Dr. Neil O'Boyle

Neil O'Boyle is an Associate Professor in the School of Communications and a Research Fellow at DCU’s Anti-Bullying Centre. His research explores the interplay between media, popular culture, and collective identities, with a particular focus on sport and communicative practices. He is the author of several books, including New Vocabularies, Old Ideas: Culture, Irishness, and the Advertising Industry (Peter Lang, 2011), Sport, the Media, and Ireland (Cork University Press, 2020), and Communication Theory for Humans: Communicators in a Mediated World (Palgrave, 2022). His work has also appeared in numerous leading international journals, such as The European Journal of Cultural Studies, The European Journal for Sport and Society, Television and New Media, International Studies in Sociology of Education, Communication Education, Journalism Practice, and Irish Political Studies.

Neil was Co-PI on the ERASMUS+ funded ‘BeFore’ project (Anti-Bullying Education for Sports Coaches) 2022-24, lead researcher on the Irish Research Council funded project ‘Immigration and Social Change in the Republic of Ireland’ in 2008, and Co-PI on the European Commission funded MEDIVA (Media for Diversity and Migrant Integration) project 2011-12. During 2023/24, he co-led the design of the ‘F-air Play’ Workshop on Gender, Media, and Sport, which involved a consortium of partners from across Irish universities, north and south. This initiative was funded by the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s (OFI) Gender Equality Commission and Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport programme.

Neil is a three-time recipient of Research Ireland's Research Ally Award (2022, 2023, and 2024). In 2026, he received the President's Award for Distinctive Teaching at DCU.