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

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

since November 2019. She previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2016 to 2019, having also previously been a senior counsel and 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 the O'Raifeartaigh Theorem, a result in unification theory, and the O'Raifeartaigh Mode ...

and Treasa Donnelly. She attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) 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 environment ...

, graduating from UCD with a BCL degree in 1988. She was a research assistant at the

Law Reform Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

from 1988 to 1991. She held the position of Reid Professor of Criminal Law at Trinity College Dublin from 1991 to 1995, a position formerly held by Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson.

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 prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

. She frequently appeared for the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

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, 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, 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 oppose ...

. 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 *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

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

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

. She is a former director of the

Irish Council for Civil Liberties The Irish Council for Civil Liberties ( ga, An Chomhairle um Chearta Daonna) is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland. History Founded in 1976 by future President Mary R ...

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 (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

, road traffic offences,

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...

, extradition, 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 a ...

. She was the presiding judge in a case brought by Denis O'Brien in 2017 against the

, following statements made in

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

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 to ...

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 A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. 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 The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

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 Irish women judges Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of King's Inns Academics of Trinity College Dublin Academics of Maynooth University 21st-century women judges