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Professor Gail Mc Elroy

Professor (Political Science)
3 COLLEGE GREEN
      
Profile Photo

Professor Gail Mc Elroy

Professor (Political Science)
3 COLLEGE GREEN

 mcelroy@tcd.ie

 3531896 1029


  Comparative Government   Electoral Systems   EU Politics   European Elections   European Parliament   EUROPEAN UNION   European Union Politics   Gender and Politics   Irish Political Parties   Irish Politics   Irish politics, election study, electoral behaviour   LEGISLATION   Legislative Organisation   Legislative Reform   Political Methodology   Political Parties   Qualitative research methods
Project Title
 COHESIFY: The Impact of Cohesion Policy on EU Identity
From
Feb 1 2016
To
May 31 2018
Summary
COHESIFY will assess the contribution of Cohesion policy to citizens' identification with the EU and produce a new strategy to communicate EU cohesion policy to citizens. To assess how and to what extent EU Cohesion policy affects citizens' perceptions of and identification with the European Union, the project focuses on three inter-related issues: (1) the identity of EU regions in an EU, national, regional and local context (2) governance, communication and impacts of Cohesion policy, including citizens' perceptions of the policy and identification with the EU (3) what is needed to make the Cohesion policy more effective in terms of people's perceptions of the policy and the EU more generally. A mixed methods design is employed using a range of qualitative and quantitative techniques including a set of geographically balanced and comparative case studies. COHESIFY will fill a key gap in knowledge for EU and national/regional policymakers and interested stakeholders. The outputs will inform Cohesion policy communication strategies at the EU, Member State and regional levels enabling communication efforts to adapt to local and regional realities maximising their impact, to increase the civic appreciation of Cohesion policy and how to improve regional policy relevance and efficiency. The consortium comprise academic institutions and SMEs across a range of EU Member States with complementary disciplinary and methodological expertise and applied expertise of Cohesion policy, communication strategies and tools for engaging with citizens and the various political structures at EU, national, regional and local levels.
Funding Agency
European Commission
Programme
H2020
Person Months
22
Project Title
 Gender and legislative debate in Ireland: When and what female TDs talk about
From
March 2015
To
November 2015
Summary
Does gender matter for legislative behaviour? Do female representatives have distinct policy goals? Do women bring alternative perspectives to policy debates? With the centenary of both women's suffrage and the election of the first woman to the Dáil (Markievicz 1918) fast approaching, we know surprisingly little about what female TDs do, once elected. Do they differ from their male counterparts in the topics they focus on for instance; do they broaden the range of public interests represented, do they represent women's and minority issues more systematically? This project examines these questions by examining parliamentary debates in the 22nd-31st Dála.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council
Programme
New Foundations
Project Title
 Where are all the Women? The Political Ambition Gap in the Republic of Ireland
From
Oct 2012
To
Sept 2013
Summary
In spite of significant social change, the use of a proportional electoral system and no obvious voter bias, the number of Irish female legislators (TDs) remains low by international standards. The evidence to date suggests that, all else equal, women have as good a chance of getting elected as men and the real difficulties in achieving equitable representation lie in the candidate emergence and nomination stages. This project moves current research beyond the study of electoral results and voter data to examine the pool of potential candidates, exploring why qualified women do not put themselves forward for election.
Funding Agency
IRCHSS
Programme
Collaborative Research Projects
Person Months
12
Project Title
 Representation in Europe: Policy Congruence between Citizens and Elites
From
1st May 2008
To
30 April 2011
Summary
Funding Agency
European Science Foundation/IRCHSS
Programme
Eurocores
Person Months
36
Project Title
 The Globalisation of Party Competition
From
2004
To
2006
Summary
This programme ocuses on the globalisation of political parties and party competition, with particular reference to the European Union. This project studies the effects of the European Parliament election on political competition at both the national and supra-national level and the interaction between these two domains.
Funding Agency
Institute for International Integration Studies

Page 1 of 2
Details Date
European Political Science Association, Council Member 2015-2018
Chair, International Committee, American Political Science Association 2011-2014
Irish Political Studies Association, Vice-President 2016-2019
Editorial Board, British Journal of Political Science 2013-
Editorial Board, Political Science Research and Methods 2013-
Editorial Board, European Union Politics 2007-
Editorial Board, Legislative Studies Quarterly 2008-2011
Editorial Board, Irish Political Studies 2015-
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
French Medium Medium Medium
German Basic Basic Basic
Italian Medium Medium Medium
Details Date From Date To
American Political Science Association 1998 Present
European Political Science Association 2012
Midwest Political Science Association 1998 Present
European Union Studies Association 2006 Present
Gail McElroy, Theresa Reidy, Michael Marsh, The Changing Irish Voter, 1, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2026, Book, IN_PRESS
Gail McElroy, Stefan Müller, What the 2024 Manifestos Reveal: Issue Salience and Left"Right Positions, 2025, p99 - 121, p99-121 , Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  DOI
Gail McElroy, Ireland"s presidential election race now down to two women, 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Lisa Keenan, Gail McElroy, Why Ireland"s government was one of the few worldwide to be re-elected this year, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Shaun Bowler, Gail McElroy, Stefan Müller, Voter Expectations of Government Formation: The Importance of the Information Context in Coalition Systems:, European Journal of Political Research, 61, (1), 2022, p111 - 133, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Lisa Keenan and Gail McElroy, Who wants women to run? an investigation of gender differences in patterns of support among Irish local election candidates, Irish Political Studies, 37, (4), 2022, p477 - 498, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI  URL
The evolving nature of the Irish policy space in, editor(s)Michael Marsh, Michael Gallagher and Theresa Reidy , How Ireland Voted 2020, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, pp255 - 273, [Lisa Keenan and Gail McElroy], Notes: [DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66405-3_11], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Shaun Bowler, Gail McElroy, Stefan Müller, Replication Data for: Shaun Bowler, Gail McElroy, and Stefan Müller. "Voter Expectations of Government Formation in Coalition Systems: The Importance of the Information Context." European Journal of Political Research., Harvard Dataverse, 2020, Dataset, PUBLISHED  DOI
Shaun Bowler, Gail McElroy, Stefan Mueller, Campaigns and the Selection of Policy-seeking Representatives, Legislative Studies Quarterly, 45, (3), 2020, p397 - 431, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Gail McElroy, Irish election: Sinn Féin"s surge signals a precarious path ahead, 2020, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

Page 1 of 5
Le Parlement Européen, Yves Deloye and Michael Bruter, Dictionnaire des Elections Européennes, Paris, Economica, 2005, pp503-512 - [Gail McElroy], Notes: [Republished in English (2007) Encyclopaedia of European Elections. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan], Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, PUBLISHED

  


Award Date
Fellow Trinity College Dublin 2011
Best Paper Award, Political Research Quarterly 2011
Vincent Wright Fellow in Comparative Politics (Jean Monnet Fellow), European University Institute Sept 2008-2009
Carl Albert Best Dissertation Award, American Political Science Association 2005
Ghita Ionescu Travel Scholarship for the Study of Comparative Politics 2004
Fulbright Scholar 1996
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK) Chevening Scholarship 1994
Foundation Scholar 1992
European Union Politics, European Parliament, European Political Parties, Electoral Politics