About

My main research is focused on philosophy, science and mathematics in the 17th and 18th centuries. My work tends to be interdisciplinary in nature, working at the intersections of the above disciplines, as well as their relationships with literature and broader culture. I have written a lot about George Berkeley in the above contexts, with a particular interest in his ideas about mathematics and rhetoric. An abiding theme in my work in the history and philosophy of mathematics is infinitesimals (and occasionally infinities). The introduction of infinitely small elements into classical mathematics raised all sorts of issues for discussions of rigour, mathematical truth, and even theology, and remains a topic of enduring fascination for me.

I gave birth to my first child in 2020 and this prompted new philosophical thinking about ethical questions inherent in motherhood (and parenthood, more broadly): infant feeding, childbirth, childcare and abortion. Particular interests include the ethics of institutional recommendations to exclusively breastfeed, methods of analgesia in childbirth, and the modal status of embryos/fetuses. I have been writing about these topics and have published work in academic as well as popular spaces.

I believe strongly in the value of philosophy to society, and the value of engagement with society to philosophy. My journey in public philosophy began with the Forum for Philosophy at the London School of Economics, where I held a public philosophy fellowship from 2017 to 2022. I have always combined publishing in academic venues with writing in popular venues. I write regularly for the Opinions and Analysis section of The Irish Times and have contributed numerous pieces to History Ireland Magazine, Image Magazine, The Irish Examiner and The Philosophers’ Magazine.

Over the last ten years, I have spent time working at: University College Dublin, Cambridge University, King’s College London, University of California, Berkeley, and Trinity College Dublin. I have had many wonderful academic mentors, but people to whom I owe particular gratitude are: Maria Baghramian, Katherine O’Donnell, Jasper Reid, David Papineau, Maria Rosa Antognazza, Beth Hannon, John Callanan and Kenny Pearce.

Current Writing: At the moment, I’m working on a book about George Berkeley and his value to modernity (especially in light of important criticism of his philosophical and personal legacy), and three papers: one on Berkeley’s promotion of hemp cultivation, one on philosophy of science issues in guidance around infant feeding and one on perspectives on the moon and the possibility of life thereon in the early modern period.

I recently moved to Bluesky.

Background

I grew up in Dublin. After school, I went to do an Arts degree in UCD where I studied English Lit, French and Music. I took English and French into second year, and by the time I made it to third year, I was doing badly in French, so looked to change that minor. Philosophy was the only subject I could take without having done first and second year, so I started picking subjects on the basis of what words I knew (which is still why I know more about Logic and Language than I do about Deconstruction or Hermeneutics). Maria Baghramian gave me an A for an essay on Frege, and told me I should think about doing a Masters in Philosophy (a welcome intervention at a time when I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do next). So, I very much stumbled into philosophy and then received some encouragement and support.

Two main philosophical interests emerged during an MA at King’s College London: 1. early modern philosophy and 2. logic and mathematics.

I went back to Dublin for a year, and combined tutoring philosophy at UCD with working in a yoga studio and childminding. I applied to Cambridge to do an MPhil in hopes of continuing there for a PhD. While there, I continued working on philosophy of mathematics and logic, and wrote a thesis on Berkeley, this time on his empiricist theory of vision. I had a difficult year there–I felt completely intimidated by everyone around me and had a pretty acute rolling insomnia that made life a bit frantic.

I got accepted (and, mercifully, AHRC funding) to go back to KCL to do a PhD on the metaphysics of infinitesimals under the supervision of Jasper Reid and David Papineau. I had much too much fun in the King’s Philosophy Bar (free pool table), studied and tutored a lot of different philosophy subjects, and managed to finish my PhD without a total mental breakdown (numerous partial breakdowns will be remembered by anyone near me at the time).

I applied for an IRC GOI Postdoctoral Fellowship and got it, and moved home to Ireland to do more work on Berkeley, this time at his scholarly home in Trinity College Dublin. I worked under the kind, early-modern-omniscient mentorship of Kenneth Pearce until he moved back to the States. I will remain here at TCD until early 2025.

I am involved in numerous academic groups and societies. At present, I am a co-treasurer of SWIP Ireland, the Records Secretary of the International Berkeley Society, and an ordinary committee member of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. I’m a former committee member of the British Society for the History of Philosophy, The Forum for Philosophy, and the Trinity Research Staff Association.