CEA GlobalCampus: Dublin Faculty

Francis Kelly

As Campus Director – Ireland, Francis Kelly oversees current CEA partner programs in National University of Ireland, Galway and University College Cork. He will provide strategic and operational management to the local site directors and help develop relations with the universities and other vendors in both cities. In addition, Francis is actively working to develop a CEA GlobalCampus in Dublin.

Prior to joining CEA, Francis was Director of Development for the Dublin Business School (Ireland’s largest private business school) and Director of the European Business School, a private institute he founded in 1993 specializing in study abroad programs for European students. He has also extensive teaching experience in France (where he lived for 7 years) and Ireland in a wide range of subject areas. His professional experience has made him keenly sensitive to the needs of study abroad students from around the world. He speaks English, Irish and French fluently and has a working knowledge of Spanish and Italian.

Francis obtained his MBS (International Marketing) from the Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin (Ireland). He also holds a Professional Certificate in Marketing from the Marketing Institute of Ireland, a Maitrise from the Universite de Lille lll, France and a first class honours BA in French and Irish from University College Cork where he also won a college scholarship during his studies there. Francis is a member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and EAIE (European Association of Institutes of Education).

Darren Kelly

Dr. Darren Kelly, a native of Dublin spent over 10 years working throughout Dublin with NGO and community development organizations as an educator and trainer. He subsequently received his interdisciplinary doctorate in Geography from St. Patrick’s College, DCU where he also completed his B.A. in English and Geography.

His Ph.D. research mapped the spatial distribution of asylum seekers living in Dublin and explored the effects that immigration and globalization has had on Dublin’s physical and socio-cultural landscape. In particular, he is interested in the contested nature of contemporary Irish identity and the development of effective inner city integration strategies. In addition to publishing and receiving awards for his work and research, he has contributed to academic books and journals on various aspects of study abroad.

Dr. Kelly has lectured on Comparative Literature as well as Literary and Cultural Theory at St. Patrick’s College for many years. He has devised and taught Cultural Studies programs for IES in Dublin. For five years, he has worked with Beloit College in Wisconsin to develop their faculty development and study abroad programs in China, Ecuador, Russia, and Senegal. In 2007-2008, he was a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at Beloit where he taught classes and conducted research. His current research on study abroad includes the effects and uses of internet communication, travel-blogging, and photography. He also has given numerous papers and guest lectures across Europe and America.

He greatly enjoys sports, drama, and going to the theatre. He has also written and directed several plays for the stage. Dr. Kelly and Tina live in Dublin with their two young children, Alexandra and Samuel.

Donal Leahy

Donal J. Leahy is a native of Ireland. He has worked in Finance since the mid 1980’s particularly in private client investment and financial brokerage. He has also established many successful businesses.

He studied at Dublin City University where he obtained a B.A. and also received a Masters in Philosophy from Trinity College in Dublin. He has many qualifications and credentials in his chosen field and is engaged in mentoring and training.

Donal manages to find time to pursue his avocations which include lecturing and researching History, Philosophy, and Business. In addition to working full-time, he has lectured and taught from time to time in Business, Management, History, and Sociology. He is also a published author.

Donal is from a typical Irish family of seven children. When he has free time, he likes to spend it with his two children and his extended family. He enjoys horseback riding and running. He also travels widely and continues to write.

Stephen McMahon

Stephen McMahon is Irish and has engaged in a career of teaching at the university level and with study-abroad students since 2002.

He received a Master of Arts in English (Creative Writing) from Queens University in Belfast and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Human Development from Dublin City University (St. Patrick’s College) where he was nominated for a Millennium Scholarship Award. He has also completed additional studies at the Centre for Teaching and Learning at University College Dublin.

For the last eight years, he has been teaching with the Department of English at DCU (St. Patrick’s College) where he holds the position of Senior English Tutor. His responsibilities include facilitating and mentoring undergraduate students from first to final year in all aspects of their college experience, academic studies, and creative endeavors. A specialist in small group work, he has taught in several multidisciplinary Study Abroad programs focusing on the creative arts in Ireland, with an emphasis on literature.

In conjunction with his teaching, Stephen writes short fiction and poetry and has been shortlisted for several awards including the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award and The Fish Short Story Prize. His work has been published in several creative writing journals and anthologies.

Aside from teaching and writing, Stephen is a keen photographer with particular interests in travel, documentary, and sports photography. In recent years, he has been commissioned to cover several major international sporting events including the Tour de France and World Track Cycling Championships. When the time presents itself, Stephen loves to travel and has toured Europe, the USA, Australia, and the Caribbean.