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Donal Gerard O'Donnell (born 25 October 1957) is an Irish jurist who has served as the
Chief Justice of Ireland The chief justice of Ireland () is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and the most senior judge in the Republic of Ireland. The role includes several constitutional and administrativ ...
since October 2021. He has served as a Judge of the
Supreme Court of Ireland The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...
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 ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, 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, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
,
King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () 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 environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...
and the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
. While attending University College Dublin, he won the 1978 Irish Times Debate with Conor Gearty 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.
Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...
was also among the class of 1983. His brother Turlough O'Donnell SC is former chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland. He comes from a legal family, his father, The Rt. Hon Turlough O'Donnell PC, was a member of the High Court of Northern Ireland and of the Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland between 1971 and 1990.


Legal career

He was called to the Bar of Ireland 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, Belfast, Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, together with ...
in 1989. He became a Senior Counsel in October 1995. He has practised in all courts in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
,
European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially 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 Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
(ECJ) and the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
(ECHR). He was known for his speciality in constitutional law, frequently appearing on behalf of the State. In 1995-96 he represented the BTSB in the Brigid McCole case, eventually settling her case for damages. He successfully represented the applicants from the
Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
after the death of John Carthy 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 and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...
, which led to the unsuccessful Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution. He acted for the State in '' Zappone v. Revenue Commissioners'', '' Roche v Roche'' and '' Miss D''. In Michael Ring's challenge to a ban on a
dual mandate A dual mandate occurs when an official serves in or holds multiple public positions simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain, double-dipping in the United States, and ''cumul des mandats'' in France. Thus, if ...
he acted for the State and represented
Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...
in an action taken by Kathy Sinnott challenging the results of the 2002 general election in Cork South-Central. He was counsel for Michael Lowry 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 Mich ...
. In 2002, he represented eighteen religious groups in a negotiation with the Minister for Education Michael Woods. He acted for Ireland in the European Court of Human Rights in 2009 in '' A, B and C v Ireland''. O'Donnell's practice also extended to commercial law. He and Paul Gallagher acted for a group of tobacco companies in 2004 challenging restrictions on tobacco advertising and he appeared for the estate of
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta 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 influentia ...
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. In 2007 he and Paul Anthony McDermott acted for Elin Nordegren 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 from 2005 to 2012. He became a Bencher of the
King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () 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 environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...
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 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, instead 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 was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' says O'Donnell has a reputation for elegant writing and having a "socially liberal" approach.


Chief Justice of Ireland

He was reported to have been one of three judges shortlisted to be the 12th
Chief Justice of Ireland The chief justice of Ireland () is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and the most senior judge in the Republic of Ireland. The role includes several constitutional and administrativ ...
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 () is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and the most senior judge in the Republic of Ireland. The role includes several constitutional and administrativ ...
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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Michael D. Higgins at a ceremony at
Áras an Uachtaráin (; "Residence of the President"), formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the List of official residences, official residence and principal workplace of the President of Ireland. It is located off Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, ...
.


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 Irish Senior Counsel 20th-century Irish lawyers 21st-century Irish judges