Donal O'Donnell
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Donal Gerard O'Donnell (born 25 October 1957) is an Irish judge who is the
Chief Justice of Ireland The Chief Justice of Ireland ( ga, Príomh-Bhreitheamh na hÉireann) is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and most senior judge in Ireland. The role includes constitutional and admini ...
since October 2021. He has served as a Judge of 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 ...
since January 2010. He practised as a barrister between 1982 and 2010, specialising in commercial law and public law.


Early life

He was born in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, in 1957. He was educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast,
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 ...
,
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 the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
. While attending University College Dublin, he won the 1978
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 ...
with
Conor Gearty Conor A. Gearty (born November 1957) is the Professor of Human Rights Law at LSE Department of Law. From 2002 to 2009, he was Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics. His academic research focuses p ...
for the UCD Law Society. He graduated from Virginia in 1983, where he wrote a research paper comparing equality under the US and Irish constitutions, supervised by
A.E. Dick Howard A.E. Dick Howard is a legal scholar who has devoted his professional life to understanding the Supreme Court, the American Constitution, and constitutions of the world. He is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the ...
.
Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...
was also among the class of 1983. His brother Turlough O'Donnell SC is former Chairman of the
Bar Council of Ireland The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...
. He comes from a legal family, his father, The Rt. Hon
Turlough O'Donnell Turlough O'Donnell, PC (5 August 1924 – 21 April 2017) was an Irish lawyer and judge. He was a Lord Justice of Appeal of Northern Ireland from 1979 to 1989. Biography O'Donnell was born in Newry to a Catholic family, the son of Charles and E ...
PC, was a member of the
High Court of Northern Ireland The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Prior to the partition of Ireland, Northern Ir ...
and of the
Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Prior to the partition of Ireland, Northern I ...
between 1971 and 1990.


Legal career

He was called to the
Bar of Ireland The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...
in 1982. He was then later called to the
Bar of Northern Ireland The Bar of Northern Ireland is the professional association of barristers for Northern Ireland, with over 600 members. It is based in the Bar Library, beside the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, together with the Bar Council of Northern Irel ...
in 1989. He became a senior counsel in October 1995. He has practised in all courts in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
,
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 ...
(ECJ) and 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 ...
(ECHR). He was known for his speciality in
constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...
law, frequently appearing on behalf of the State. He successfully represented the applicants from 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 ...
after the
death of John Carthy John Carthy (9 October 1972 – 20 April 2000) was a 27-year-old Irish citizen with known Mental disorder, psychiatric illnesses who was shot dead by the Garda Emergency Response Unit in controversial circumstances on 20 April 2000, after a twent ...
in a constitutional challenge which limited the powers of investigation 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 ...
, which led to the unsuccessful Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution. He acted for the State in ''
Zappone v. Revenue Commissioners ''Zappone & Gilligan v. Revenue Commissioners & Ors'' 006IEHC 404 (also known as the KAL Case) was a High Court case which was one of the first major events in the debate on the recognition of same-sex marriage in Ireland. The plaintiffs Ann Lo ...
'', '' Roche v Roche'' and ''
Miss D Miss D refers to an abortion case in Ireland, Amy Dunne was a girl who wanted to travel to the United Kingdom for an abortion. Her identity was kept private at the time, and she was referred to only as Miss D. Amy Dunne was a teenage girl who bec ...
''. In
Michael Ring Michael Ring (born 24 December 1953) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency since 1997, and previously from 1994 to 1997 for the Mayo West constituency. He served as Minister for Rural and ...
's challenge to a ban on a
dual mandate A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...
he acted for the State and represented
Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
in an action taken by
Kathy Sinnott Kathy Sinnott (; born 29 September 1950) is a disability rights activist and politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South constituency from 2004 to 2009. Early life Sinnott was born in Chicago, Illinois, in ...
challenging the results of the 2002 general election in Cork South-Central. He was counsel for
Michael Lowry Michael Lowry (born 13 March 1953) is an Irish Independent politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) since 1987, currently for the Tipperary constituency. He previously served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications from 1 ...
at the
Moriarty Tribunal The Moriarty Tribunal, officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, was an Irish Tribunal of Inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Michael ...
. In 2002, he represented eighteen religious groups in a negotiation with the Minister for Education
Michael Woods Michael Woods may refer to: * Michael Woods (Australian politician) (1857–1934), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Michael Woods (comics), American writer/editor of comic books * Michael Woods (cyclist) (born 1986), Canadian cyclist ...
. He acted for Ireland in the European Court of Human Rights in 2009 in ''
A, B and C v Ireland ''A, B and C v Ireland'' is a landmark 2010 case of the European Court of Human Rights on the right to privacy under Article 8. The court rejected the argument that article 8 conferred a right to abortion, but found that Ireland had violated ...
''. O'Donnell's practice also extended to commercial law. He and Paul Gallagher acted for a group of tobacco companies in 2004 challenging restrictions of tobacco advertising and he appeared for 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 ...
in a copyright action against Cork University Press in 2000. He represented the Beef Industry Development Society Ltd in a 2008 case in the ECJ which clarified the meaning of an agreement under
Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...
. In 2007 he and Paul Anthony McDermott acted for
Elin Nordegren Elin Maria Pernilla Nordegren (; formerly Woods; born 1 January 1980) is the Swedish-born ex-wife of professional golfer Tiger Woods. Nordegren has worked as a model and nanny. Early life and education Nordegren was born in Stockholm. Her moth ...
in libel proceedings against '' The Dubliner''. He also appeared in cases involving insolvency law, employment law, company law and contract law. O'Donnell was a member of 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 2005 to 2012. He became a Bencher of 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 ...
in 2009.


Judicial career

O'Donnell was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010. He was appointed directly from practice to Ireland's highest court, a rare direct appointment. His appointment followed
Nicholas Kearns Nicholas Kearns (born 1946) is a retired Irish judge who served as President of the High Court from 2009 to 2015 and a Judge of the High Court from 1998 to 2015. He retired as President of the High Court on 19 December 2015. Early career K ...
becoming President of the High Court. There have been several distinctive and innovative features of his Supreme Court judgments, including writing joint opinions and opting to delay a declaration of unconstitutionality, in lieu of no declaration at all, to enable the government to take action before a judgment takes effect. Ruadhán Mac Cormaic of ''
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 ...
'' says O'Donnell has a reputation for elegant writing and having a "socially liberal" approach.


Chief Justice

He was reported to have been one of three judges shortlisted to be the 12th
Chief Justice of Ireland The Chief Justice of Ireland ( ga, Príomh-Bhreitheamh na hÉireann) is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and most senior judge in Ireland. The role includes constitutional and admini ...
in July 2017; however, Frank Clarke was chosen. On 28 May 2021, he was nominated by the government to become the 13th
Chief Justice of Ireland The Chief Justice of Ireland ( ga, Príomh-Bhreitheamh na hÉireann) is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and most senior judge in Ireland. The role includes constitutional and admini ...
following Clarke's retirement in October 2021. He was appointed on 11 October 2021, by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
at a ceremony at
Áras an Uachtaráin (; "Residence of the President"), formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Ireland. It is located off Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The building design was credite ...
.


Personal life

He is married to Mary Rose Binchy, an artist, with whom he has four children.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Donal 1957 births Living people Alumni of King's Inns Alumni of University College Dublin Chief justices of Ireland Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland People educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast Lawyers from Belfast University of Virginia School of Law alumni