The Trans* Research Association of Ireland
The Trans Research Association of Ireland (TRAI) is an interdisciplinary research network for trans researchers in Ireland, researchers who work with Irish transness, and trans Irish researchers at home and abroad. It seeks to provide a nexus of connection for dissemination and collaboration in an under-researched field, as well as support and resources that may be helpful to members of the research network.
Founded in 2023 by Taylor Follett, Dr Matty Kennedy and Robin Steve, TRAI is based at the University College Dublin School of English, Drama and Film. Its establishment was funded by UCD College of Arts and Humanities seed funding.
A space for trans* research in and on Ireland
Ireland occupies a particular space in the context of transness. While Ireland has meaningful gender recognition legislation based on the principle of self-declaration, Ireland also has the most inaccessible gender-affirming healthcare in Europe, with waitlists of over 10 years for adults and no service provision for young people and children. In response, many Irish trans people DIY their healthcare and foster exciting, vital and generative community responses to the deeply political gatekeeping organised by the Irish State. Additionally, Ireland’s gender and sexual politics exist in the aftermath of British colonial rule and have been shaped by the enmeshment between the Irish State and the Catholic Church. Moreover, like many trans people throughout the world, Irish trans people continue to attempt to negotiate their lifeworlds in response to an increasingly hostile socio-political landscape defined by apathy and neoliberalism.
We believe that Irish specific research has important insights to contribute regarding how transness is conceptualised internationally and can meaningfully participate in the emergent and flourishing conversation regarding trans scholarship.
About the Board
Dr Taylor Follett
Dr Taylor Follett (he/him) is the founder and co-Chair of the Trans* Research Association of Ireland. His doctoral research at UCD focused on women in the family in the contemporary Irish novel, with a lens informed by in queer and trans theory. His work can be found in the Irish University Review, Literature Interpretation and Theory, and Mothers in Contemporary Irish Literature. Originally from California, Taylor now lives in Dublin with his husband and pets.
Dr Matty Kennedy
Dr Matty Kennedy (he/they) is an interdisciplinary empiricist in the area of trans studies, an educator and a writer. He is currently a research fellow at the University of Southampton’s Winchester School of Art and the co-chair and outreach manager for the Trans* Research Association of Ireland. Prior to this he was employed in Belong To, Ireland’s National LGBTQ+ youth organisation as the research and advocacy manager during which time he completed his PhD. His PhD was a qualitative, interdisciplinary, community-based project exploring transnormativity and the lifeworlds of young trans men in Ireland and is currently in progress as a monograph. His writing can be found in The Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies, Irish University Review, and Poetry Ireland among others.
Dr El Reid-Buckley
Dr. El Reid-Buckley (they/them) is the Secretary of the Trans* Research Association of Ireland. They are currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science at UCD, working at the intersections of feminisms, gender studies, technology and healthcare. Their research interests are broadly focused on power, identity, and their intersections. Their work has been published by the Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies, and in the edited collections Sex and Sexualities in Ireland: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Queering Desire and Queere Geschichte(n), amongst others.
Daniel Murphy
Daniel Murphy (he/him) is the Media Manager for the Trans* Research Association of Ireland and an MA student in Gender Sexuality & Culture with the UCD School of English Drama and Film. His research focuses on Irish trans literature and the exploration of queer and trans theory through play in video games, and is currently working on his MA thesis on the use of life-writing as a recognisable stylistic structure for telling more complex (Irish) trans narratives.
Policies
Membership:
Anyone is welcome to join TRAI in good faith, regardless of research affiliation or university level.
Masking & Covid Safety:
We require that all attendees at TRAI events who are able to wear a mask during the event do so, in solidarity with our immunocompromised and vulnerable members and guests. Any well-fitting FFP2 or FFP3 mask is acceptable, and more information on safe masking can be found here. We will also provide masks at events.
Please test before attending public events, and stay home if you are experiencing any new symptoms.
Our speakers will remain unmasked while talking for audibility and to allow for lip-reading access