Other Resources

Blog:  The Shield, The Support and the Loudspeaker: Collective Whistleblowing by Ireland's Women of Honour

I was listening to RTÉ’s radio documentary, Women of Honour. It was 2021. I had been researching whistleblowing for almost fifteen years. But this was something new. The show was a damning account of abuse within a culture that did not accept or listen to women. The whistleblowers' experiences of isolation and exclusion were depressingly familiar. But something different seemed to be happening in this case. Women of Honour represent themselves as a single entity. They speak in public as though they were one. This makes their experience as whistleblowers stand out in three ways: the support, the shield, and the loudspeaker. Read more...

Article: Speak out against wrongdoing in an Irish workplace, and here is what happens [Irish Times, 2020]

It is to the credit of RTÉ Investigates: Whistleblowers Fighting To Be Heard (RTÉ One, 9.35 pm) that it is an immensely frustrating watch. We are introduced to ordinary people who courageously and with tremendous fortitude have gone public with evidence of malpractice at their places of work. But rather than be feted for their bravery they have been shunned and in at least once instance blacklisted. As final credits roll you feel you have been subjected to a maddening gaze straight into the Irish soul. Here were individuals clearly doing the right thing. Read at Irish Times.

The Costs and Labour of Whistleblowing: Bodily Vulnerability and Post-disclosure Survival

The public debate on whistleblowing needs to be changed. There is a persistent contradiction in how whistleblowers are perceived. On the one hand, whistleblowing is a vital way in which corruption comes to light. Yet, society does little to support the real-life struggles of the many whistleblowers who find themselves without a source of income and with little prospect of sourcing further work in their chosen career. If this situation does not change, fewer and fewer whistleblowers might come forward.

For this project, we gathered empirical evidence in order to reappraise how organizations and society see and value whistleblowers, and how society might better support them. We present data from an eighteen-month study carried out between 2016 and 2018 that involved interviews with fifty- eight whistleblowers and seventeen experts, along with quantitative data from a survey of ninety-two whistleblowers.  

See peer-reviewed academic article from this study here

Whistleblowing in Organizations: Podcast

Professor Kate Kenny recorded a podcast episode for Dr Simon Western’s Edgy Ideas. They discuss how deep-seated organizational norms can affect whether whistleblowers are supported or punished for speaking out. Listen here.

"Whistleblower Strategies" by Prof Kate Kenny

This interview was carried out with Deepa Driver as part of the International Festival of Whistleblowing, Dissent and Accountability, which took place on May 8th 2021. Available at: 21 Int festival whistleblowing

IAW Week 2020: In Conversation with Chris Smalls and Kate Kenny

Professor Kenny contributed to the Integrity at Work (IAW) annual conference, Transparency International Ireland, by pre-recording an interview with Chris Smalls, former Amazon manager who spoke out about health and safety concerns during Covid-19. Mr Smalls is a Founder of The Congress of Essential  Workers. The event took place online on 24th November.

CeBaS seminar: ‘Whistleblowers and their Allies: Reframing organizational resistance and external disclosures’

Professor Kenny presented at University College Dublin’s CeBaS seminar on 12th November. The recording can be watched here.

RTÉ Investigates: Whistleblowers Fighting To Be Heard

Prof Kate Kenny contributed to the documentary ‘RTÉ Investigates: Whistleblowers Fighting To Be Heard’ that screened on 21st September. The programme details the impact of speaking out, in five high-profile whistleblowing cases in Ireland. Watch online.