In advance of the launch of the ‘Research Methods in Law’ book edited by Laura Cahillane and Jennifer Schweppe, the School of Law held a workshop on critical and alternative methods in legal research. Dr Eoin Daly from NUI Galway spoke about using theory as a means of demystifying law and encouraged students not to be afraid of using theoretical approaches. Dr Tanya ni Mhuirthile from DCU gave a talk on integrating a feminist analysis in legal research and emphasised how in her own experience a feminist approach helped her to articulate her research in a way she had previously been unable to do. Dr Cliodhna Murphy from NUI Maynooth explained how to take an international law approach in legal research. She pointed out that using international law in your research can have the benefit of making a comparative approach easier and can add another dimension to your research. Finally, Professor Shane Kilcommins spoke about the critical legal method and demonstrated that often when using a traditional doctrinal approach, the research fails to see the bigger picture and that a critical approach can sometimes be useful in interrogating law. The thought-provoking contributions were greatly appreciated by all attendees. The workshop was organised by Dr Laura Cahillane.