FE1 Prep Courses – Law Society of Ireland Exam Preparation

Helen is a graduate of both University College Dublin and the Honorable Society of the Kings Inns. Having completed the Barrister-at-Law degree at the Honorable Society of the King’s Inns, she was called to the Bar in 2014.

She practises predominantly in the area of Succession Law and Property Law. Helen also lectures Succession Law as part of the City Colleges Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) programme.

LL.B. (NUI), LL.M. (Dubl.), BL (King’s Inns), Dip. Education Law (Law Society), Dip. Construction Law (Law Society), Accredited Mediator.

Conor Duff BL is the Head of the Law Faculty at City College Dublin and a practising barrister. He completed his LL.B. degree at Maynooth University, where he was awarded first-class honours, followed by an LL.M. at Trinity College Dublin, where he also received first-class honours with distinction. He is a graduate of the King’s Inns, having undertaken the Barrister-at-Law degree. Conor was awarded a prize by the Law Society of Ireland for achieving the highest result in the Diploma in Education Law. He also holds a Diploma in Construction Law and is an accredited mediator. He has published multiple peer-reviewed journal articles in legal publications.

Conor lectures in Constitutional Law, Company Law, and European Union Law for students preparing for the FE-1 examinations. He has previously taught at the Law Society of Ireland, the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, and Maynooth University, teaching both third-level and professional law students. He was a finalist for the Irish Law Awards’ “Legal Educator of the Year,” having been nominated by his FE-1 students. Conor has taught thousands of FE-1 candidates, many of whom have gone on to win awards for achieving the highest marks in the subjects he teaches.

John Deane-O’Keeffe is a Forensic Criminologist and Lecturer in Criminal Law on the FE1 Solicitor’s Examination. He is also a Church Minister and Lectures in Theology. Additionally John works as a Journalist and Broadcaster.

John is currently Dean, Faculty of Criminology & Policing Studies at City College Dublin. He was a Magistrate in the UK where he sat on the Northumbrian Bench and was a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at St Mark & St John University, Plymouth. He is currently a Departmental Tutor at the University of Oxford, where he teaches on a range of courses across forensic criminology & theology. He is a Member of the Senior Common Room at Regent’s Park College, Oxford and an External Examiner on the Policing Degree at Anglia Ruskin University.

John is formerly Adjunct Faculty at Trinity College Dublin where he was Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology. He also spent a decade as Head of the Law School at Dublin Business School. He was Communications Director at the Garda Representative Association, Editor of the Garda Review for many years.

Aside his Church Ministry, John works as a Hospital and Prison Chaplain. He has undertaken undergraduate studies in History, Law and Theology at UCD, TCD, Bristol and the University of Oxford. He holds post graduate degrees in Forensic Criminology and Law from TCD, London Met and the University of Cambridge.

John has held and holds a number of visiting posts in UK Universities and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the Royal Historical Society. He has a special interest in criminology and theology and the intersection of these two areas within criminality. His book, ‘Christ Alive!’ was published by Wipf & Stock In April 2025 and is a lively and humorous series of lessons exploring how we find God’s presence in places where we least expect – not least in offending. This will be followed in the first half of 2026, by, Finding Jesus in Joyce: From Dedalus to The Dead, a book which will explore aspects of James Joyce’s relationship with faith across a number of his seminal works.

Erin Crawford is a graduate of Dublin City University and the Honorable Society of King’s Inns. Having obtained an Honours Degree in Law & Society from DCU, Erin successfully passed the entrance exams of the King’s Inns and was called to the Irish Bar in July 2018. Erin practices in general civil litigation.

Erin is an occasional lecturer and examiner in Maynooth University and has taught modules as part of the undergraduate programmes at Maynooth. Erin currently lectures the Law of Evidence to students on the City Colleges King’s Inns preparatory course.

Ciarán Lawlor is a practicing Barrister and an experienced legal educator. Ciarán graduated from University College Dublin with an Honours Degree in Law, and proceeded to study at the Honorable Society of the King’s Inns. He completed his studies at the King’s Inns and was called to the Irish Bar in 2005. He subsequently completed an LLM in European Law also at UCD, graduating with distinction.

Prior to commencing practice at the Irish Bar, Ciarán interned with leading Irish law firm A&L Goodbody, and with Amnesty International (Ireland), and was an IRCHSS funded project assistant on the EU Law PhD project at UCD. His practice focuses on civil law, with an emphasis on contract and commercial litigation, debt-collection, defamation, personal injuries, and tort law generally.

Ciarán has a broad experience of teaching law. He has been a Senior Tutor in UCD, and has lectured in tort law on the Graduate Diploma in Arbitration in UCD.