Skip to main content

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity Menu Trinity Search



You are here People

Dr. Róisin Costello
Assistant Professor, Law

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, 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's research has been funded by the IRC, the ESRC, and the AHRC among others.

She is the author of `Privacy Law in Ireland (Bloomsbury, 2023), `Law in Irish Literature' (Edinburgh University Press, 2025) and is the co-author of the forthcoming "The Data Protection Acts and the GDPR: A Commentary" (Bloomsbury, 2025). Róisín has also co-edited "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 and data protection law and EU constitutionalism), minority language rights, and law and literature.

Róisín welcomes expressions of interest from prospective PhD students and post-doctoral researchers whose research interests align with those noted above or whose research engages with EU law, or relevant areas of international law, more broadly.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Róisín Á Costello, Law in Irish Literature: Critical Approaches to Institutions, Power and Identity, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2024 Book, 2024

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

Brian Merriman in, editor(s)Eric Falci , The Cambridge History of Irish Poetry, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2024, [Róisín Áine 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, McGee v Attorney General: The Beginning (and the End?) of Patriarchal Privacy in Irish Law, Dublin University Law Journal, 2024 Journal 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, 2024 Journal Article, 2024

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, 2024 Journal Article, 2024

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, 2023 Invited Talk, 2023

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

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

Róisín Áine Costello, Mixed Data and Data Protection Following Recent CJEU Decisions, Annual Data Protection Conference, Irish Centre for European Law , 2023, 2023 Invited Talk, 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 Aine Costello, Privacy Law in Ireland, 1, Dublin, Bloomsbury, 2023 Book, 2023 URL

Róisín Áine Costello, Faux Ami? Interrogating the Normative Coherence of `Digital Constitutionalism, Global Constitutionalism, 12, (2), 2023, p326 - 349 Journal Article, 2023

Róisín Áine Costello, Law and Literature: The Irish Case, Review of Law and Literature: The Irish Case, by Adam Hanna and Eugene McNulty , Estudios Irlandeses, (18), 2023, p250-308 Review, 2023

Róisín Áine Costello, Citizenship, Identity and Veiling, Journal of Law and Religion, 38, (1), 2023, p81 - 107 Journal Article, 2023

Róisín Á Costello, Subjectivity, Complicity and the Colonial Force of Law in the Courtroom of Katie Kitamura"s Intimacies, Law and Literature, 2023 Journal Article, 2023

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, 2022 Invited Talk, 2022

Róisín Áine Costello, Symbolism and Substance: Irish Language Rights in the 1922 Constitution, The Centenary of the 1922 Constitution, Dublin, 2022, 2022 Invited Talk, 2022

Róisín Áine Costello, Adam Hanna and Eugene McNulty, 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 - 139 Journal Article, 2022

Róisín Áine Costello, Adam Hanna, 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, Adam Hanna, 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 - 22 Journal Article, 2022

Róisín Áine Costello, What"s Left in the Sieve: The Law as History Maker in the Modern State, Law and Humanities Workshop, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, 2022, 2022 Conference Paper, 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, 2022 Invited Talk, 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, p130 - 139, p511-513 Review, 2022

Róisín Áine Costello, The Expanding Scope of Privacy in European Law: Relational, Social, Contextual, Common Market Law Review Annual Conference,, Dublin, 2022, 2022 Invited Talk, 2022

Róisín Áine Costello, Adam Hanna, 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 - 617 Journal Article, 2021

Róisín Áine Costello, Adam Hanna, Laws Governing Data Retention in Graham Dwyer v Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Irish Journal of European Law, 23, (1), 2021, p119 - 132 Journal Article, 2021

Róisín Áine Costello, Political Economy in European Law and Policy, Society of Legal Scholars, , Durham, United Kingdom, 2021, 2021 Conference 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, 2021 Conference Paper, 2021

Róisín Áine Costello, Adam Hanna, The Barbarian and the Cart: Citizenship, Law and Language in Macaronic Verse, Law & Humanities, 15, (2), 2021, p219 - 230 Journal Article, 2021

Róisín Áine Costello, Adam Hanna, Courtroom Dialogues and Feminist Legal Theory in Irish literature, Irish Studies Review , 28, (3), 2020, p370 - 384 Journal Article, 2020

Róisín Áine Costello, Adam Hanna, The Impacts of AdTech on Privacy Rights and the Rule of Law, Technology Regulation , 2, (1), 2020, p11 - 29 Journal Article, 2020

Róisín Áine Costello, Adam Hanna, Conflicts Between Intellectual Property and Consumer Property Rights in the Digital Market, European Journal of Law and Technology , 11, (1), 2020, p1 - 24 Journal Article, 2020

Róisín Áine Costello, Remedies for Breach of Privacy, Review of Remedies for Breach of Privacy, by Jason Varuhas , SCRIPTed, 16, (1), 2019, p134 - 142, p78-63 Review, 2019

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, p134 - 142, p204-208 Review, 2019

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, 2019 Conference Paper, 2019

Róisín Á Costello, International criminal law and the role of non-state actors in preserving open source evidence, Cambridge International Law Journal , 7, (2), 2018 Journal Article, 2018

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 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, 2018 Conference Paper, 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), 2014 Journal Article, 2014

Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications

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, 2023 Invited Talk, 2023

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, 2023 Invited Talk, 2023

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, 2023 Report, 2023 TARA - Full Text

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, 2022 Book, 2022

Róisín Áine Costello, World Bank Report on Women, Business and the Law, Irish Centre for European Law, 2022 Report, 2022

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, 2022 Report, 2022 TARA - Full Text

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, 2021 Conference Paper, 2021

Maria Grazia Porcedda, with David Fennelly and Róisín A Costello, Data Protection and the COVID-19 Pandemic, https://www.tcd.ie/law/2020.21, Ireland, Covid-19 Law and Human Rights Observatory, Trinity College Dublin, 2021 Report, 2021

Róisín Áine Costello, World Bank Report on Women, Business and the Law, Irish Centre for European Law, 2021 Report, 2021

Róisín Áine Costello, World Bank Report on Women, Business and the Law, Irish Centre for European Law, 2020 Report, 2020

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, 2019 Report, 2019

Róisín Áine Costello, World Bank Report on Women, Business and the Law, Irish Centre for European Law, 2019 Report, 2019

Róisín Áine Costello, World Bank Report on Women, Business and the Law, Irish Centre for European Law, 2018 Report, 2018

Róisín Á Costello, A Dyadic Future: The Rule of Law in the European Union, UACES Annual Conference, University of Bath, 2018, 2018 Conference Paper, 2018

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, 2017 Conference Paper, 2017

Róisín Áine Costello, World Bank Report Women, Business and the Law , Irish Centre for European Law, 2017 Report, 2017

Róisín Áine Costello , World Bank Report on Women, Business and the Law , Irish Centre for European Law, The World Bank, 2016 Report, 2016

Research Expertise

Description

Róisín is primarily 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 constitutional and digital rights. Róisín's work on EU law has been funded by the IRC and ESRC. The second strange of Róisín's research focuses on minority language rights, with a particular focus on regional and minority languages in the Ireland and the European Union. Róisín has received funding from the SLS, 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 Irish literature.

Projects

  • Title
    • Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law in a Digital Future
  • Funding Agency
    • Irish Research Council
  • Date From
    • 2018
  • Date To
    • 2020
  • Title
    • International Student Scholarship
  • Funding Agency
    • Georgetown Law
  • Date From
    • 2014
  • Date To
    • 2015
  • Title
    • The Legal Future of the Irish Language
  • Funding Agency
    • Society of Legal Scholars
  • Date From
    • 2020
  • Date To
    • 2021
  • Title
    • Building a Cross-border Data Protection Network
  • Funding Agency
    • Economic & Social Research Council/Irish Research Council
  • Date From
    • 2020
  • Date To
    • 2022
  • Title
    • Supporting Irish Language Use on a Cross-Community Basis"
  • Funding Agency
    • Irish Research Council & The Department of Foreign Affairs
  • Date From
    • 2021
  • Date To
    • 2022
  • Title
    • Court Interpretation in Wales and the Republic of Ireland
  • Funding Agency
    • Arts and Humanities Research Council
  • Date From
    • 2023
  • Date To
    • 2024
  • Title
    • Court Interpretation in Wales and the Republic of Ireland
  • Funding Agency
    • SLSA

Keywords

data privacy; Data Protection Law; EU Law; Governance, Human Rights, European Union Law; International Law; law and technology; Public International Law; Sociolegal Studies

Recognition

Awards and Honours

Fellow of International Economic Law (Georgetown Law) 2014-2015

International Student Scholarship (Georgetown Law) 2014-2015

Memberships

Incorporated Council of Law Reporting of Ireland January 2024 – Present

Director and Board Member of the Irish Centre for European Law October 2021 – Present

Board Member of the Irish Supreme Court Review February 2022 – Present