Who is MC Relihan?
Mary-Clare Relihan
Researcher. Educator. Coach. Mum.
- WPhD in Mentoring at Monash University, Australia
- WMasters in Educational Mentoring at University of Limerick, Ireland
- WAlmost two decades across education, mentoring & coaching
MC Relihan is a researcher, educator, consultant and coach whose work explores the human and emotional dimensions of learning and professional development.
With almost two decades of experience across education, mentoring and coaching, her work brings together academic research and real-world practice. Her PhD research investigated the emotional labour of mentoring and how mentoring capacity develops through experience, building specialist expertise in mentoring, coaching and professional development.
Alongside her academic work, MC has a longstanding interest in mindset and human development. She is particularly interested in what happens beneath the surface; the beliefs, emotions, relationships and often invisible work that shape how we learn, develop and support others.
Where it started…
I began my career as a primary teacher, but a growing interest in mentoring, coaching and how adults develop gradually took my work in a different direction.
Alongside this, I became fascinated by mindset and how our beliefs, emotions and inner narratives shape the way we respond to challenge, change and uncertainty
When the personal met the professional…
That curiosity followed me into my PhD. I completed my doctorate while navigating some significant seasons of life outside academia, including fertility, pregnancy and becoming a mother.
Across both my personal and professional worlds, I became increasingly aware of emotional labour. This refers to the often unseen work involved in managing our own emotions while responding to the emotions, expectations and needs of others.
The concept gave language to something I was experiencing myself and witnessing repeatedly in mentoring and coaching relationships.
Where it led me…
My PhD ultimately brought these threads together, exploring the emotional labour of mentoring and how mentoring capacity develops through experience.
Today, that intersection continues to shape my work: mindset, mentoring, coaching and emotional labour and how a better understanding of what happens beneath the surface can help us better support people to develop.
Lets Connect
Interested in working together, collaborating on research, or bringing these ideas into your organisation or team?
