Jul 7, 2026 · 51 min · 13 segments
In this wonderfully hopeful episode of To Be a Boy, Joeli speaks to Professor Seán Redmond about boys, belonging and how children can be drawn into criminal networks. Drawing on decades of youth…
Sean RedmondGuest
Joeli BrearleyHost
Today we are interviewing Professor Sean Redmond, who is the leading expert on youth justice and one of the most important researchers working on how children get drawn into criminal networks.
An adjunct professor at the University of Limerick School of Law, he leads a project which works directly with the Department of Justice to build the evidence base for youth crime policy in Ireland.
He is best known for leading the landmark Greentown Study, which produced the first scientific evidence of how criminal networks in Ireland systematically recruit, groom and retain children, some as young as 11, using promises of money and status before trapping them through debt, obligation and fear.
Before moving into research, Sean spent over 25 years working directly with young people in the justice system.
Read the full transcript.
Create an account to read the whole episode, search across every transcript, and follow the shows you care about.
Today we are interviewing Professor Sean Redmond, who is the leading expert on youth justice and one of the most important researchers working on how children get drawn into criminal networks.
An adjunct professor at the University of Limerick School of Law, he leads a project which works directly with the Department of Justice to build the evidence base for youth crime policy in Ireland.
He is best known for leading the landmark Greentown Study, which produced the first scientific evidence of how criminal networks in Ireland systematically recruit, groom and retain children, some as young as 11, using promises of money and status before trapping them through debt, obligation and fear.
Before moving into research, Sean spent over 25 years working directly with young people in the justice system.
