Niall Muldoon
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
HONORARY CONFERRING
Thursday, 4 December 2025 at 2 pm
TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PROFESSOR LOUISE McHUGH, UCD School of Psychology on 4 December 2025 on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Literature, honoris causa on NIALL LIAM MARTIN MULDOON
President, Colleagues, Honoured Guests,
Dr Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman for Children, is a clinician, advocate, and public servant who has devoted his career to ensuring that children in Ireland are heard, protected, and treated fairly. Appointed Ombudsman for Children by President Michael D. Higgins on 17 February 2015, he is the second person to hold this office since its establishment in 2004. A clinical psychologist by background, he brings to public life a distinctive blend of professional expertise, moral clarity, and a sincere respect for the dignity of every child.
Niall’s journey to psychology was shaped by an early understanding of what truly motivates him. After leaving school he spent five years working in the Bank of Ireland. He enjoyed working with people but discovered that a life of figures and sales did not match his strengths or values. He became determined to pursue a people centred vocation, and with that he left that secure path, moved to London, and earned a BSc in psychology at what is now London Metropolitan University. On returning to Ireland, he began work with services for people with intellectual disabilities and soon undertook a masters degree in counselling psychology. His early work focused on relationship and sexuality education with adults with intellectual disabilities. It was reforming work that challenged conventions of the time. He persisted, supported by mentors who recognised both the ethics and necessity of his approach, and helped sow the seeds of training that is now widely accepted.
Mentorship and collegiality have been constants in Niall’s development. He credits figures such as Professor Pat Walsh for shaping his professional compass. From Walsh he learned to keep humanity at the centre of every assessment and intervention, to be truthful and non-judgmental, and to see further than the problem of the day. That ethos guided Niall through a decade at the Granada Institute working with adult offenders as part of a child protection strategy. While working full time he completed a PhD. The work was demanding and pioneering, and it deepened his conviction that the systems surrounding children matter as much as any individual intervention.
Niall then served as National Clinical Director of the CARI Foundation, leading national supports for children and families affected by sexual abuse. He took on that role during the economic crisis and made difficult management decisions with characteristic integrity and care. In 2012 he joined the Office of the Ombudsman for Children as Director of Investigations, a move from micro-level clinical practice to macro-level systems change. Three years later he was appointed Ombudsman for Children following a selection process that notably included interviews by children aged seven to seventeen. That choice reflected an idea that has become his trademark. Children are not a footnote in public administration. They are participants with a right to be heard.
Since 2015 Niall has led the Office with steadiness and resolve. His investigations have addressed education, health, disability services, homelessness, and youth justice. He is known for speaking plainly, for never ambushing those he critiques, and for centring the child in every conversation. He often says that the hard work is to keep the person in view when processes become complex. Parents may arrive to the Office angry or exhausted. The task is to ask what matters for the child at the centre. That clarity is paired with a practical optimism. He invites his team to “take profit” by noticing concrete wins for individual children while still pushing for wider reforms. Under his leadership the Office has championed initiatives such as school-based coaching supports that are now being piloted across several counties. This is change through steady progress rather than a search for perfection.
Niall’s grounding in psychology supports his work in public systems. He understands motivations, builds trust, and explains so people can understand why decisions are reached and what evidence supports it. This transparent style has strengthened the credibility of the Office and has helped move difficult issues forward.
Beyond office hours Niall is sustained by family, sport, and community. He lives in Dublin with his wife and two daughters. One daughter is a UCD student in financial mathematics and the other is a graduate engineer with Arup. He is an enthusiastic GAA supporter and has contributed to sports psychology. His joy lies in helping people to be better in ways that suit their lives. The medals matter less than the person. That sentiment echoes his public service. Keep it personal. Keep it human. Keep it honest.
Niall’s ties with UCD and the wider Irish psychology community are strong. He has collaborated with and learned from colleagues across the discipline and has long valued the work of professional bodies and continuing education that keep practice rigorous and current. His career offers our graduating students a powerful example. You do not need to map every step in advance. If you commit to integrity, service, and the person in front of you, you can shape systems as well as lives.
For his considerable contribution to the protection and promotion of children’s rights in Ireland, for his leadership that joins clinical insight with public accountability, and for a career that models courage, clarity, and compassion, the University is proud to honour Dr Niall Muldoon.
Praehonorabilis Praeses, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hunc meum filium, quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad Gradum Doctoratus in Litteris; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.