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Professor Deirdre Ahern

Professor in (Law)
HOUSE 39, COLLEGE
      
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Professor Deirdre Ahern

Professor in (Law)
HOUSE 39, COLLEGE

 dahern@tcd.ie

 3531896 3018


Professor Deirdre Ahern's research engages with the societal and legal expectations of companies and their directors including the ethical and regulatory challenges presented by globalisation and new technologies including quantum technologies. Director of the Technologies, Law and Society Research Group at Trinity College Dublin, from 2026, as part of a seven member team leading a Research Ireland €30 million multi-institutional Centre, Rinn Quantum, funded by Research Ireland, Professor Ahern is leading pioneering national research and engagement on quantum technologies in society. Current funded research also extends to research and industrial collaboration on regulatory aspects of Artificial Intelligence as a Principal Investigator in Research Ireland's Rinn AI. Professor Ahern has a track record of publishing cutting-edge work with transformative impact in academic, policy, judicial and legal practice settings. Building on her prior work in legal practice and her doctoral research, Professor Ahern's seminal monograph, Directors' Duties: Law and Practice (Round Hall 2009) has been relied on in judgments of the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Her international publications on corporate sustainability, regulatory sandboxes, anticipatory governance for new technologies, and directors' duties around Artificial Intelligence have shaped the field and garnered both broad cross-disciplinary engagement and policy impact. Professor Ahern has made sustained public service and policy contributions at the highest levels. In 2026 she was appointed by the Minister for Enterprise as the third person to hold the position of Chair of the Company Law Review Group in its twenty-five year history. Since 2020 she has been advising the European Commission on its company law work programme including on the landmark Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. Professor Ahern has provided advice to Government and engaged with the public as a member of Ireland's AI Advisory Council and is a Ministerial appointee to the National Science Advice Forum. As a member of the inaugural board of Ireland's Artificial Intelligence Office, IS Oifig na hEireann, she is steering AI regulation. As an invited member of EU agency Europol's Quantum Safe Financial Forum, Professor Ahern is contributing to development of European quantum-safe cybersecurity governance protocols. Professor Ahern holds a First Class law degree from Trinity College Dublin, a Masters in Commercial Law from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin. She is a qualified solicitor with the Law Society of Ireland. Professor Ahern was elected to Fellowship of Trinity College in 2012 on the basis of her contribution to scholarship. In 2022 Professor Ahern was appointed to membership of the Royal Irish Academy's Ethics, Politics, Law and Philosophy Committee. She is a former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Business Law and a current editorial board member of the Law and Financial Markets Review and a contributing editor to Gore-Browne on Companies. A Fellow of the Information Society Law Centre at the University of Milan, she has also held visiting positions at the European University Institute, Duke University and the University of Cambridge. Professor Ahern is deeply committed to inspiring students and developing best pedagogic practice. She is currently School Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning and has been both Secretary and President of the Irish Association of Law Teachers. An award-winning supervisor and mentor, her doctoral students have been recipients of Government of Ireland scholarships and Fulbright Awards. Her students have gone on to make an impact in legal practice, the public sector, academia, and in international human rights advocacy. Access to publications: via Google Scholar and Researchgate.
  BOARDS OF DIRECTORS   Business/Corporate Law   Comparative Company Law   Corporate Governance   FinTech Regulation   GENDER QUOTAS ON BOARDS
Project Title
 Research Ireland Centre for Quantum Information Science and Technology
From
1 July 2026
To
30 June 2034
Summary
This Research Ireland €30 million grant funds Rinn Quantum. a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional 8 year research centre from July 2026. I am on the leadership team leading the strand Quantum Technologies in Society. The centre will engage with emergent quantum science and technologies and provide world class research and leadership around ethical, legal and economic opportunities.
Funding Agency
Research Ireland
Programme
Research Ireland Centres
Project Type
Centre
Person Months
96
Project Title
 Research Ireland Centre for Data Science and AI
From
1 July 2026
To
30 June 2034
Summary
As a Centre Principal Investigator with Rinn AI, a large-scale, multi-institutional research centre funded by Research Ireland, I am involved in research around regulation of AI, regulatory sandboxes and the unfolding significance of agentic AI.
Funding Agency
Research Ireland
Programme
Research Centres
Project Type
Research Centre
Person Months
96
Project Title
 Determining The Future of Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI and Regulation: A Comparative Transnational Context
From
8 July 2024
To
7 July 2025
Summary
Artificial Intelligence is transforming our society. Important cutting-edge questions need to be probed about rights, safeguards and regulatory approaches and their impact on industry and citizens. This award will provide seed funding for a new research stream on regulatory issues on Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI that are beginning to be debated around the globe.
Funding Agency
Trinity College Dublin
Programme
Reseach Boost Programme 2024
Project Title
 Artificial Intelligence in the Era of the EU AI Act: A New Frontier
From
2024
To
2025
Summary
Funding Agency
School of Law, Trinity College Dublin
Project Title
 A Normative Legal Framework for Artificial Intelligence Governance: Investigating AI Liability under a Lockean Theory of Legal Blameworthiness
From
August 2026
To
30 September 2029
Summary
This has funded the PhD research of my doctoral student.
Funding Agency
Research Ireland
Programme
Government of Ireland Scholarship Programme
Project Type
PhD

Page 1 of 2
Details Date
Member of Irelands' Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council 2024
Devising and co-delivering Principles of Fiduciary Corporate Law course for the Duke-Geneva Transnational Law Institute
Co-editor of the Irish Business Law Review 2015 -
Secretary of the Irish Association of Law Teachers
Director of the Irish Corporate Law Forum http://www.iclf.ie/ 2010 to date
President of the Irish Association of Law Teachers 2011-2012
Member of the Steering Committee of the Trinity Consortium on Ageing 2007 to date
Member of the Quality Committeee, TCD From 2009
Member of the Law Society Business Law Committee 2006 to 2009
Member of the Law Reform Commission's Working Group on Vulnerable Adults and the Law 2005 to 2006
Member of the Research Ethics Committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland's Faculty of Public Health Medicine 2006 to 2007
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Medium Medium Medium
Spanish Medium Basic Basic
Details Date From Date To
Ministerial Appointee to Ireland's National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council 1 January 2024 present
Appointed member of the European Commission's Informal Company Law and Corporate Governance Expert Group 2025 2028
Appointed to Ireland's Company Law Review Group 2022
Appointed member of the European Commission's Informal Company Law and Corporate Governance Expert Group 2020 2024
Member of the League of European Research Universities' Legal Team on Artificial Intelligence 2020
Member of the Law Society of Ireland
Member of the Society of Legal Scholars 2006 to date
Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute
Member of the Steering Committee of the Daughters of Themis international network for women business scholars 2020
Crowdfunding and AI in, editor(s)Eugenia Macchiavello and Thomas Neumann , Research Handbook on Crowdfunding Regulation, United Kingdom, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2026, pp1-24 , [Deirdre Ahern], Book Chapter, SUBMITTED
Deirdre Ahern, Directive 2025/25/EU on Digital Tools and Processes in Company Law, Annual Conference on European Company Law and Corporate Governance, Trier, Germany, 23-24 April 2026, edited by ERA , 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Deirdre Ahern, EU AI Act Implementation and Enforcement, Breakfast Briefing on the AI Act, Law Library, 25 February, 2026, EU Bar Association, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Tanusree Jain, Harry J. Van Buren III; Deirdre Ahern, Tokenism in Context: Unpacking Token Women Directors in the Corporate Boardroom, Human Resource Management Journal, 2026, 1, p13 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL  URL
Deirdre Ahern, Directors' duties in the age of agentic artificial intelligence: How can boards navigate corporate purpose and the stakeholder interests of employees around AI adoption?, Cambridge Forum on AI: Law and Governance, 1, (e7), 2026, p1-24 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI  URL
Deirdre Ahern and others, Ireland"s AI Advisory Council Recommendations: Helping to Shape Ireland"s Future, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, 2026, 1-5, Notes: [This document highlights critical areas where the AI Advisory Council (the Council) sees opportunities for the Government to accelerate AI adoption, encourage responsible innovation, and reinforce Ireland"s role in the global AI ecosystem.], Report, PUBLISHED
Deirdre Ahern and others, AI Advisory Council recommendations to Government regarding alleged creationand public dissemination of AI generated nonconsensual initimate images, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, January, 2026, 1-3, Report, PUBLISHED  URL
Deirdre Ahern, Catherine Cathiard, Christophe Clerc, Pierre-Henri Conac, Monica Fuentes Naharro, Jesper Lau Hansen, Maco Lamandini, Lina Mikaloniene, Adam Opalski, Jean-Philippe Robe, Joti Roest, Jessica Schmidt, Christoph Teichmann, Martin Winner, Christian Zib, Shareholder Rights Directive Review, 2026, 1-37, Notes: [Advising on revision of the EU Shareholder Rights Directives.], Report, PUBLISHED  URL
The Sustainability Reporting Ripple: Direct and Indirect Implications of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive for SME Actors in, editor(s)Alessio Bartolacelli , The Prism of Sustainability: Multidisciplinary Profiles, Italy, Editoriale Scientifica, 2025, pp115 - 150, [Deirdre Ahern], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Deirdre Ahern, Barbara Prainsack, David Winickoff, Responsible AI: Is it Mission Impossible?, Royal Irish Academy Discourse Series: Responsible AI: Is it Mission Impossible?, Royal Irish Academy, 24 April 2025, 2025, Royal Irish Academy, Notes: [Invited Chair of this discourse.], Invited Talk, PRESENTED  URL
  

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Deirdre Ahern, The Implementation and Enforcement of the EU AI Act, Breakfast Briefing on AI Regulation, Law Library, 25 February 2026, 2026, EU Bar Association, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Deirdre Ahern, Contextualising the Proposed 28th Law Regime, Annual Company Law Conference, Law Society of Ireland, 5 November 2025, edited by Law Society of Ireland , 2025, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Deirdre Ahern, Sean Moynihan, Franny Hsiao, Kumar Prashant Srivastav, AI in the Enterprise " Navigating Innovation and Ethics, Irish Dreamin' 2025 - Digital Transformation, Marine Hotel Dun Laoghaire, 13 March 2025, 2025, Salesforce, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Deirdre Ahern, Strategic Foresight: How to Build an Anticipatory Governance Culture for Innovation, Invited keynote for Centre for Competition Policy, Centre for Competition Policy, Universiry of East Anglia, 22 May 2025, 2025, Professor Sean Norris, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Dave Lewis, Deirdre Ahern, Tatjana Evas, Eimear Farrell,, AI Act: Regulatory Learning and Standards: Sufficient to Protect Fundamental Rights?, CPDP.AI: To Govern or to be Governed, Brussels, 22-24 May 2024, 2024, Notes: [Workshop presented.], Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Deirdre Ahern, The Adoption of AI in Financial Services, AI in Financial Services, The Marker Hotel, Dublin, 24 September 2024, 2024, LK Shields law firm, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Deirdre Ahern, Regulatory Sandboxes for AI Governance under the AI Act: Perspectives for Innovators, Regulators and Society, University of Bayreuth Workshop on AI Governance, University of Bayreuth, 11-12 June 2024, 2024, University of Bayreuth, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Deirdre Ahern, Regulatory Sandboxes under the EU AI Act: Opportunities and Challenges, Milan Information Society Law Center Conference, University of Milan, 11-12 June, 2024, Information Society Law Center, University of Milan, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Deirdre Ahern, Sustainability Reporting: the New Directive and Its Impact on SMEs, The Prism of Sustainability: Multidisciplinary profiles; law, economics and ethics, University of Macerata, 30-31 March, 2023, Professor Alessio Bartolacelli, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Deirdre Ahern, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence: A Proposal in Flux, Annual Company Law and Corporate Governance Conference, Trier, 9-10 March 2023, 2023, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED

  


Page 1 of 8
Award Date
Research Ally Award (Research Ireland) 2024
Award for Excellence in Supervision of Research Students, Trinity College Dublin 2024
Fellow, Trinity College Dublin 2012
Directors' Duties: Law and Practice shortlisted for Kevin Boyle Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2011
Visiting Scholar, Duke University 2013
Herbert Smith Visitng Fellow, Faculty of Law, Cambridge University 2016
Highly Commended, Provost's Teaching Awards 2016