My Biography

Maria has been a lecturer in psychology at WIT since 2004 and has taught psychology modules including social psychology, psychological disorder and mental health and lifespan developmental psychology, across a number of undergraduate degree programmes. Maria recieved her PhD from Dublin City University in 2022. Her area of research interest is vaginismus in Ireland with the objective of creating greater awareness of this common sexual difficulty and for more sensitive and ethical approaches to treatment for women and couples.

Research

Current Research

Maria was enrolled in Dublin City University’s part time PhD Programme from 2014-2021 under the supervision of Dr. Rosaleen McElvaney and Dr. Rita Glover in the Department of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health. Her area of research interest is the experience of vaginismus for Irish women and couples. This study is the first known study of vaginismus in Ireland for almost forty years and was the first study to build a theoretical model of vaginismus within an Irish context from the perspective of couples and health care providers. Maria completed her PhD in 2022 and continues to advocate for greater awareness of vaginismus and for more sensitive and ethical approaches to treatment. Her website www.vaginismusresearchireland.com and Twitter feed @Irishvaginismus provides information about vaginismus and details of support services for women and couples.

Postgraduate Research

In 2000, Maria graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a BA Honours Degree in Psychology. In the same year, she began her postgraduate research at the psychology department in Trinity College. Her area of interest was the role of persistent primitive reflexes in learning difficulties. She graduated in 2002 with a Masters of Science in Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Statistics.

Teaching

While enrolled as a postgraduate student in the Psychology Department of Trinity College, Dublin, Maria worked as a tutor running undergraduate tutorials and workshops.  Maria has been a full-time lecturer at WIT since 2004 and has taught psychology modules including introduction to psychology, lifespan developmental psychology, psychological disorders and mental health, social psychology and research methods across a number of undergraduate degree programmes including psychology, arts, social care, early childhood studies and criminal justice. 

In 2012, she graduated from WIT with a Master of Arts in Adult Teaching & Learning in Further & Higher Education.

Professional

From 2001-2002, Maria worked in St. James’ Hospital as an Assistant Clinical Psychologist on the Psychological Medicine Team. While there, she was involved in a number of research projects which involved the neuropsychological testing of patients across a number of different departments, including cardiac and oncology, and an audit of patient attendance at the psychiatric service. Maria was also involved in a research project at the Jonathan Swift psychiatric unit at the hospital to design an in-house patient survey of service satisfaction.

Conference Presentations/Publications/Interviews

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

McEvoy, M., McElvaney, R. & Glover, R. (2023). Vaginismus in the Irish Context [C8] in B. Gornika & M. Doyle (Eds.) Sex and Sexualities in Ireland: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Palgrave McMillan.

McEvoy, M., McElvaney, R. & Glover, R. (2021). Vaginismus: A Biopsychosocial Perspective. Sexual and Relationship Therapy. DOI: 10.1080/14681994.2021.2007233

CONFERENCE PAPERS

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Annual Scientific Update in Urogynaecology Conference Paper

McEvoy, M. (2022, November). Vaginismus: A Biopsychosocial Approach. Individual paper presented at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Annual Scientific Update in Urogynaecology Conference, London.

Psychological Society of Ireland Conference Paper
McEvoy, M, McElvaney, R., Glover, R. (2017, November). Living with Uncertainty: The Experience of Vaginismus in the Irish Context.  Individual paper presented at the Psychological Society of Ireland Conference, Limerick.

South East Technological University Research Sparks Presentation

McEvoy, M. (2022, March) Vaginismus in the Irish Context. Presented at the SETU Research Sparks Conference. Waterford/Carlow (online)

MEDIA INTEREST IN THE DCU STUDY OF VAGINISMUS IN IRELAND

The Irish Independent

Dunne, L. (2022) The many myths around vaginismus stop women from seeking help. The Irish Independent (28 Feb)

The Times Online

Tutty, S. (2022). Condition preventing women having intercourse linked to poor sex education. The Times (8 Feb)

Independent.ie Article on Vaginismus

Dunne, L. (2021). Overcoming vaginsimus inspired me to become a sexual health educator. Independent.ie Online (5 Jul)

Interview with Irish Country Magazine on the DCU Study of Vaginismus
Moynihan. M. (2019).  No-Go Area.  Irish Country Magazine, March Edition, p.70-73

Newstalk Interview with Sean Moncrieff on the DCU Study of Vaginismus
https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/Moncrieff/Highlights_from_Moncrieff/247073/New_studies_on_vaginismus

RTE Brainstorm Article on the DCU Study of Vaginismus
McEvoy, M., McElvaney, R. & Glover, R. (2018) What’s the impact of vaginismus on Irish relationships? RTE Brainstorm Online (4 Sep)

Herald Health Supplement on the DCU Study of Vaginismus
O’Keefe, D. (2018) We Need to Talk About Vaginismus. Herald, Health Supplement (29 Aug): 26-27

Independent.ie Article on the DCU Study of Vaginismus
O’Keefe, D. (2018) Vaginismus: The second most prevalent female sexual difficulty presenting at clinics. Independent.ie Online (29 Aug).

HSE Sexual Health News Article on the DCU Study of Vaginismus
McEvoy, M, McElvaney, R., Glover, R. (2018) Capturing the Experiences of Vaginismus for Irish Couples: A Dublin City University Study. HSE Sexual Health News, Issue 6 (Spring): 9-10