Donal Gerard O'Donnell (born 25 October 1957[1]) is an Irish judge who is the Chief Justice of Ireland since October 2021. He has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since January 2010. He practised as a barrister between 1982 and 2010, specialising in commercial law and public law.
Donal O'Donnell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) O'Donnell in 2022 | |
| 13th Chief Justice of Ireland | |
| Assumed office 11 October 2021 | |
| Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | Michael D. Higgins |
| Preceded by | Frank Clarke |
| Judge of the Supreme Court | |
| Assumed office 20 January 2010 | |
| Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | Mary McAleese |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donal Gerard O'Donnell 25 October 1957[1] Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Spouse | Mary Rose Binchy (m. 1992) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent | Turlough O'Donnell |
| Education | St. Mary's School |
| Alma mater | |
Early life
He was born in Belfast, in 1957.[2] He was educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast, University College Dublin, King's Inns and the University of Virginia.[3] While attending University College Dublin, he won the 1978 Irish Times Debate with Conor Gearty for the UCD Law Society.[4] He graduated from Virginia in 1983, where he wrote a research paper comparing equality under the US and Irish constitutions, supervised by A.E. Dick Howard.[5] Janet Napolitano was also among the class of 1983.[6]
His brother Turlough O'Donnell SC is former Chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland.[7] He comes from a legal family, his father, The Rt. Hon Turlough O'Donnell PC, was a member of the High Court of Northern Ireland and of the Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland between 1971 and 1990.[8]
Legal career
He was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1982. He was then later called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1989.[9] He became a Senior Counsel in October 1995.[10] He has practised in all courts in Ireland, Northern Ireland, European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).[3] He was known for his speciality in constitutional law, frequently appearing on behalf of the State.[11][2] In 1995-96 he represented the BTSB in the Brigid McCole case, eventually settling her case for damages. He successfully represented the applicants from the Garda Síochána after the death of John Carthy in a constitutional challenge which limited the powers of investigation of the Oireachtas,[12] which led to the unsuccessful Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution.[13] He acted for the State in Zappone v. Revenue Commissioners, Roche v Roche and Miss D.[9][2] In Michael Ring's challenge to a ban on a dual mandate he acted for the State and represented Micheál Martin in an action taken by Kathy Sinnott challenging the results of the 2002 general election in Cork South-Central.[14][15] He was counsel for Michael Lowry at the Moriarty Tribunal.[9] In 2002, he represented eighteen religious groups in a negotiation with the Minister for Education Michael Woods.[16] He acted for Ireland in the European Court of Human Rights in 2009 in A, B and C v Ireland.[17]
O'Donnell's practice also extended to commercial law. He and Paul Gallagher acted for a group of tobacco companies in 2004 challenging restrictions of tobacco advertising and he appeared for the estate of James Joyce in a copyright action against Cork University Press in 2000.[18][19] He represented the Beef Industry Development Society Ltd in a 2008 case in the ECJ which clarified the meaning of an agreement under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.[20] In 2007 he and Paul Anthony McDermott acted for Elin Nordegren in libel proceedings against The Dubliner.[21] He also appeared in cases involving insolvency law, employment law, company law and contract law.[22][23][24][25]
O'Donnell was a member of the Law Reform Commission from 2005 to 2012. He became a Bencher of the King's Inns in 2009.[3]
Judicial career
O'Donnell was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010. He was appointed directly from practice to Ireland's highest court, a rare direct appointment.[26] His appointment followed Nicholas Kearns becoming President of the High Court.[27]
There have been several distinctive and innovative features of his Supreme Court judgments, including writing joint opinions and opting to delay a declaration of unconstitutionality, in lieu of no declaration at all, to enable the government to take action before a judgment takes effect.[11] Ruadhán Mac Cormaic of The Irish Times says O'Donnell has a reputation for elegant writing and having a "socially liberal" approach.[11]
Chief Justice
He was reported to have been one of three judges shortlisted to be the 12th Chief Justice of Ireland in July 2017; however, Frank Clarke was chosen.[28] On 28 May 2021, he was nominated by the government to become the 13th Chief Justice of Ireland following Clarke's retirement in October 2021.[29][30][31][32] He was appointed on 11 October 2021, by President Michael D. Higgins at a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin.[33][34]
Personal life
He is married to Mary Rose Binchy, an artist,[11] with whom he has four children.[9]