Mary Ellen Ring (born 1955) is an Irish lawyer who currently serves as a Judge of the High Court. She was the Chairperson of the

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is an independent statutory body in Ireland charged with overseeing the Garda Síochána, the national police force. It is a three-member body established under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 to dea ...

between 2015 and 2021. She formerly practised as a barrister and was a Judge of the Circuit Court.

Early career

Ring grew up in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with Irish parents. She attended the

Norwich Free Academy The Norwich Free Academy (NFA), founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a coeducational independent school for students between the 9th and 12th grade. Located in Norwich, Connecticut, the Academy serves as the primary high school for Norw ...

, graduating in 1973, before moving to Ireland. She studied Politics and Philosophy 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 ...

and law at

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological Un ...

. She studied at 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 ...

and became a barrister in 1985. She became a senior counsel in 2002. Her practice was primarily 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 ...

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

and child law. She was counsel 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 the 2004 trial against Judge

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 ...

for possession child pornography and in the 2010 case against Eamonn Lillis for the manslaughter of his wife Celine Cawley. She was the chair of the Irish Women Lawyers' Association. The organisation awarded her the title of Woman of the Year in 2018. She co-founded the Children's Legal Centre and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development. She was appointed to the Advisory Group on Criminal Law and Procedure in 1996 by

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

Nora Owen Nora Owen (; born 1 June 1945) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice from 1994 to 1997 and Deputy Leader of Fine Gael from 1993 to 2001. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North constituency f ...

Judge

Circuit Court

Ring was appointed to the Circuit Court in April 2012. She was assigned to the

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 ...

circuit. She initially presided over Court Five, which was considered "by far the busiest circuit court in the country". She was the trial judge in case which found Heather Perrin, a judge of the District Court, guilty of deception. She presided over the first trial of

Seán FitzPatrick Seán FitzPatrick (25 May 1948 – 8 November 2021) was an Irish banker who was chief executive and then chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, until he resigned in December 2008 amid mounting revelations over hidden loans. The scandal precipitated a co ...

, related to an alleged failure to disclose loans 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 ...

external auditor An external auditor performs an audit, in accordance with specific laws or rules, of the financial statements of a company, government entity, other legal entity, or organization, and is independent of the entity being audited. Users of these enti ...

s at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. She sentenced former

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

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 ...

to five months in prison in 2014 arising out of his filing of fraudulent expenses.

High Court

She was appointed to the High Court in July 2015.

GSOC

Ring became chairperson of the

in August 2015. She was reappointed in 2016. She has been critical of the disciplinary procedures within the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

. She has sought to increase the numbers of personnel within GSOC since her appointment. She was critical of the police force in May 2018 at a hearing of the

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 ...

Joint Committee on Justice and Equality for not disclosing some internal investigations into gardaí to GSOC. Her term finished on 11 December 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Mary Ellen Living people 1955 births People from Norwich, Connecticut High Court judges (Ireland) Alumni of University College Dublin Irish women judges Alumni of King's Inns Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology 21st-century Irish judges Circuit Court (Ireland) judges 21st-century women judges Irish Senior Counsel