Úna Ní Raifeartaigh is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

since July 2024. She previously served as a Judge of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

from 2019 to 2024 and a Judge of the High Court from 2016 to 2019. Before her elevation to judicial office, she practised as a senior counsel and she was also a legal academic. Her academic and legal expertise is in criminal law and the law of evidence.

Early life

Ní Raifeartaigh was born to

Lochlainn O'Raifeartaigh Lochlainn O'Raifeartaigh (; 11 March 1933 – 18 November 2000) was an Irish physicist in the field of theoretical particle physics. He is best known for O'Raifeartaigh's no-go theorem, the O'Raifeartaigh Theorem, a result in unification th ...

and Treasa Donnelly. She attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

, graduating from UCD with a BCL degree in 1988. She was a research assistant at the Law Reform Commission from 1988 to 1991. She held the position of Reid Professor of Criminal Law at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

from 1991 to 1995, a position formerly held by

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

and

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

Legal career

She became a barrister in 1993 and a senior counsel in 2009. Her practice mostly focused on

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

. She frequently appeared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in prosecuting cases on behalf of the State and was the highest paid barrister for the State in 2015. She was prosecution counsel in cases against Seán FitzPatrick relating to

Anglo Irish Bank Anglo Irish Bank was an Republic of Ireland, Irish bank headquartered in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It began to wind down after nationalisation in 2009. In July 2011 Anglo Irish merged with the Irish Nationwide Building Society, forming a new co ...

, Sharon Collins in hiring a hitman to kill her partner, Mark Nash regarding the Grangegorman killings, and Linda and Charlotte Mulhall, She was also involved in prosecutions in the

Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish "special courts" with ...

, including a trial related to the

Omagh bombing The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on 15 August 1998 in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who op ...

. She worked with Kevin Feeney to collect evidence, examine witnesses and present evidence on behalf of the Joint

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

Committee investigating Brian Curtin. She has also appeared as defence counsel in criminal trials. She represented a religious order at the

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) was one of a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government to investigate the extent and effects of abuse on children from 1936 onwards. Commencing its work in 1999, it was commonly known ...

. She has argued before the

. She is a former director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and chairperson of the Private Securities Services Appeal Board. She has co-authored books on the law of evidence in Ireland and the Special Criminal Court. She is the founder of the Criminal Law Forum.

Judicial career

Ní Raifeartaigh was appointed to the High Court in September 2016. She has heard cases involving matters relating to

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

, road traffic offences,

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

, bail, and

land law Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

. She was the presiding judge in a case brought by

Denis O'Brien Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for several years. His bus ...

in 2017 against the

, following statements made in

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

made by

Pearse Doherty Pearse Daniel Doherty (born 6 July 1977) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since the 2016 general election, and previously a TD for the Donegal South-West constituency from 2010 t ...

and Catherine Murphy regarding his financial affairs. The judge refused reliefs sought by O'Brien against the politicians, finding that there could be no judicial interference in regulating

parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...

in the Irish legislature. She identified a constitutional protection of comments made during Dáil debates. Her judgment was upheld by a unanimous judgment of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

delivered by Chief Justice Frank Clarke in March 2019. She has served as an ad hoc judge for Ireland in the

. She was elevated to the

in November 2019. Her appointment was one of six appointments due to expansion of the number of judges on the Court of Appeal following the enactment of the Courts Act 2019. She is an adjunct professor at

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Raifeartaigh, Una Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) High Court judges (Ireland) 21st-century Irish judges 20th-century Irish lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of King's Inns Academics of Trinity College Dublin Academics of Maynooth University 21st-century Irish women judges