Research & Graduate School (Peer-reviewed publications)

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Rule-breaking, inequality and globalization: the trans-nationalization of Irish criminal gangs
(Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis, 2016) Hourigan, Niamh
This article seeks to situate the emergence of transnational criminal gang networks in Ireland within broader debates about the impact of globalization on Irish society (Coulter and Coleman 2003; Kuhling and Keohane 2007; Donovan and Murphy 2013). As a result of attempts to integrate the Irish economy into global capitalism, the number of jobs available to unskilled and semi-skilled workers in poor urban neighborhoods has reduced since the 1960s. The poverty and misery experienced in these communities as a result of social exclusion has been further exacerbated by those operating on the so-called dark side of globalization (Whitaker 2002). These are members of trans-national gang networks who sell drugs, recruit foot-soldiers and use these neighborhoods as bases for their drugs distribution networks (Hourigan 2011). The article focuses on the impact which this dual negative experience of globalization has had on these communities and devotes specific attention to the emergence of a core leadership strata within these criminal gang networks who are comfortable operating both inside and outside the Irish state. In 2002, Leslie Sklair (2002) created a typology for what he described as the transnational capitalist class, a group who were key drivers of the process of globalization. The article concludes by examining the potential to use this typology to understand the leadership strata of transnational criminal gang networks which have emerged from Ireland.
Austerity, resistance and social protest in Ireland: movement outcomes
(RIA [Royal Irish Academy], 2017) Hourigan, Niamh
The varying protest responses of European societies to structural adjustment programmes imposed by the European Union/European Central Bank/International Monetary Fund after the 2008 banking crisis have been one of the most intriguing sociological dimensions of the recent global economic recession. During the early years of the crisis, Ireland and Greece were often portrayed in the international media at opposing ends of a spectrum of protest, with Ireland indeed politically positioning itself in this way (Borooah 2014). The Greeks were characterised as taking to the streets in significant numbers to protest against austerity while Irish citizens meekly accepted their fate. Detailed research on protest in each context demonstrates that this contrast has been overdrawn (Pappas and O’Malley 2014; Power et al. 2015; Karyotis and Rudig 2015; Hearne 2015). However, a number of distinctive features of the Irish protest response to austerity merit critical consideration.
Internalized flexibility and relative deprivation: subjective responses to adult transitions in the Republic of Ireland
(Anthropology Ireland, 2017) Hourigan, Niamh
This article presents the preliminary findings of a study which explores attitudes to striving amongst thirty-six young middle class adults aged between 22 and 32 in the Republic of Ireland. It draws heavily on a similar study conducted by Bradley and Devadason (2008) which found that young people negotiating complex adult transitions in the UK responded with internalized flexibility (optimism, adaptability, and resourcefulness). Striving in all contexts is based on a set of contingent expectations that if the individual tries hard to achieve certain goals, specific or general results will follow. However, the collapse of the banking system, subsequent economic recession and housing crisis in the Republic of Ireland since 2008 have dramatically altered the contingent expectations on which striving of young adults within Irish society has been based since the 1990s. This study asks if those negotiating adult transitions have responded with internalized flexibility in this transformed economic context. It also examines whether the significant inter-generational disparities in the rewards delivered by striving which have emerged since 2008 (Chailloux Klein and Wilson 2016) have led to increased levels of relative deprivation (Gurr 1970, Bernburg et al 2009).
Review of 'Anti-Social Behaviour in Britain: Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives' Sarah Pickard ed. (Pre-published version)
(Sage, 2015) Hourigan, Niamh
The changing face of Irish gangsters (Pre-published version)
(gardareview.ie, 2014) Hourigan, Niamh
Niamh Hourigan examines the true nature of gang crime in Ireland today and asks, has anything really changed post-austerity?
Mediating diversity: identity, language, and protest in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
(University of Ottawa Press, 2007) Hourigan, Niamh
Reversed memory, collective action and the Irish economic crisis 2010-2013
(Anthropology Ireland, 2014) Hourigan, Niamh
This paper examines how collective memory of colonialism informed the response of Irish citizens to the Irish economic crisis of 2010-2013. This crisis resulted in the Troika bailout of the Irish banks, a related programme of austerity measures and the loss of economic sovereignty. The frequent referencing of colonial experience during this period is examined using Zandberg, Meyers and Neiger’s (2012) concept of reversed memory. This model asserts that collective memory not only shapes how a society may view the past but that events in the present can re-shape how a society understands its past.
Juvenile justice, crime and early intervention: key challenges from the Limerick context (Pre-published version)
(The Probation Service [Ireland], 2012) Hourigan, Niamh
This paper outlines the findings of a three-year study on criminal gang participation, anti-social behaviour and systems of intimidation within disadvantaged communities in Limerick city. The research is considered in light of debates about motivations for criminality and the effectiveness of early intervention strategies in tackling juvenile justice issues. It is argued that the despite the fact that much social, youth and Probation Service work focuses on convincing the individual of the irrationality of criminal acts, there are strong rational reasons to engage in criminal activity within contemporary Irish society. Participation in a gang can provide a socially excluded young man or woman with a form of fear-based political status that is very powerful in a society where they are otherwise viewed as ‘scumbags’. Those associated with criminal gangs in Limerick city also had a very clear vision of the financial rewards linked to gang participation. Given this rational aspect of criminal behaviour, it is argued that those who advocate early intervention strategies as a means of tackling juvenile justice issues must given greater consideration to the reasons why a family enmeshed in criminality might not engage with these programmes and develop appropriate responses.
Review of 'Suburban Affiliations: Social Relations in the Greater Dublin Area', by Mary P. Corcoran, Jane Gray, and Michel Peillon (Pre-published version)
(Sage, 2011) Hourigan, Niamh
Audience identification and Raidió na Gaeltachta
(DIT [Dublin Institute of Technology], 1996) Hourigan, Niamh
This paper was researched as part of a broader project on the campaigns for Raidió na Gaeltachta and Teillfis na Gaeilge. In the course of this work, I conducted over thirty Interviews with members of each campaign. RTE: management. relevant politicians and Irish language activists both in the Republic and Northern Ireland. All lnterviewees were questioned on their views concerning Raidió na Gaeltachta. I also made substantial use of lnniú, Amarach, The Connaught Tribune, The Irish Times, Anois and Lá, and relevant Irish language and communications joumals.
Regulatory disclosure and the Irish financial services ombudsman (Pre-published version)
(Elsevier, 2018) Hourigan, Niamh; Mulcahy, Mark
This study investigates the effectiveness regulatory disclosure, specifically the power to name and shame persistently offending financial service providers (FSPs) in its annual reports awarded to the Irish Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO) in 2013. The existing literature on ombudsmen focuses mainly on the global spread of the ombudsman concept since the 1960s but is largely silent on the effectiveness of financial ombudsmen. As the first country to award its financial ombudsman name and shame powers, Ireland represents a novel setting in which to test the impact of regulatory disclosure by an FSO on the behaviour of FSPs. Our results show that the number of complaints lodged against FSPs dropped precipitously in its immediate aftermath (in a comparison of means test p < 0.01) and, following a one-year lag, so did the percentage of complaints lodge that proceeded to a full investigation and finding (in a comparison of means test p = 0.07). This study argues that despite international scepticism on the efficacy of name and shame strategies, the experience of the Irish FSO suggests that regulatory disclosure had considerable impact in shaping the preferences of FSPs and improving the effectiveness of the FSO.
The TEACH report: traveller education & adults: crisis challenge and change
(NATC [National Association of Travellers' Centres], 2010) Hourigan, Niamh; Campbell, Maria
This report was commissioned by the National Association of Travellers’ Centres (NATC) in light of the findings of the Value for Money Review (2008) and the report of An Bord Snip Nua (2009) which recommended the phasing out of the Traveller Training Centres. The object of the research was not to reverse this recommendation but rather to map the way forward in terms of adult education for Travellers in 21st century Ireland. The rationale provided in both reports for the closure of the 33 TTC’s was the low rate of progression by Travellers from the Centres into mainstream, further and higher education and the workforce.
Institutional cultures and development education
(Centre for Global Education, 2008) Hourigan, Niamh; Campbell, Maria
In this article, Maria Campbell and Niamh Hourigan outline the findings of a comparative study which interrogated the impact of institutional cultures on two undergraduate development education programmes. The perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of lecturers and students participating in development education modules at both St. Angela's College, Sligo and University College Cork were evaluated over a full academic year to explore how differing cultures inform both lecturers and students’ perceptions of development education issues. Using data gathered from reflective portfolios and questionnaires, this article identifies the dominant values which emerged from each student cohort and highlights how these values impact on learning outcomes. The study also provides a new route to examine how lecturers’ institutional career pathways impact on their beliefs, attitudes and teaching styles and perpetuate the institutional culture into which they have been initiated. The authors argue that an understanding of these contrasting institutional cultures can inform future plans for development education at third level in Ireland.
Social connectedness and depression: Is there added value in volunteering? (Pre-published version)
(Sage, 2017) Healy, Amy; Howard, Siobhan; Creaven, Ann-Marie
The associations between volunteering and health outcomes are well established. However, little research has identified the unique association between volunteering and health outcomes over and above the contribution of related social connectedness factors, such as social contact, group or organization membership, and social support provision; variables also implicated in health outcomes. Using large-scale cross-national cross-sectional survey data from the European Social Survey, this study models the association between volunteering and depressive symptoms. Models are conducted with and without adjustment for sociodemographic variables and for a more comprehensive range of social connectedness factors than has been included in previous studies. The findings confirm previous studies demonstrating a link between volunteering and depressive symptoms. However, adjusted analyses indicate that this association can be explained by social connectedness and sociodemographic variables. The findings suggest that studies of volunteering and health outcomes should consider the broader social context in which the volunteer is located, as social connectedness and sociodemographic correlates of volunteering might be more closely tied to mental health than volunteering itself.
TRAM is required for TLR2 endosomal signaling to Type I IFN induction (Pre-published version)
(AAI [The American Association of Immunologists], 2014) Stack, Julianne; Doyle, Sarah L.; Connolly, Dympna J.; Reinert, Line S.; O’Keeffe, Kate M.; McLoughlin, Rachel M.; Paludan, Søren R.; Bowie, Andrew G.
Detection of microbes by TLRs on the plasma membrane leads to the induction of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-a, via activation of NF-kB. Alternatively, activation of endosomal TLRs leads to the induction of type I IFNs via IFN regulatory factors (IRFs). TLR4 signaling from the plasma membrane to NF-kB via the Toll/IL-1R (TIR) adaptor protein MyD88 requires the TIR sorting adaptor Mal, whereas endosomal TLR4 signaling to IRF3 via the TIR domain–containing adaptor-inducing IFN-b (TRIF) requires the TRIF-related adaptor molecule (TRAM). Similar to TLR4 homodimers, TLR2 heterodimers can also induce both proinflammatory cytokines and type I IFNs. TLR2 plasma membrane signaling to NF-kB is known to require MyD88 and Mal, whereas endosomal IRF activation by TLR2 requires MyD88. However, it was unclear whether TLR2 requires a sorting adaptor for endosomal signaling, like TLR4 does. In this study, we show that TLR2-dependent IRF7 activation at the endosome is both Mal- and TRAM-dependent, and that TRAM is required for the TLR2-dependent movement of MyD88 to endosomes following ligand engagement. TRAM interacted with both TLR2 and MyD88, suggesting that TRAM can act as a bridging adapter between these two molecules. Furthermore, infection of macrophages lacking TRAM with herpes viruses or the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus led to impaired induction of type I IFN, indicating a role for TRAM in TLR2-dependent responses to human pathogens. Our work reveals that TRAM acts as a sorting adaptor not only for TLR4, but also for TLR2, to facilitate signaling to IRF7 at the endosome, which explains how TLR2 is capable of causing type I IFN induction.
Seasonal variation in nitrogenous components and bioactivity of protein hydrolysates from Porphyra dioica (Pre-published version)
(Springer Nature, 2017) Stack, Julianne; Tobin, Paul R.; Gietl, Anna; Harnedy, Pádraigín A.; Stengel, Dagmar B.; FitzGerald, Richard J.
The red macroalga Porphyra dioica has been harvested and consumed for centuries. Based on its nutritional composition, availability and consumer familiarity, significant potential exists to develop this species as a source of high value functional food ingredients. Therefore, a detailed assessment of the natural variation in P. dioica nitrogenous components was performed to identify the optimal season for biomass harvesting with high bioactive peptide potential. Kjeldahl nitrogen analysis revealed that total nitrogen (TN) and protein nitrogen (PN) contents in P. dioica (expressed as (w/w) dry weight) from western Ireland ranged from 2.48 to 4.94%and 1.90 to 4.30%, respectively. Significant differences in protein contents were observed between samples collected in summer and winter months. Electrophoretic analysis also showed differences in the protein profiles of P. dioica collected at different times of the year. P. dioica protein extracts were hydrolysed with the food-grade proteolytic preparations, Alcalase 2.4 L and Flavourzyme 500 L, and significant seasonal differences were observed in in vitro bioactivity assays. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values of the hydrolysates ranged from 229.5 to 1015.3 and 4.1 to 28.7 μmol Trolox equivalent per gram of freeze-dried powder, respectively. The P. dioica hydrolysates also inhibited angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE; half maximal inhibitory concentration, IC50, 0.34 to 1.78 mg mL−1) and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV; IC50, 1.14 to 5.06 mg mL−1). The results demonstrate the potential of P. dioica hydrolysates as health enhancing food components or natural food preservatives due to their enzyme inhibitory and antioxidant activities.
CS09-4. Molecular mechanism Of poxviral antagonism of the Tlr4 complex by vacv protein A46 (Pre-published version)
(Elsevier, 2011) Stack, Julianne; Lysakova-Devine, Tatyana; Bowie, Andrew G.
Toll like receptors (TLRs) are involved in the detection of viruses, leading to cytokine and interferon induction. TLR4, although best known for its role in recognising LPS, also plays a role in the immune response to viruses. For example, VSV glycoprotein G induces type I IFN in a TLR4-dependent manner, the induction of proinflammatory cytokines by the F protein of RSV is also TLR4-dependent, and TLR4 is protective in pulmonary vaccinia virus (VACV) infection. Further, a number of viral proteins that interfere with TLR signalling have been identified, thus highlighting the importance of TLRs in anti-viral immunity.
The TLR signaling adaptor TRAM interacts with TRAF6 to mediate activation of the inflammatory response by TLR4 (Pre-published version)
(John Wiley & Sons, 2014) Stack, Julianne; Verstak, Brett; Ve, Thomas; Mangan, Matthew; Hjerrild, Kathryn; Jeon, Jannah; Stahl, Rainer; Latz, Eicke; Gay, Nick; Kobe, Bostjan; Bowie, Andrew G.; Mansell, Ashley
TLRs act as sentinels in professional immune cells to detect and initiate the innate immune response to pathogen challenge. TLR4 is a widely expressed TLR, responsible for initiating potent immune responses to LPS. TRAM acts to bridge TLR4 with TRIF, orchestrating the inflammatory response to pathogen challenge. We have identified a putative TRAF6-binding motif in TRAM that could mediate a novel signaling function for TRAM in TLR4 signaling. TRAM and TRAF6 association was confirmed by immunoprecipitation of endogenous, ectopically expressed and recombinant proteins, which was ablated upon mutation of a key Glu residue in TRAM (TRAM E183A). TRAF6 and TRAM were observed colocalizing using confocal microscopy following ectopic expression in cells and the ability of TRAM and TRAM E183A to activate luciferase-linked reporter assays was determined in HEK293 and TRAF6- deficient cells. Importantly, TRAM-deficient macrophages reconstituted with TRAM E183A display significantly reduced inflammatory TNF-a, IL-6, and RANTES protein production compared with WT TRAM. These results demonstrate a novel role for TRAM in TLR4-mediated signaling in regulating inflammatory responses via its interaction with TRAF6, distinct from its role as a bridging adaptor between TLR4 and TRIF.
The human adaptor SARM negatively regulates adaptor protein TRIF–dependent Toll-like receptor signalling (Pre-published version)
(Springer Nature, 2006) Stack, Julianne; Carty, Michael; Goodbody, Rory; Schröder, Martina; Moynagh, Paul N.; Bowie, Andrew G.
Toll-like receptors discriminate between different pathogen-associated molecules and activate signaling cascades that lead to immune responses. The specificity of Toll-like receptor signaling occurs by means of adaptor proteins containing Toll–interleukin 1 receptor (TIR) domains. Activating functions have been assigned to four TIR adaptors: MyD88, Mal, TRIF and TRAM. Here we characterize a fifth TIR adaptor, SARM, as a negative regulator of TRIF-dependent Toll-like receptor signaling. Expression of SARM blocked gene induction ‘downstream’ of TRIF but not of MyD88. SARM associated with TRIF, and ‘knockdown’ of endogenous SARM expression by interfering RNA led to enhanced TRIF-dependent cytokine and chemokine induction. Thus, the fifth mammalian TIR adaptor SARM is a negative regulator of Toll-like receptor signaling.
c-Jun N-terminal kinase activity supports multiple phases of 3D-mammary epithelial acinus formation
(University of the Basque Country Press, 2011) Stack, Julianne; McNally, Sara; McArdle, Emmett; Napoletano, Silvia; Gajewska, Malgorzata; Bergin, Orla; McCarthy, Sarah; Whyte, Jacqueline; Bianchi, Alessandro; Martin, Finian
Primary murine mammary epithelial cells cultured on a laminin-rich-extracellular matrix (ECM) require c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activity for acinus formation. Inhibition of JNK (using SP600125) or small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of JNK1 blocked acinus formation, impaired cell polarisation and lumen clearance and allowed sustained extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, cell proliferation, adhesion-independent cell survival and expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers. ERK inhibition abolished the effects of JNK blockade. Interestingly, inhibition of JNK from the time of cell seeding blocked cell polarisation and lumen clearance; later inhibition (> 6 h) only affected lumen clearance. ERK inhibition effectively protected cell polarisation but less so, lumen clearance. SP600125-treatment similarly affected acinus formation by the ‘normal’ human mammary epithelial MCF10A cell line. Expression of dominant-negative JNK1 in MCF10A cells also undermined acinus formation, generating large ‘multi-acinar spheres’ whose formation is probably driven by excessive luminal cell proliferation and cell survival. As JNK activity must be suppressed from the time of cell seeding to block cell polarisation, we studied the behaviour of MCF10A cells immediately after seeding in laminin rich matrix: we detected engagement of cells with the matrix, early polarisation, movement of cells into clusters and ‘epithelial-cell- like’ behaviour of clustered cells. Inhibition of JNK activity or expression of dominant-negative JNK1 allowed cell engagement to the matrix, but blocked cell polarisation and all subsequent ‘behaviours’. While integrin activation occurred, tyrosine-phosphorylation of paxillin, Fak and Src was significantly damped by JNK inhibition. These results emphasise the multi-phase dependency of the organisation of mammary cells in 3D on JNK activity and suggest a ‘permissive’ support of ECM-integrin ‘outside-in’ signalling and a ‘damping’ of growth-factor ERK signalling as its two key cell physiological effects.

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