In recognition of International Men’s Day, we’re highlighting some of the outstanding men who contribute to shaping National College of Ireland. Learn what this day represents for them.
Conor Nolan, Vice Dean of Social Sciences at NCI’s School of Business and Social Sciences
International Men's Day, November 19th, 2025
Shining a light on the men of NCI.
My name is Conor Nolan, and I am the Vice Dean of Social Sciences at NCI’s School of Business and Social Sciences. I joined the College as a member of Associate Faculty in September 2017 before joining in a full-time capacity in September 2020.
My path to NCI
I did an undergraduate degree in psychology at UCD, before going on to do postgraduate studies in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, also in UCD, in conjunction with Lucena Clinic. I completed a Doctorate in Behavioural Psychology at Maynooth University.
I ended up in NCI because my Doctoral supervisor from Maynooth, Dr Michelle Kelly, moved to NCI, and she suggested me as Associate Faculty (AF) to take on a module they were looking to fill at the time. I worked as AF while continuing to work with clients for some time before applying for a permanent position at NCI when the opportunity arose.
Aspirations and motivations
I always had aspirations to work in psychology, since I was a teenager. I wanted to help people. I was particularly drawn to the area of child and adolescent mental health, intellectual disability, and autism as I believe that early intervention is key; the earlier that we can support people, the better the outcomes.
I’m new to the role of Vice Dean, and my aspirations are to grow the Social Sciences offerings at NCI. I would love to see the expansion of our psychology and education programmes, to support our teams in designing and offering more postgraduate and undergraduate opportunities. I want the Social Sciences teams to feel connected, involved, and proud of NCI and what we do.
What does International Men’s Day mean to you?
For me, International Men’s Day is about shining a light on aspects of being a man which are not often spoken about, such as male mental health and suicide rates in men. There are issues such as body dysmorphia and eating disorders which are more “traditionally” associated with women, but which occur in men as well, and there is much stigma around such issues. Coping and dealing with mental health issues for men is something that needs to be focused on. In Ireland, according to the most accurate statistics, 449 people died by suicide in 2021, 80% were men, and 20% were women.
It is also about embracing all men, regardless of race, culture, gender identity or sexuality and challenging traditional, stereotypical views of masculinity or hyper masculinity. “Traditional” roles for men need to be challenged.
I think it’s also important to reflect on the fact that being a man still brings about inherent benefits and there is still gender inequality which disadvantages women and advantages men.
Specifically in my area and my profession, it is a female dominated field. Psychology is a predominantly female led, particularly in practicing psychologists. It is slightly more evenly balanced in academia. We see this in undergraduate psychology classes at NCI, where women may make up 70-80% of the class in some cases. This in turn means that men are less likely to be represented as professional practicing psychologists, which in turn may increase the stigmatisation of the mental health field, and circles back to the points I spoke about earlier regarding men’s mental health. The same goes for many healthcare and allied healthcare professions such as nursing, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy. It also applies to early years and primary education fields.
Equally, we see many professions which are dominated by men.
These “traditionally gendered” roles need to be broken down on both sides.
Societal norms view psychology and many of the caring professions as being only for women. How can we tell men that their mental health matters and they should reach out for help when needed when they don’t see themselves represented in the psychology space? Could that possibly send the message that the space is not for them?
I also want to emphasise that when I am talking about “men” in the above, I am not just talking about white, middle-class men. Access to psychology, psychology services, education and caring professions need to be widened for men of all races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, religions, and inclusive of transgender men.