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 Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

to a Catholic family, the son of Charles and Eileen O'Donnell. He was educated at Abbey Grammar School, Newry and

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, where he took a LLB. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1947. He was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1964. As a lawyer, he defended

Robert McGladdery Robert Andrew McGladdery (18 October 193520 December 1961) was the last person to be executed in Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. He was convicted of the murder of Pearl Gamble, aged 19, whom he had battered, strangled and stabbed ...

, the last man to be hanged in Northern Ireland. In 1971, O'Donnell was appointed a Justice 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 I ...

. In 1979, he was promoted a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

and was sworn of the Privy Council, having declined the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. He retired in 1989. O'Donnell was one of the few senior Catholic judges on the Northern Irish bench and he frequently came under threat. In 1979, he tried the

Shankill Butchers The Shankill Butchers were an Ulster loyalist paramilitary gang – many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) – that was active between 1975 and 1982 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was based in the Shankill area and w ...

and gave out 42 life sentences, a record in British legal history. He was Chairman of the Northern Ireland Bar Council from 1970 to 1971 and of the Council of Legal Education (Northern Ireland) from 1980 to 1990.

Family

O'Donnell married Eileen McKinley (died 2008) in 1954; they had two sons and two daughters. Of his sons, Turlough O'Donnell SC was Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of Ireland from 2016 to 2018, and

Donal O'Donnell Donal Gerard O'Donnell (born 25 October 1957) is an Irish jurist who has served as the Chief Justice of Ireland since October 2021. He has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since January 2010. He practised as a barrister between ...

was directly appointed from the Irish Bar to the Supreme Court of Ireland in 2010, before becoming Chief Justice of Ireland in 2021.

References

* https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2017/04/22/news/turlough-o-donnell-judge-who-jailed-shankill-butchers-dies-after-a-life-courageously-lived--1004553/ * https://www.dundalkdemocrat.ie/news/obituaries/250290/obituary-renowned-judge-turlough-o-donnell-was-admired-and-respected-for-his-courage.html * https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-28756 * https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/senior-judge-turlough-odonnell-who-presided-over-notorious-troubles-trials-buried-35650459.html {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Donnell, Turlough Barristers from Northern Ireland 2017 deaths People from Newry Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Northern Ireland King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom High Court judges of Northern Ireland Lords Justice of Appeal of Northern Ireland Lawyers from County Down Lawyers from County Armagh 20th-century Irish judges