Five and a half years after the Brexit referendum, the subject remains a live and contested topic in public affairs. The relationship between the UK and EU remains fraught, with Northern Ireland still at the crux of those tensions. The stakes around Brexit remain high, and expert analysis on the process is vital. 

Katy Hayward, Professor of Political Sociology at the School of SSESW, has emerged as one of the world's leading experts on Brexit and its impact on the island of Ireland. She is currently leading a major project for the UK in a Changing Europe think tank on ‘The future and status of Northern Ireland after Brexit’.  

She is the author of over 280 research publications, including the most recent reports ‘The Border After Brexit: experiences of local communities in the Central Border Region of Ireland/Northern Ireland’ and ‘Testing the Temperature 3: What do voters in Northern Ireland think about the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland?’. 

Katy Hayward has presented widely on the topic of Brexit to the public, policy, media and academics. In interviews and published analyses, including The New York Times and BBC, she offered well-informed insights into the latest developments and future prospects around Brexit, focusing on the impact it is having on communities in Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

She co-organised an event with the European Policy Centre (Brussels) on the subject of the Protocol of Ireland/Northern Ireland for an audience involving British and European officials and diplomats.  

Katy delivered a lecture on ‘The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Past, Present and Future’ as part of the Irish Seminar Series at Hertford College, Oxford University, and a lecture What Is the Future of Northern Ireland After Brexit (And Why Should Europe Care)?’ for the Democracy Institute at the Central European University in conjunction with the Embassy of Ireland to Hungary as part of their prestigious Irish Speaker Series.  

Katy also met with Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič as part of an invited group of representatives of civil society in Northern Ireland and presented evidence before a visiting delegation from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. She also co-organised a mini conference for the island of Ireland chapter of Eisenhower Fellows, including senior diplomats from the USA, UK and Ireland. 

Professor Hayward has recently published two new books: What Do We Know and What Should We Do about the Irish Border? for Sage and a co-authored book Northern Ireland A Generation after Good Friday (MUP). 

In an episode of the new series of Mitchell Institute Conversations Podcasts Katy focuses on her book What Do We Know and What Should We Do about the Irish Border?

For further analysis and updates by Professor Katy Hayward please visit https://www.qub.ac.uk/brexit/insight-analysis/ and https://ukandeu.ac.uk/author/khayward/ or follow her on Twitter at @hayward_katy.