Sean Ryan (born 27 March 1948)
is a former Irish judge who served as President 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 ...
until March 2018. He previously served as a Judge of the
High Court from 2003 to 2014.
As a barrister, he was
Senior Counsel to the inquiry into abuse in the Catholic diocese of Ferns (the
Ferns Report),
and was Chairman of the Compensation Advisory Committee that prepared guidelines on compensation to be paid to abuse survivors at the Residential Institutions Redress Board.
In September 2003 Ryan was selected to head the
Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse following the controversial resignation of the previous chair, Justice
Mary Laffoy
Mary Eleanor Laffoy, SC (born 17 June 1945) is a retired Irish judge who is currently President of the Law Reform Commission. She previously served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2013 to 2017, and a Judge of the High Court from 1995 to ...
,
who claimed her work had been systematically obstructed by the Department of Education.
The government appointed him a High Court judge, without seeking a recommendation from the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board, "to guarantee that the integrity and independence of the chairperson will be maintained."
Ryan published the Commission's public report on 20 May 2009 and it was immediately hailed as "a work of incalculable value to this country"
and praised for its "meticulous gathering of evidence",
though "Justice has not been done as many of the abusers will never face the rigours of the law."
In 2014 he was named by the Government as the President designate of the new
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 ...
. He was nominated as President of the court by the Government on 29 October 2014 and appointed by the
President of Ireland on the same day.
References
External links
CNN story on the Commission's report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Sean
Living people
1948 births
Presidents of the Court of Appeal (Ireland)
Irish barristers
High Court judges (Ireland)
21st-century Irish judges
Alumni of King's Inns