Conor Murray is Lecturer in Criminology within the School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences at Ulster University (UU), Northern Ireland. He is the Director of Postgraduate Research within the School. He is a board member of UU’s Doctoral College and is UU’s Institutional Director for the ESRC Northern Ireland and North-East England Doctoral Training Partnership. Conor also sits on the Executive Board of NIACRO, an NGO dedicated to reducing crime and its impact on people and communities in Northern Ireland. As an early career academic, Conor has a distinct focus on widening access to higher education and he is the Course Director of ‘Stay Onside: Applied Football Studies’, a Personal and Professional Development Course delivered to prisoners in HMP Maghaberry. The course is delivered as an academically accredited sport-based intervention, which he co-delivers with the Irish Football Association. Conor is also an active researcher, he has been involved in securing over £160,000 in research funding and support grants since commencing his post. His co-edited book Crime, Justice and Religion: A Critical Appraisal was published by Routledge in 2022. While writing both books Conor has also been exploring research interests in disciplines of young adulthood, gender, sexuality, policing, religion, and sport-based interventions, and has published book chapters, peer reviewed articles and reports. In November 2022 he was invited to Westminster to give oral evidence based on his research expertise to the NI Affair’s Committee on the effects of paramilitaries on NI communities.
