars, Southampton, United Kingdom, 16 September 2010, 2010
Dr. Desmond Ryan & Dr. Michael Doherty, "Age Discrimination in Employment Law", International Academy of Comparative Law Congress , Washington DC, USA, July-August 2010, 2010
Desmond Ryan, Vindicating Rights through the Tortious Liability of Public Authorities: Emerging Themes and Tensions in Comparative Perspective, Trinity College Dublin, 2010
Part-Time Workers in, editor(s)Maeve Regan , Employment Law, Dublin, Tottel Publishing, 2009, pp281-303 - [Des Ryan]
Bullying, Harassment and Stress at Work in, editor(s)Maeve Regan , Employment Law, Dublin, Tottel Publishing, 2009, pp231-264 , [Des Ryan]
Desmond Ryan, Connections without consensus: recent approaches to vicarious liability in the Irish Supreme Court, Dublin University Law Journal, 31, (1), 2009, p457 - 472
Fixed-Term Workers in, editor(s)Maeve Regan , Employment Law, Dublin, Tottel Publishing, 2009, pp305-334 , [Des Ryan]
Neville CoxVal CorbettDesmond Ryan, Employment Law in Ireland, 1st, Dublin, Clarus Press, 2009, 1-892pp
Vicarious Liability in, editor(s)Maeve Regan , Employment Law, Dublin, Tottel Publishing, 2009, pp265-280 , [Des Ryan]
Desmond Ryan, Making connections: new approaches to vicarious liability in comparative perspective, Dublin University Law Journal, 30, (1), 2008, p41 - 70
Recent Judicial Approaches to Loss of Chance in Medical Negligence Cases in, editor(s)Professor William Binchy Dr. Ciaran Craven , Medical Negligence Litigation: Emerging Issues, Dublin, First Law, 2008, pp24 - 55, [Ray Ryan and Des Ryan]
Delany, H. and Ryan, D., Unconscionability: A Unifying Theme in Equity?, The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, 72, (5), 2008, p401 - 436
Ray Ryan, Des Ryan, "Intoxicated Guests, Third Parties and the Law of Negligence", Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 2007, p108 - 119
Ray Ryan, Des Ryan, "Vicarious liability of employers - emerging themes and trends and their potential implications for Irish law", Irish Employment Law Journal, 2007, p3 - 8
Ray Ryan, Des Ryan, Asbestos litigation and the requirements of the negligence action: new developments in Irish and English law., Quarterly Review of Tort Law, 2007, p10 - 15
Desmond Ryan, "Royal Brunei Dishonesty: A Clear Welcome for Barlow Clowes", The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, 2007, p168-
Marguerite Bolger, Des Ryan , "The mutual duty of fidelity in the contract of employment: significant recent developments", Irish Employment Law Journal, 2007, p112 - 120
Ray Ryan, Des Ryan , "MRSA litigation in Ireland: new questions for tort law", Quarterly Review of Tort Law, 2007, p12 - 19
Ray Ryan, Des Ryan , Bonus points: employers' discretion in the determination of bonus payments, Commercial Law Practitioner, 2007, p166 - 171
Desmond Ryan, "Conditional Fee Agreements: Strutting Their Stuff Around a Circle that Cannot be Squared?", Civil Justice Quarterly , 2006, p20 - 26
Desmond Ryan, "Royal Brunei Dishonesty: Clarity at Last?" , The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, 2006, p188 - 197
Ray Ryan, Des Ryan, "Resolving the duress dilemma: guidance from the House of Lords", Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 2005, p421 - 430
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association Annual CPD Briefing, Law Library, Dublin, July 2025, 2025
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association Annual CPD Briefing, Law Library, 2021, 2024
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association Annual CPD Briefing, The Bar of Ireland, 2023, 2023
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association Annual CPD Briefing, Bar of Ireland, 2022, 2022
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association Annual CPD Briefing, 2021, 2021
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association Annual CPD Briefing, Bar of Ireland, 2020, 2020
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association CPD Briefing, The Bar of Ireland, 2019, 2019
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association Annual CPD Briefing, The Bar of Ireland, 2018, 2018
Employment Law in, editor(s)William Binchy Raymond Byrne , Annual Review of Irish Law 2016, Dublin, 2017, [Desmond Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)William Binchy Raymond Byrne , Annual Review of Irish Law 2015, Dublin, 2016, [Desmond Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)William Binchy Raymond Byrne , Annual Review of Irish Law 2014, Dublin, 2015, [Desmond Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)William Binchy Raymond Byrne , Annual Review of Irish Law 2013, Dublin, 2014, [Desmond Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)William Binchy Raymond Byrne , Annual Review of Irish Law 2012, Dublin, 2013, [Desmond Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)William Binchy Raymond Byrne , Annual Review of Irish Law 2011, Dublin, 2012, [Desmond Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)William Binchy Raymond Byrne , Annual Review of Irish Law 2010, Dublin, 2011, [Desmond Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)William Binchy Raymond Byrne , Annual Review of Irish Law 2009, Dublin, 2010, [Desmond Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)Professor William Binchy Raymond Byrne, Director of Research, Law Reform Commission , Annual Review of Irish Law 2008, Dublin, Thomson Round Hall, 2009, pp311 - 324, [Des Ryan]
Employment Law in, editor(s)Professor William Binchy Raymond Byrne, Director of Research, Law Reform Commission , Annual Review of Irish Law 2007, Dublin, Thomson Round Hall, 2008, pp257 - 279, [Des Ryan]
Desmond Ryan, Recent Developments in Employment Case Law, Employment Bar Association Annual CPD Briefing - Des Ryan, The Bar of Ireland, 2026, 2006
Research Expertise
Description
My research focuses on Employment Law and Tort Law, with a particular emphasis on the contract of employment, vicarious liability and dismissal law. I am particularly interested in the relationship between statute and common law in, and between, employment law and tort law. I am the Director of the Private Law Group at Trinity College Dublin (https://www.tcd.ie/law/research/groups/private-law/), responsible for leading a programme of international and national research activities including workshops, seminars and lectures. My research explores the nature of employers' liability for torts committed by employees and other persons; the role of both statute and common law in protecting individuals against unjustified termination of employment, and evolution in statutory and common law frameworks including the law on protected disclosures, employment equality, and implied contractual terms. My work is international and interdisciplinary in focus and includes collaborations with colleagues across the common law world. I have supervised several doctorates to successful completion and welcome approaches from doctoral candidates in the above and related areas. I am a member of several consortia supported by research funding including COALESCE funding from the Irish Research Council. My books and journal articles have been favourably cited and relied upon by several courts, including the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Ireland and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. I am the author of the leading work on dismissal law in Ireland which has been repeatedly cited and relied upon by the Workplace Relations Commission, Labour Court and Superior Courts. In December 2024 I was appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to serve on the Employment Law Review Group, whose function is to monitor, review, and advise on all aspects of employment and redundancy law, with a specific focus on promoting good workplace relations in the State.Recognition
Representations
External Examiner in Tort Law and Advanced Obligations, University of Bristol Law School
Ministerial Nominee, Employment Law Review Group
Convenor for Ireland, Society of Legal Scholars
External Examiner in Tort Law, Law Society of Ireland
Executive Committee Member, International Society of Labour and Social Security Law
Co-Editor, Dublin University Law Journal
Peer Reviewer, Irish Supreme Court Review
Peer Reviewer, Cambridge Law Journal
Peer Reviewer - Legal Studies
Member, Irish Judicial Studies Network
Member of Editorial Board of the Irish Employment Law Journal
Awards and Honours
Elected a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin
Elected a Visiting Fellow, Exeter College Oxford
Provost's Teaching Award, Trinity College Dublin, 2011
Invited as Academic Visitor, University of Melbourne Law School Centre for Employment Law and Industrial Relations
Nominated for a Provost' Teaching Award (ineligible for application due to having received this award in 2011)
Elected a Visiting Fellow, St Catherine's College, Oxford
Invited Visiting Scholar, University of Notre Dame School of Law
Elected a Foundation Scholar, Trinity College Dublin
Awarded Henry Hamilton Hunter Prize for First Place in Finals, LLB Degree
Awarded Government of Ireland Easter Week Commemoration Scholarship
Butterworths Law Prize for First Place in Junior Freshman Law Examinations
Memberships
Member of the Bar of Ireland, appearing/advising in cases before the Workplace Relations Commission, Labour Court, and civil courts of all levels up to and including the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union
Convenor for Ireland, Society of Legal Scholars
Founder and Convenor, Private Law Research Group, Trinity College Dublin
Founding Member and Committee Member, Employment Law Association of Ireland
European Employment Lawyers' Association
Employment Bar Association
CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution)-accredited Mediator
Called to the Bar of England and Wales (Lincoln's Inn)
Called to the Bar of Northern Ireland
Health and Safety Lawyers' Association of Ireland
Executive Committee Member, International Society for Labour and Social Security Law