Current Position & Background
My background is as a Telecoms Research Engineer, where I worked as a technical lead on various EU IST programme-funded and nationally-funded research projects involving academic and industrial partners from throughout the EU. In 2008 I decided to train as a mediator, to add what are often considered “soft skills” to my technical knowledge. In mediation I discovered a new passion and a new career.
In 2010 I founded ARC Mediation with Dr Roisin O’Shea, an Irish mediator and legal academic. Our goal in founding ARC was to create a multidisciplinary mediation practice with mediators who had additional expertise in law, psychology, accountancy, business administration, project management etc.
The purpose of this expertise is not to advise clients, as that is not a mediator’s role. It is to adeptly understand the dispute and our clients’ interests better to increase the effectiveness of our mediations and improve the likelihood of success. Since 2010, we have grown in numbers, experience and developed a track record of bringing complex disputes to resolution.
In 2021, I co-founded the Irish Professional Mediators’ Organisation and server as a Director and Treasurer of the membership body.
Practice Areas
Family, Workplace, Civil & Commercial
Mediation Style
I adopt a practical mediation style. ARC’s approach is primarily facilitative but we use transformative and evaluative (in a limited sense) where appropriate. ARC exclusively offers co-mediation. We find the best fit of partners and associates to help resolve your dispute.
Mediation Experience
Since 2010 I have completed over 450 different mediations including
- Family mediation (separation/ divorce);
- Commercial mediations including breach of contract, business stakeholder & settlement of tort actions;
- Workplace mediations for a diverse range of businesses including governmental, SMEs and MNCs.
- Probate mediations including disputed wills & proprietary estoppel
- Mediations where capacity is at issue including those involving Wards of Court, and Enduring Powers of Attorney
- Business succession disputes in sectors such as Manufacturing, Life-sciences etc.
- Community mediations on behalf of Local Government
I have also contributed to Legal Academic research on Family Law outcomes in the Circuit and District Courts in Ireland, leading to several journal publications. I have published on mediation in general, online mediation during the pandemic and similar topics. I have also made contributions to a Joint Oireachtais Committee in Ireland on Family Law Reform, and submissions to the Dept of Social Protection on child maintenance guidelines and international best practice.
In my previous career I published in and was a reviewer for several IEEE conferences including Pervasive Computing and Healthcomm. My background involves expertise on data analysis and statistics. I hold a Diploma in Programming, a BSc in Industrial Computing, and an MSc in Telecoms Engineering.
Teaching & Mentoring
Participation in the delivery of various mediation and conflict management training courses including:
- A 32 Hours Family Mediation course suitable for Irish Family Mediators
- “Chamber of Commerce Skillnet” training for Workplace Conflict Management
- Mentoring and Conflict Coaching for business leaders in SMEs and MNC’s part of a Chambers of Commerce initiative. My mentees spanned multiples sectors including finance, non-profit, life sciences, FMCG, hospitality etc.
Conference Presentations
Domestic Violence in the District Court
May 29 2019, AFCC – Association of Family & Conciliation Courts Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada. This paper presented empirical research on domestic violence applications and outcomes in the District Court in Ireland. The presentation also reflected on the use of family mediation where there are domestic violence court applications or orders.
Mediation Publications
Online Family Mediation Post Covid-19: A Practitioner’s Perspective, Irish Journal of Family Law (2022) 25(4) · Nov 15, 2022
On Such a Full Sea Are We Now Afloat: Family Mediation in Practice in the Wake of the Mediation Act 2017, Aug 1 2020, Irish Journal of Family Law
Other relevant publications include empirical studies on legal outcomes in the Irish District Courts for a range of family law applications including: Domestic Violence applications, Child & Spousal maintenance applications.
Co-author with Dr Sinead Conneely and Dr Roisin O’Shea of “Ireland’s Mediation Adventure – A practitioner flying on “mutinous winds”, also available on the IMI website.
Many IT publications including
Integrating P2P with Next Generation Networks, River Publishers Series in Communications, Advances in Next Generation Services and Service Architectures. ISBN: 978-87-92329-55-4. · Jan 1, 2012.
Affiliations
IMI
Treasurer and Certified Member of the Irish Professional Mediators’ Organisation (IPMO)
Member of the Irish Commercial Mediators’ Association (ICMA)
Code of Conduct
Professional Indemnity Insurance
IMI Credentials
View all active IMI credentials for Shane Dempsey.
Public credential
Certified Mediator
Verification page with current IMI credential status and badge details.
Support IMI.
IMI is wholly reliant on grants and contributions from stakeholders.
Thank you for your contribution – it supports furthering of IMI’s Vision and Mission, worldwide.
