Cian Ferriter is an Irish lawyer who has been a judge of the High Court since October 2021. He practised as a barrister specialising in commercial and media law.

Early life

Ferriter attended secondary school at

St Benildus College St Benildus College is an all-boys, Catholic secondary school located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1966 when free secondary education was introduced in Ireland. Founded in 2005, the College was named after the De La Salle ...

Kilmacud Kilmacud () is a suburban area of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland, at least partly contiguous with Stillorgan. Name ''Kilmacud'' is an anglicisation of the Irish name , "church of aintMochuda". The identity of the dedicatee ...

until 1986. He studied at

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 ...

, graduating with a BCL degree in 1993 and an arbitration diploma in 2000. He was the auditor of the

University College Dublin Law Society The UCD Law Society is one of the largest student societies in Europe. Established in 1911 as 'The Legal and Economic Society', as of 2009 it had approximately 4100 members drawn from the various faculties of the university. Weekly Tuesday nigh ...

between 1991 and 1992 and was the individual winner of the

Irish Times Debate The Irish Times National Debating Championship is a debating competition for students in higher education in Ireland. It has been run since 1960, sponsored by ''The Irish Times''. While most participants represent institutions in the Republic of ...

in 1992. His brother is the professor of history

Diarmaid Ferriter Diarmaid Ferriter (born February 1972) is an Irish historian, broadcaster and university professor. He has written eleven books on the subject of Irish history, and co-authored another. Ferriter attended St. Benildus College in Kilmacud in Dubl ...

. He was the moderator of the second series of the television programme ''The Blackbird And The Bell'' on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

Legal career

He became a member of the Irish bar in 1998 and a senior counsel in 2011. He has been involved in cases involving injunctions, insolvency law, tax law, company law, procurement law and intellectual property law. Among parties he represented were the estate of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, the

Criminal Assets Bureau The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) ( ga, An Biúró um Shócmhainní Coiriúla) is a law enforcement agency in Ireland. The CAB was established with powers to focus on the illegally acquired assets of criminals involved in serious crime. The aims ...

Brian Curtin Brian Curtin (b. 1951/52) is a former barrister and Irish circuit court judge, who was tried for possessing images of child pornography. After the case collapsed, the question of whether Curtin could continue as a judge became the focus of politi ...

Dublin Airport Authority DAA (styled "daa"), previously Dublin Airport Authority, is a commercial semi-state airport company in Ireland. The company owns and operates Dublin Airport and Cork Airport. Its other subsidiaries include the travel retail business Aer Rianta ...

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 ...

, the

National Asset Management Agency The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA; ga, Gníomhaireacht Náisiúnta um Bhainistíocht Sócmhainní) is a body created by the government of Ireland in late 2009 in response to the Irish financial crisis and the deflation of the Irish pr ...

and

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

. He has acted for financial institutions in debt enforcement cases, including the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

in enforcement actions against Brian O'Donnell and Everyday Finance against

Ivor Callely Ivor Callely (born 6 May 1958) is an Irish former politician who served as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-Central constituency from 1989 to 2007 and a member of Seanad Éireann from 2007 to 2011, having been nominated b ...

. He was counsel for John Gilligan in a 2003 appeal to a conviction for possession of drugs for supply and for Thomas Murphy in 2007 in a challenge against the Criminal Asset Bureau. He was appointed to represent the

Garda Commissioner The Garda Commissioner ( ga, Coimisinéir an Gharda Síochána) – officially known as the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána – is the head of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of the Republic of Ireland. The Garda Commissione ...

at the

Barr Tribunal The Barr Tribunal was a Public Inquiry in Ireland established by Resolutions passed by the Dáil Éireann and the Seanad Éireann on 17 and 18 April 2002, and by Instrument entitled Tribunals of Inquiry Evidence Acts 1921 (Establishment of Trib ...

and represented the

Mahon Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of cor ...

in a High Court action taken by

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

. He was counsel for Tomasz Zalewski in the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

who successfully challenged the constitutionality of aspects of the

Workplace Relations Commission The Workplace Relations Commission (also known as its abbreviation, the WRC and sometimes referred to as the Commission) is the independent State agency responsible for industrial relations in Ireland, established under the Workplace Relations Ac ...

. Ferriter frequently appeared in defamation cases, acting for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

in actions taken by the politicians

Beverley Flynn Beverley Flynn (born 9 June 1966) is an Irish retired Fianna Fáil politician who was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency from 1997 to 2011. Early life and political career She is the daughter of the former Fianna Fáil minister and ...

and Joe Costello, for

Independent News & Media Mediahuis Ireland (formally Independent News and Media (INM) )) is a media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites including Independent. ...

against Monica Leech and for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' against Maurice McCabe. The

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland ( ga, Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) is Ireland's central bank, and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is the country's financial services regulator for most categories of financial firms ...

appointed him chairperson of the

Irish Takeover Panel The Irish Takeover Panel is the statutory body responsible for monitoring and supervising takeovers and other relevant transactions in relevant companies in Ireland. It was established by the Irish Takeover Panel Act 1997. The Panel is designated a ...

in June 2018. In 2019, he became a board member of the

Irish Traditional Music Archive The Irish Traditional Music Archive (or ITMA; ga, Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann), operating as a charity, is a "national reference archive and resource centre for the traditional song, instrumental music and dance of Ireland". Focusing on Irish t ...

and Poetry Ireland.

Judicial career

Ferriter was nominated to the High Court in September 2021. He was appointed on 5 October 2021. He has presided over cases involving refugee law, judicial review, personal insolvency, medical negligence and personal injuries.

Personal life

He lives in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and writes poetry. He was the winner of the 2019 Westival International Poetry Competition and runner up of the 2020 Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferriter, Cian Living people High Court judges (Ireland) Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Irish poets RTÉ television presenters Irish barristers