Dr. Cian O'Callaghan
Associate Professor, Geography
Biography
I am an Associate Professor in Urban Geography with the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin. I joined the Geography Department in 2016.
Prior to joining Trinity, I worked at Maynooth University between 2008 and 2016. At Maynooth I held the positions of Lecturer in Geography and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA). I hold a PhD from University College Cork (2009).
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Cian O'Callaghan, Rethinking vacancy within the urbanization process: towards a new research agenda, Urban Geography, 45, (5), 2024, p863-882
Tommy Gavin, Cian O'Callaghan, Resisting Root Shock in the Collapsed City: Constructing Community and the Fight to Stay Put through Tenant Organizing in Dublin, Built Environment, 50, (2), 2024, p360-372
Cian O'Callaghan, Vacancy as Precarious Property in Dublin's Temporary Urbanism Moment, Antipode, 56, (4), 2024, p1399-1418
Cian O'Callaghan, Cian O"Callaghan, The permanence of temporary urbanism: Normalising precarity in austerity London, by Mara Ferreri, Journal of Urban Affairs, 2022, p1--3
No Soft Landing for the Suburbs: Credit, Debt and the fracturing of the Suburban Dream in Ireland in, editor(s)Anaker, K and Maginn, P. , What's Wrong with Suburbia: From Dreamscapes to Nightmares, London, Advances in Sociology Series, Routledge. , 2022, [Redmond, D and O'Callaghan, C]
Housing and Vacancy in, editor(s)Sirr, Lorcan , Housing in Ireland: Beyond the Markets, Dublin, Institute of Public Administration, 2022, [O'Callaghan, Cian; Stokes, Kathleen]
O'Callaghan, C; Di Feliciantonio, C , The New Urban Ruins: Vacancy, urban politics, and international experiments in the post-crisis city, Bristol, Policy Press, 2021
O'Callaghan C, and McGuirk, PM , Situating financialisation in the geographies of neoliberal housing restructuring: reflections from Ireland and Australia, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2020
Di Feliciantonnio, C, O'Callaghan, C, Struggles over property in the 'post-political' era: Notes on the political from Rome and Dublin, Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 2020
Postpolitics and Post-Truth in, 2020, [O'Callaghan, C]
O'Callaghan, Cian, Promises of the Political: Insurgent Cities in a Post Political Environment, Housing, Theory and Society, 2019
Streamers (Spotify) in, editor(s)Graham, M., Kitchin, R., Mattern, S. and Shaw, J. (eds) , How to Run a City Like a Company and Other Fables, Oxford, Meatspace Press, 2019, pp955 - 1034, [O'Callaghan, C]
Gilmartin, M; Wood, P.B., O'Callaghan, C., Borders, mobility and belonging in the era of Brexit and Trump, Policy Press, 2018
O'Callaghan, C., Planetary urbanization in ruins: Provisional theory and Ireland's crisis, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 2018
The relational articulation of housing crisis and activism in post-crash Dublin, Ireland in, editor(s)Gray, N , A Century of Housing Struggles: From the 1915 Rent Strikes to Contemporary Housing Activisms, Boulder, Roman and Littefield, 2018, [Hearne, R. O'Callaghan, C., Di Feliciantonio, C., Kitchin, R.]
O'Callaghan, C., Di Feiciantonio, C., Byrne, M. , Governing vacancy in post-crash Dublin: Contested property and alternative social projects, Urban Geography, 39, (6), 2018, p868 - 891.
Corcoran, M. P., Kettle, P. C., & O'Callaghan, C. , Green shoots in vacant plots? Urban agriculture and austerity in post-crash Ireland., ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geography, 16, (2), 2017, p305 - 331
Urban Studies, 58, 8, (2016), Rickards, L., Gleeson, B., Boyle, M., & O'Callaghan, C. , [eds.]
Rickards, L., Gleeson, B., Boyle, M., & O'Callaghan, C., Urban studies after the age of the city, Urban Studies, 53, (8), 2016, p1523 - 1541
Housing in, editor(s)Roche, W.K., O'Connell, J, Prothero, A , Austerity and Recovery in Ireland: Europe's Poster Child and the Great Recession, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016, pp272 - 289, [Kitchin, R., Hearne, R., O'Callaghan, C.]
O'Callaghan, C. and Lawton, P., Temporary solutions? Vacant space policy and strategies for re-use in Dublin, Irish Geography, 48, (1), 2016, p69 - 87
O'Callaghan, C., Kelly, S., Boyle, M., & Kitchin, R. , Topologies and topographies of Ireland's neoliberal crisis, Space and Polity, 19, (1), 2015, p31 - 46
Kitchin, R, Linehan, D, O'Callaghan, C, Lawton, P, The creation and circulation of public geographies, Dialogues in Human Geography, 3, (1), 2014, p96 - 102
Spatial justice and housing in Ireland in, editor(s)Kearns, G, Morrissey, J, Meredith, D. , Spatial justice and the Irish crisis, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2014, pp57 - 77, [Hearne, R., Kitchin, R., O'Callaghan, C.]
O'Callaghan, C, Boyle, M, Kitchin, R , Post-politics, crisis, and Ireland's 'ghost estates', Political Geography, 42, 2014, p121 - 133
Kitchin, R, Linehan, D, O'Callaghan, C, Lawton, P, Public geography through social media, Dialogues in Human Geography, 3, (1), 2014, p56 - 72
Kitchin, R, O'Callaghan, C, Gleeson, J, The new ruins of Ireland? Unfinished estates in the post-Celtic Tiger era, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 38, (3), 2014, p1069 - 1080
Ghost Estates: Spaces and spectres of Ireland after NAMA in, editor(s)Crowley, C and Linehan, D , Spacing Ireland: Place, society and culture in a post boom era, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2013, pp17 - 31, [O'Callaghan, C.]
Kitchin, R, O'Callaghan, C, Boyle, M., Gleeson, J, Keaveney, K, Placing neoliberalism: The rise and fall of Ireland's Celtic Tiger, Environment and Planning A, 44, (6), 2012, p1302 - 1326
O'Callaghan, C., Corcoran, M.P., Fuller, W., Sustaining communities: Setting the agenda, GeoJournal, 77, (2), 2012, p135-140
O'Callaghan, C., Lightness and weight: (re)reading urban potentialities through photographs, Area, 44, (2), 2012, p200 - 207
O'Callaghan, C., Urban anxieties and creative tensions in the European Capital of Culture 2005: 'It couldn't just be about Cork, like', International Journal of Cultural Policy, 18, (2), 2012, p185-204
Sustaining Communities: Being in/between place in the neoliberal era, Special Issue of GeoJournal, 77, 2, (2012), Corcoran, M.P., Fuller, W, O'Callaghan, C , [eds.]
O'Callaghan, C., Contrapuntal urbanisms: Towards a postcolonial relational geography, Environment and Planning A, 44, (8), 2012, p1930 - 1950
O'Callaghan, C, Book review, Review of Whose Urban Renaissance? An international comparison of urban regeneration strategies. 2009. Oxon, UK and New York, NY: Routledge. 291pp, by Potter, L. and Shaw, K., editors , Progress in Human Geography, 35, (3), 2011, p434-435
O'Callaghan, C., Let's Audit Bohemia: A Review of Richard Florida's 'Creative Class' Thesis and Its Impact on Urban Policy, Geography Compass, 4, (11), 2010, p1606-1617
O'Callaghan, C., Linehan, D., Identity, politics and conflict in dockland development in Cork, Ireland: European Capital of Culture 2005, Cities, 24, (4), 2007, p311-323
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Cian O'Callaghan, Cesare Di Feliciantonion, The origins and evolution of a research agenda on new urban ruins, Space and Polity, 2024
Michael Byrne, Cian O'Callaghan, Sarah Sheridan, Robert Sweeney, The Impact of Cost Rental Housing: Security, Affordability and Place, The Housing Agency, 2024
Kathleen Stokes, Cian O'Callaghan, Maedhbh Nic Lochlainn, Urban vacancy in Ireland: Addressing recent responses and opportunities, Trinity College Dublin & Dublin City Council, 2023, p1 - 86
Kathleen Stokes and Cian O'Callaghan, Taking stock of Dublin's vacant sites and properties: A review of existing policies and measures, Trinity College Dublin, 2021
Niamh Moore-Cherry, Aoife Delaney, Eoin O'Mahony and Cian O'Callaghan, ENSURE (European Sustainable Urbanisation through port city Regeneration Annex 4.4 Case Study Report:Cork City (IE), Luxembourg, 2020
Xavier Le Den, Samy Porteron, Elisa Colaiacomo, Henning Thoms, Maurizio Carta, Daniele Ronsivalle, Barbara Lino, Niamh Moore-Cherry, Aoife Delaney, Eoin O'Mahony, Cian O'Callaghan , ENSURE (European Sustainable Urbanisation through port city Regeneration Final Report, Luxembourg, 2020
O'Callaghan, C, Crisis ruins and their resolution: Ireland's property bubble ten years on, Working Notes, 82, 2019, p6-12
O'Callaghan, C. and Gilmartin, M, Ireland: Borders and borderlines, Soundings: A journal of politics and culture, 64, 2016, p64 - 70
Hague, C, Ursa, J, Crawford, J, Wojnar, K, Biot, V, Nielson, M, Cassiers, T, Mladenov, M, Kyvelou, S, Walsh, C, O'Callaghan, C, Daly, G, Prezioso, M, D'Orazio, Groza, O, Stoleriu, O, Bartol, B , ESPON - INTERSTRAT: ESPON in integrated territorial strategies. Final Report Version , 2012
O'Callaghan, C., Haunted Landscapes (Introduction to 'Settlement' by Anthony Haughey), Source: The Photography Review, 65, 2011, p33 - 33
Curran, D, O Callaghan, C, Ancien, D, Van Egeraat, C, McCafferty, D, Gleeson, J, Bartley, B , 'Dublin Case Study'. In: Harding et al. (2010) The Case for Agglomeration Economies in Europe (CAEE), ESPON Final Report, Luxembourg, 2010
Kitchin, R, Gleeson, J, Keaveney, K, O'Callaghan, C, A Haunted Landscape: Housing and Ghost Estates in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland, NIRSA working paper No. 59, 2010
O'Callaghan, C., Dressing for Success: the waterfront image of Cork and Limerick, 2007
O'Callaghan, C., Just Add Water: (re)producing Cork docklands, Progress in Irish Urban Studies, 3, 2007, p13 - 24
O'Callaghan, C., 'space paint': art and heritage in Cork Docklands regeneration, Chimera UCC Geographical Journal, 20, 2005, p94 - 102
O'Callaghan, C., Imaging the Homeless in the Irish Free State, Chimera UCC Geographical Journal, 19, 2004, p37 - 43
Research Expertise
Description
My research is within urban and cultural geography. I have an established track-record of excellence in publication, attracting research funding, and policy impact. I have developed strong thematic expertise in i) political economy of urban regeneration projects; ii) critical housing studies and; iii) cultural imaginaries/creative engagements in urban spaces. For the past decade, I have explored these topics through contestations over the meaning and (re)use of urban vacant spaces. My research is theoretical and empirical, addressing key questions of housing justice, urbanisation, and critical studies of ruination and vacancy. I have been PI on successful research grants, including three prestigious IRC research grants. In 2022 my significant innovative contributions to geography and beyond was recognised by election to Fellowship.Projects
- Title
- Rethinking urban vacancy: : Addressing the challenge of underutilised land through innovative policy solutions
- Summary
- This project aims to contribute to academic knowledge and inform policy decisions on urban vacancy by filling significant knowledge gaps in two key research questions: i)How is urban vacancy categorised and measured in the Irish contest, and how could new forms of measurement lead to more effective policy solutions? ii)What are the underlying structural and contextual factors that contribute to the production of vacancy in its different forms?
- Funding Agency
- Irish Research Council
- Date From
- April 2019
- Date To
- October 2021
- Title
- Co-living and the housing crisis: a comparative critical analysis
- Summary
- A comparative analysis of co-living housing in Dublin, Ireland and Sydney, Australia.
- Funding Agency
- University of Wollongong
- Date From
- 2020
- Date To
- 2021
- Title
- ESPON Ensure (European Sustainable Urbanisation through port city Regeneration)
- Summary
- ENSURE (European Sustainable Urbanisation through port city Regeneration) is a targeted analysis aimed at providing better insights into the potential regional impacts of port city regeneration and a better understanding of the appropriate methods and tools. The research involved a comprehensive literature review, a pan-European desktop analysis of port city regeneration in small and medium-sized cities and in-depth case studies in four stakeholder cities (Aalborg, Brest, Catania, and Cork), as well as a series of workshops and conferences.
- Funding Agency
- ESPON
- Date From
- 01 December 2018
- Date To
- 01 December 2019
- Title
- Alternate urbanisms: an international comparative study
- Summary
- This project explores issues of housing crises and alternatives in Dublin, Ireland and Sydney, Australia.
- Funding Agency
- University of Wollongong
- Date From
- 2018
- Date To
- 2018
- Title
- The new urban ruins: Vacancy and the post-crisis city
- Summary
- The project aims at exploring contestations over the reuse of vacant spaces in Dublin. The central hypothesis is that vacant space will play a key role in determining how cities of the future respond to the both urban problems and wider global challenges. The project explores how geographically-specific responses to, and contestations over, vacancy may lead to either the continuation of the financial model of urban development or to more socially progressive cities. The project focuses primarily on Dublin, with smaller comparative case-studies in Berlin and Barcelona.
- Funding Agency
- Irish Research Council
- Date From
- 2015
- Date To
- 2017
- Title
- Memories of the everyday present: Haunting, absence, and the spectral performance of everyday life on the Irish 'ghost estate'
- Summary
- This project explores how ghost estates have been used in media and political debates to represent the Celtic Tiger crash, to highlight from a policy perspective some of the problems that are posed by the estates, and to explore changing Irish identity through the point of view of residents living on them.
- Funding Agency
- Irish Research Council
- Date From
- 2011
- Date To
- 2013
- Title
- Capital and Culture: Regenerating the city and staging the arts in postindustrial Cork
- Summary
- Drawing upon a theoretical approach combining poststructural critiques of discourse analysis, Lefebvre's theories on the production of space, and recent debates on relationality, this project explored the impacts of contemporary urban and cultural transformation on the Irish cities of Cork and Limerick through the plans to redevelop their urban waterfront and Cork's hosting of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) in 2005. Situating Cork (and drawing comparatively on Limerick at points) within a relational interface between 'global' and 'local' forces and material and immaterial processes, the project traced the ways in which new urban imaginaries were constructed through strategic interventions, and how these became spatialised through complex processes of property development, culture-led regeneration, and contestation. The thesis takes the two nodal points of the plans to redevelop the docklands and the (ECOC) event to explore the complex and contrapuntal ways in which the city is reproduced. Basing its findings upon extensive discourse analysis and semi-structured interviews carried out between 2004 and 2008, the project presents a nuanced picture of urban transformation in Cork; one that is relational, contrapuntal, and contingent on a plethora of processes and forces that produce the city in a way that is open, not closed.
- Funding Agency
- Irish Research Council
- Date From
- 2004
- Date To
- 2007
Recognition
Representations
Member Central Statistics Office Housing Statistics Working Group
External examiner, Rachel McArdle, PhD programme Geography Department, Maynooth University
Chair of 2021 Conference of Ireland Geographers (postponed from 2020)
External examiner, Joanne Ahern, PhD programme in Urban Studies, Gran Sasso Science Institute, l'Aquila, Italy.
Honorary President, TCD Geography Society
International review board, Aigne: An online postgraduate journal of arts, Celtic studies and social sciences
Administrator, Ireland after NAMA, public geographies blog
Awards and Honours
Appointed to scientific advistory panel for 'Data Stories: Telling Stories about and with planning and property data" ERC project (PI: Prof Rob Kitchin)
Elected to Fellowship of Trinity College Dublin
Provost Excellence in Teaching Award Shortlist Certificate
Appointed as Chair of the 2020 Conference of Irish Geographers (posponded to 2021)
Nomination as Honorary President of the Dublin University Geographical Society for 2017/18
Recommended for Accelerated Advancement above the Merit Bar following the Junior Academic Progressions Call
Appointed as international collaborator on AGORA project (based on IGOT Lisbon University)
Trinity College New Lecturers Start-up Grant (10,000)
College Scholar University College Cork
UCC Geography PhD bursary (10,000)
College Scholar University College Cork
Memberships
CSO Housing Statistics Working Group
Geographical Society of Ireland
Association of American Geographers