Mary Faherty (born 16 January 1960) is an Irish judge 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, a Judge of the

United Nations Appeals Tribunal The United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT), which replaces the former United Nations Administrative Tribunal, is an appellate court, of the two-tier formal system of administration of justice in the UN. It was established by the UN General Asse ...

from 2011 to 2016 and a Judge of the Circuit Court from 2002 to 2014. She began her career as a barrister and served as the Chairperson of the Employment Appeals Tribunal. She was subsequently appointed to the bench of the Circuit Court and 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 ...

, before being elevated to the High Court. She was a member of the

between 2011 and 2016, serving as its president from 2013 to 2014.

Early career

Faherty was born in 1960. She first studied a BA in German and Legal Science at

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

, graduating in 1982, and spent the academic year between 1980 and 1981 undertaking German Studies at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

. She subsequently obtained an LLB from UCG in 1984. The university awarded her its award for Law, Public Service and Government in 2006. She attended 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 was called to the

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in 1986. She undertook further study 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 ...

in arbitration. She became a Senior Counsel in 2001 and was also called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1996. She joined the Employment Appeals Tribunal in 1989 as a Vice Chairperson, becoming the chairperson in 1995. She was reappointed in 1998 to serve a five-year term through to 2002.

Judicial career

Circuit Court

Faherty was appointed to the Circuit Court in 2002. She became a judge in order to sit as a member of the Tribunal of Inquiry Into Certain Planning Matters and Payments. Her, Gerald Keys and

Alan Mahon Alan Joseph Mahon (born 4 April 1978) is an Irish former professional footballer who played a midfielder and was capped by the Republic of Ireland. Playing career Club career Early career Dublin-born Mahon, who was educated at St. James Str ...

's appointments required the law to be changed to increase the number of Circuit Court judges. In 2007, while serving on the Tribunal, she noted that

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

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 ...

had provided "polar opposite" explanations of why he withdrew £50,000 from an account. The final public sitting of the Tribunal was in December 2008.

United Nations Appeals Tribunal

She joined the

in January 2011 and was Second Vice President between 2012 and 2013. She subsequently served as the President of the Tribunal between July 2013 and June 2014. She completed her term on the Tribunal in 2016.

High Court

She was appointed to the High Court in October 2014. She heard cases involving receivership, damages claims, actions under the

Aarhus Convention The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was signed on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. It entered int ...

, and a challenge to the constitutionality of a

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 ...

inquiry.

Court of Appeal

Following a change of legislation to increase the number of judges of the

, Faherty was nominated to be elevated to that court in 2019. She was appointed in November 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faherty, Mary Living people 1960 births Alumni of the University of Galway 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 University of Freiburg alumni Alumni of King's Inns 21st-century women judges Circuit Court (Ireland) judges