Research Topics

• Dairy Market Analysis
• Fluid flow problems
• Heat transfer models
• Industrial applied mathematics
• Moving boundary problems  
• Nanoscience phenomena
• Sports Science

Publications & Talks

• Kearney, C., Coughlan, E., O'Connell, A., Seán Lacey & Burns, C. (2025). 'Bigger but Are They Better? Investigating Growth, Maturation, and Physical Performance Metrics in Underage Gaelic Games Development Squads.' Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 39(6):p e806-e814. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000005069
• Neville, J., Foley, K.,Seán Lacey, Tuthill, A., Kgosidialwa, O., O’Riordan, M., O’Halloran, F., & Costelloe, S.J. (2025). 'Impact of changes in gestational diabetes mellitus diagnostic criteria during the COVID-19 pandemic.' Ir J Med Sci, 194, 1097-1104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-025-03926-3
• Namara, L. M., Seán Lacey, Kildea, S., Schughart, M., Walsh, L., Doyle, D., & Gaffney, M. T. (2025). 'Barley yellow dwarf virus in winter barley: Control in light of resistance issues and loss of neonicotinoid insecticides.' Annals of Applied Biology, 186(2), 132–142.  https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12946
• Huskisson, S., O'Mahony, T., & Seán Lacey (2024). 'Improving student outcomes using automated feedback in a first-year economics class.' International Review of Economics Education, Volume 47, 100303, ISSN 1477-3880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2024.100303
• Dowsett, J., & Seán Lacey (2024) 'Optimising online transversal skills delivery in STEM doctoral education.' Irish Educational Studies, 43:4, 883-901. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2174574
• Moffat, A., Cole, L., Seán Lacey, Harrison, B., Konkolewska, A., McCracken, D., Evans, A. K., Gaffney, M. T., Brennan, F., Jackson, G. E., & McNamara, L. (2024). 'Long-term effects of management intensity and bioclimatic variables on leatherjacket (Tipula paludosa Meigen) populations at farm scale.' Journal of Applied Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13245
• Kerr, A., Hart, L., Davis, H., Wall, A., Seán Lacey, Franklyn-Miller, A., Khaldi, N., & Keogh, B. (2023). Improved strength recovery and reduced fatigue with suppressed plasma myostatin following supplementation of a Vicia faba hydrolysate in a healthy male population. Nutrients, 15(4), 986. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15040986
• Murray, K. J., Burns, C., Seán Lacey, O’Neill, C., & Coughlan, E. K. (2023). An examination of bilateral skill proficiency and frequency of pass in selected and nonselected youth academy Gaelic footballers. Journal of Motor Learning and Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/jmld.2023-0025
• Travers, J., Romero-Ortuno, R., Langan, J., MacNamara, F., McCormack, D., McDermott, C., McEntire, J., McKiernan, J., Seán Lacey, & Doran, P. (2023). Building resilience and reversing frailty: A randomised controlled trial of a primary care intervention for older adults. Age and Ageing, 52(2), afad012. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad012
• Coppinger, T., Burns, C., O’Leary, M., Fleming, L., Seán Lacey, & McCarthy, A. L. (2022). Subjective wellbeing of Cork primary school children. Irish Educational Studies, 43(4), 665–681. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2022.2135566
• Potter, J., Gómez Fernández, L., Labberté, M., Seán Lacey, Brama, P. A. J., & Huuskonen, V. (2022). Preliminary investigation into change in packed cell volume (PCV) after administration of two premedication protocols followed by induction and maintenance of anaesthesia in goats. Emerging Animal Species, 5(1), 100012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eas.2022.100012
• Jermyn, S., O’Neill, C., Seán Lacey, & Coughlan, E. K. (2022). The effects of a weighted football intervention on ball velocity of a standard football place-kick among elite Gaelic football goalkeepers: A single-subject designed study. Sports, 10(11), 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10110166
• Ó Súilleabháin, G., Farrelly, T., & Seán Lacey (2022). Dataset on student experiences and perceptions of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) in an Irish University [Data set]. Data in Brief, 41, 107954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2022.107954
• Fernández, L. G., Labberté, M., Seán Lacey, Brama, P., Huuskonen, V., & Potter, J. (2022). Preliminary investigation into change in packed cell volume (PCV) after administration of two premedication protocols followed by induction and maintenance of anaesthesia in goats. Emerging Animal Species, 5(1), 100012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eas.2022.100012
• Walsh, L. E., Seán Lacey, Doyle, D., Gaffney, M. T., & McNamara, L. (2022). Evaluating the timing of insecticide application to manage barley yellow dwarf virus and yield in winter barley. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research, 61(2), 372–383. https://doi.org/10.15212/ijafr-2022-0108
• Declan O'Connor, Dairy Price Volatility and Its Management, Diploma in Corporate Direction, UCC, December 14, 2022.
• Keaney, D., Lucey, B., Noreen Quinn and Finn, K., The effects of freeze-thaw and UVC radiation on microbial survivability in a selected Mars-like environment, Microorganisms 2022 10 (3), 576.

• O'Callaghan, S., Declan O'Connor and David Goulding (2022), Raw milk collection in Ireland: insights into the challenges facing the industry, British Food Journal (fortcoming), https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-05-2021-0499

• Flores-Villalva S., O’Brien M.B., Reid, C., Seán Lacey, Gordon S.V., Nelson C., Meade K.G. (2021) Low serum vitamin D concentrations in Spring-born dairy calves are associated with elevated peripheral leukocytes Sci Rep 11, 18969. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98343-8

• Le, A.D., Justin McGuinness & Dixon, E., 2021. ChunkedHCs algorithm for authorship verification problems: Reddit case study. Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation, 37, p.301185

• O’Connell M.L., Coppinger T., Seán Lacey, Arsenic T., McCarthy A.L. (2021) The Gender-Specific Relationship between Nutritional Status, Physical Activity and Functional Mobility in Irish Community-Dwelling Older Adults International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 16: 8427. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph18168427.
• Plante A.M., McCarthy A.L., Seán Lacey, O’Halloran F. (2021) Investigating The Bioactive Properties of Cheese-Fruit Combinations Following In Vitro Digestion Using an Elderly Model Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal 9 (2).
• Llamas-Moya S., Higgins N.F., Adhikari R., Lawlor P.G., Seán Lacey  (2021) Effect of multicarbohydrase enzymes containing α-galactosidase on the growth and apparent metabolizable energy digestibility of broiler chickens: a meta-analysis Animal Feed Science and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2021.114949.
• O’Connell M.L., Coppinger T., Seán Lacey, Walton J., Arsenic T., McCarthy A.L. (2021) Associations between Food Group Intake and Physical Frailty in Irish Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Nutrition and Metabolic Insights. doi:10.1177/11786388211006447.
• O’Connell M.L., Coppinger T., Seán Lacey, Arsenic T., McCarthy A.L. (2021) The nutritional status and dietary intake of free-living seniors: a cross-sectional study, Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2021.02.020.

• Bolger L.E., Bolger L.A., O’Neill C., Coughlan E., O’Brien W., Seán Lacey, Burns C., Bardid F. (2020) Global levels of fundamental motor skills in children: A systematic review Journal of Sports Sciences.
• C. Fanelli, Vincent Cregan, F. Font, T.G. Myers, Modelling nanocrystal growth via the precipitation method, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Volume 165, Part A, 2021.

• Merrotsy A., McCarthy A.L., Seán Lacey, Coppinger T. (2020)  Identifying dietary patterns in Irish school children and their association with nutritional knowledge and markers of health before and after intervention, British Journal of Nutrition, 1-36. doi:10.1017/S0007114520004043
• O’ Callaghan, S., Declan O'Connor, David Goulding, Modelling Raw-Milk Transportation in Ireland: Fastest or Shortest Route from Farm to Factory, Proceedings of Civil Engineering Research in Ireland, Cork, Ireland, 27-28 August, 2020. pg 552-558. ISBN 978-0-9573957-4-9

 

• Vincent Cregan, Contact melting of a rectangular block with temperature-dependent properties, International Journal of Thermal Science, Volume 150

 

• Collins Jackson, A. and Seán Lacey, The discrete Fourier transformation for seasonality and anomaly detection of an application to rare data, Data Technologies and Applications, Vol. 54 No. 2, pp. 121-132

• Dromey, L., Ruane, K., Murphy, J.J., O’Rourke, B., and Seán Lacey, A bridge-rehabilitation strategy based on the analysis of a bridge-inspection data set, Infrastructure Asset Management, 7(1), 25-35, 2020.
• Collins-Jackson A., Seán Lacey, Seasonality and Anomaly Detection in Rare Data Using the Discrete Fourier Transformation, 2019 First International Conference on Digital Data Processing (DDP), London, United Kingdom, 15-17 Nov. 2019
• Bolger L.E., Bolger L.A., O’ Neill C., Coughlan E., O’Brien W., Seán Lacey, Burns C., The effectiveness of a school-based intervention on fundamental movement skill proficiency among a cohort of Irish primary school children presented at the I-MDRC and CIAPSE ‘Healthy and Active Children’ Symposium, Verona, Italy, 11-14 Sept 2019.
• Seán Lacey, Bonnet C., Seamans K., Doolan A. Effect size statistics to inform an exploratory analysis of a double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled pilot clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of Naticol®, specific fish collagen peptides to alleviate symptoms of osteoarthritis in the knee,​  JOJ Case Stud, 10(2): 555783, 2019.
• Justin P.L. McGuinness, Gareth Thomas, Optimisation of wave-power arrays without prescribed geometry over incident wave angle in proceedings of the 13th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC), Napoli, Italy.
• O’ Leary M., Rush E., Lacey S., Burns C., Coppinger T., Project Spraoi - Two Year Outcomes of a Whole School Physical Activity and Nutrition Intervention, National Institute of Health Sciences Research Volume 8 Issue 2, Spring 2019 (Page 73)
• O’Doherty B., Dorman J., McGrath K., Kelly K., Molony D., Lacey S., Whelan S., Schmid S., Sullivan S. (2019) Improvement in health status with once-daily indacaterol/glycopyrronium 110/50 μg in COPD patients: real-world evidence from an observational study in Ireland​, Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 - ), 10.1007/s11845-019-02001-y 
• Merrotsy A., McCarthy A.L., Flack J., Lacey S., Coppinger T., Project Spraoi: A two year longitudinal study on the effectiveness of a school-based nutrition and physical activity intervention on dietary intake, nutritional knowledge and markers of health of Irish school children, Public Health Nutrition (accepted March 2019)

• M Dillane, B Tykalewicz, David Goulding, B Garbin, S Barland, B Kelleher, Square wave excitability in quantum dot lasers under optical injection, 

  Optics Letters 44 (2), 347-350, (2019)

 

• O’ Leary M., Coppinger T. , O’Neill C., Seán Lacey., Rush E., Burns C. (in press) Project Spraoi: Two year outcomes of a whole school physical activity and nutrition intervention using the RE-AIM framework, Irish Educational Studies (accepted 03 January 2019);

• N Kavanagh, David Goulding, FCG Gunning, Stable injection locking with slotted Fabry–Perot lasers at 2 μm, Journal of Physics: Photonics 1 (1), 015005
• Bolger L.A., Bolger L.E., O’Neill C., Coughlan E., O’Brien W., Seán Lacey, Burns C. (in press) Fundamental Movement Skill Proficiency and Health Among a Cohort of Irish Primary School Children Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (accepted 12 December 2018);
• Buckley M., Doolan A., Seán Lacey, Goodbody E., Seamans K.,  Lactobacillus reuteri DSM17648 supplementation has a positive effect on gastrointestinal symptoms of Helicobacter pylori infection: A single-blinded, placebo-controlled study, BMC Nutrition Journal (accepted November 2018).
• Declan O'Connor, Moderator, Breakout Session 2: Dairy Markets & Hedging Volatility, EDA Annual Convention, A Green Future for European Dairy.
• O’Meara N., Johnson P., Fitzmaurice O., Seán Lacey (in press), ‘Crossing’ the Equals Sign: Insights into Pre-service Teachers’ Understanding of Linear Equations, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education (CAPJ) (accepted October 2018);
• Loughrey J.,  Donnellan T., Hennessy T., Thorne F., and Declan O'Connor, An evaluation of suitable tools to manage price/income volatility at dairy farm level in Ireland. Report prepared for Dairy Research Ireland, September 2018

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• Bolger, L. E., Bolger, L. A., O’ Neill, C., Coughlan, E., O’Brien, W., Seán Lacey, & Burns, C. (in press). The effectiveness of two interventions on fundamental movement skill proficiency among a cohort of Irish primary school children. Journal of Motor Learning and Development. (accepted 5th August)
• McGahan, J., Burns, C., Seán Lacey, Gabbett, T., & O’ Neill, C.  Variation in training load and markers of wellness across a season in an elite Gaelic football team The Journal of Australian Strength & Conditioning (accepted August 2018);

• Bolger, L. E., Bolger, L. A., O’ Neill, C., Coughlan, E., O’Brien, W., Seán Lacey, & Burns, C. (in press). Accuracy of children's perceived skill competence and its association with physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. (accepted 29th July 2018)

• Katie O’Brien, Mooney T, Fitzpatrick P, Sharp L., Screening status, tumour subtype, and breast cancer survival: a national population-based analysis, Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2018 Jul 13.

• Katie O'Brien, The burden of HPV related cancer in Ireland, “The Opportunity to Eliminate HPV Cancers” scientific meeting at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Dublin, 9/7/2018.

• Merrotsy A., McCarthy A.L., Flack J., Seán Lacey, Coppinger T. Project Spraoi: Dietary Intake, Nutritional Knowledge, Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Health Markers of Irish Primary School Children International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition, 2018, 7, 63-73

• Declan O’Connor, DISTANCE OPTIMISATION OF MILK TRANSPORTATION FROM DAIRY FARMS TO A PROCESSOR OVER A NATIONAL ROAD NETWORK, June 2018, Agriculture & Food 2018 - 6th International Conference, Burgas, Bulgaria

 

 

• Breugom AJ, Bastiaannet E, Boelens PG, Van Eycken E, Iversen LH, Martling A, Johansson R, Evans T, Lawton S, Katie O'Brien, Ortiz H., Oncologic treatment strategies and relative survival of patients with stage I-III rectal cancer - A EURECCA international comparison between the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, England, Ireland, Spain, and Lithuania, Eur J Surg Oncol. 2018 May 26. 
• Declan O’Connor: Farmer workshop on risk Management and the role of Excel in farming
• Declan O’Connor: Farmer information evenings sponsored by Cork County Council

• McGahan, J. H., Burns, C., Seán Lacey, Gabbett, T., & O’ Neill, C. Relationship between load and readiness to train in a Gaelic football pre-competition training camp Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning (accepted March 2018)

• D Bergmann, Declan O'Connor, A Thümmel, (2018), An Evaluation of Point and Density Forecasts for Selected EU Farm Gate Milk Prices, International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics, Vol. 6, No. 1,  pp. 23-53 

 

• McGahan J., Burns C., Seán Lacey, Gabbett T., O’ Neill C. An investigation in to the positional running demands of elite Gaelic football players: how competition data can inform training practice The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, (accepted February 2018);

• Kelly M, Katie O'Brien, Lucey M, Clough-Gorr K, Hannigan A., Indicators for early assessment of palliative care in lung cancer patients: a population study using linked health data, BMC Palliat Care. 2018;17(1):37. Media Article: Lung cancer diagnosis too late for one in five who die within 30 days of discovery

• D Bergmann, D O'Connor, A Thümmel, (2017) Price and volatility transmission in, and between, skimmed milk powder, livestock feed and oil markets. Outlook on Agriculture, Vol. 46(4) 248–257 DOI: 10.1177/0030727017744928

• O’Leary M., Coppinger T. , O’Neill C., Seán Lacey, Rush E., Burns C., Health-related Measures of 6- and 10-year-old Irish Primary School Children by Sex and School Socio-economic Status, Journal of Health Behavior and Policy Review, 2017

• Hanley JA, Hannigan A, Katie O'Brien, Mortality reductions due to mammography screening: Contemporary population-based data, PLOS ONE. 2017;12(12):e0188947. Media Articles: Mammography screening reduces breast cancer deaths in Ireland, study finds, Mortality rate for breast cancer is 9pc lower among women in eastern region, Breast cancer death rate 9 per cent lower in East of Ireland

• D Bergmann, Declan O'Connor, A Thümmel, (2017) Price and volatility transmission in, and between, skimmed milk powder, livestock feed and oil markets. Outlook on Agriculture, Vol. 46(4) 248–257 DOI: 10.1177/0030727017744928

• Declan O'Connor, Information meetings with Cork County dairy farmers.

 

• O’Leary M., Rush E., Seán Lacey, Burns C., Coppinger T., Cardiorespiratory Fitness is Positively Associated with Waist to Height Ratio and School Socio Economic Status in Irish Primary School Aged Children, Journal of Sport and Health Research, November, 2017.
• Dennis Bergmann, past PhD student of Declan O'Connor, awarded EEX Annual Excellence Award.

• Balfe M, Keohane K, Katie O'Brien, Gooberman-Hill R, Maguire R, Hanly P, O'Sullivan E, Sharp L., In a bad place: Carers of patients with head and neck cancer experiences of travelling for cancer treatment, Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2017; 30:29-34.

• Bolger L., Bolger L., O’Neill C., Coughlan E., O’Brien W., Seán Lacey., Burns C. Age and Sex Differences in Fundamental Movement Skills Among a Cohort of Irish School Children, Journal of Motor Learning and Development, September 2017.

• Justin McGuinness & Gareth Thomas, Optimisation of Elementary Arrays of Wave-Power Devices in Irregular Waves, proceedings of the European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference, UCC, Cork, Ireland, August 2017.
• Justin McGuinness & G Thomas, The Constrained Optimisation of Small Linear Arrays of Heaving Point Absorbers. Part I: The Influence of Spacing. International Journal of Marine Energy, In press (available online as of 18/7/17), 2017.

• Justin McGuinness, UCC School of Mathematical Science Postgraduate Seminar Series, Hydrodynamic Optimisation of an Array of Wave-Power Devices, June 2017.
• Justin McGuinness, CIT Department of Mathematics Research Seminar, Hydrodynamic Behaviour of an Array of Wave-Power Devices, May 2017.
• Seán Lacey, CIT Department of Mathematics Seminar in Mathematical Transitions from Second to Third Level Workshop, From Marking Leaving Cert papers to Teaching Teachers, January 2017.

• Cudmore S., Doolan A., Seán Lacey, Shanahan F. A Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study: The effects of a symbiotic, Lepicol®, in Adults with Chronic, Functional Constipation, International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition ISSN: 0963-7486 (Print) 1465-3478 (Online), October 2016.
• D Bergmann, Declan O'Connor, A Thümmel, (2016), An analysis of price and volatility transmission in butter, palm oil and crude oil markets, Agricultural and Food Economics,4:23.

• Coppinger T., Seán Lacey, O’Neil C., Burns C. ‘Project Spraoi’: A randomized control trial to improve nutrition and physical activity in school children, Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications,Volume 3, 15 August 2016, Pages 94–101.

• Fitzmaurice O. Johnson P., O’Meara N., Seán Lacey, Insights into preservice teachers’ misconceptions of linear equations, Conference: 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education, July 2016.

• Justin McGuinness & G Thomas, Hydrodynamic Optimisation of Small Arrays of Heaving Point Absorbers, J. Ocean Eng. Mar. Energy, 2(4), pp. 439-457, 2016.

• Sargent C., O’Mahony J., Seán Lacey, Gebruers C. The Development and Optimisation of a Quantitative Physical Fitness Scoring System for use amongst Naval Service Personnel, International Maritime Health 2016; 67,3:1-8.

 

• Justin McGuinness, UCC Applied Mathematics Seminar, Hydrodynamic Optimisation of an Array of Wave-Power Devices, April 2016.
• Keane, M., Declan O'Connor, (2015). Agricultural Policy Schemes: European Union's Common Agricultural Policy, Reference Module in Food Sciences, Elsevier, pp. 1–6.
• D Bergmann, Declan O'Connor, A Thümmel , (2015), Seasonal and cyclical behaviour of farm gate milk prices, British Food Journal, Vol. 117 Issue 12.
• Justin McGuinness & G Thomas, Optimal Arrangements of Elementary Arrays of Wave-Power Devices, proceedings of the 11th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference, Nantes, France, 2015.
• Declan O'Connor, Bergmann D. and Keane, M. (2015) The challenges posed by price volatility in the EU dairy sector. Paper presented at Agrarian Perspectives XXIV and 25th Annual Conference of the Austrian Society of Agricultural Economics. Prague September 2015.

 

• Reidy M., Ryan F., Hogan D., Seán Lacey., Buckley C. Preparedness of Hospitals in the Republic of Ireland for an Influenza Pandemic, an Infection Control Perspective, BMC Public Health 2015, 15:847.
• A Kiely, Justin McGuinness, J G Muga & A Ruschhaupt, Fast and Stable Manipulation of a Charged Particle in a Penning Trap, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys., 48 075503, 2015.
• Declan O'Connor and M. Keane (2015), Future Expansion of the Dairy Industry in Cork: Economic Benefits and Infrastructural Requirements, Report prepared for Cork Conty Council.