Marguerite Bolger is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the High Court since January 2022. She previously practiced as a barrister, where she specialised in employment law.

Early life

Bolger is from

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

. She was born to Elaine Murphy and John Bolger, who was

Mayor of Kilkenny The Mayor of Kilkenny ( ga, Cathaoirleach) is an honorific title used by the head of Kilkenny Borough Council. The Council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area which is the city of Kilkenny in the Republic of Ireland. The office was ...

in 1999. She attended secondary school at

Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny The Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny is an all girls secondary school catering for students between the ages of 12-19 around the Kilkenny city, and the surrounding areas. The school has a Catholic ethos and falls under the Trusteeship of C ...

and later received LLB and MLitt degrees.

Legal career

She was called to the Irish bar in 1993, and became a senior counsel in 2009. She primarily practiced in the area of employment law. She has appeared in cases before 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 ...

and the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

. Her clients included both employees and employers, including

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 ...

, the

Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( ga, Cumann na hÉireann um Fhóirithint ar Ainmhithe), most commonly known as and referred to as the ISPCA, is a charity operating in the Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ) ...

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...

, Cork City F.C., and 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 ...

. In August 2021, she was appointed by the Irish government to chair negotiations with hospital consultants about entering into the Sláintecare system. She has written several legal texts, including the first edition of a book on Irish criminal law with Peter Charleton and

Paul Anthony McDermott Paul Anthony McDermott, SC (4 February 1972 – 10 December 2019) was an English-born Irish lawyer and academic. He was a prominent criminal barrister who often prosecuted cases in the Irish superior courts. He was also known as a lecturer in ...

and the books '' Sex Discrimination and the Law'' and ''Employment Equality Law''. Bolger is a former chairperson of the Employment Bar Association of Ireland and served on the executive board 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 ...

. She was re-appointed for a second three-year term as chair of the Panel of Enquiry at Trinity College Dublin in June 2020. In 2016, her former assistant was convicted in the Circuit Court of stealing €28,000 from her.

Judicial career

Bolger was one of five people nominated to the High Court in September 2021. Her appointment was delayed due to ongoing work on behalf of the State. She was appointed in January 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolger, Marguerite Living people People from County Kilkenny High Court judges (Ireland) Irish women judges Alumni of King's Inns 21st-century Irish judges 21st-century women judges Year of birth missing (living people)