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At its meeting today, the Government agreed to nominate Justice Donal O'Donnell for appointment as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court by the President of Ireland.

The vacancy will arise following the retirement of the Chief Justice, Hon. Mr. Justice Frank Clarke, on 10 October 2021.

Ends

Note for Editors

• In accordance with articles 13.9 and 35.1 of the Constitution, judicial appointments are made by the President acting on the advice of the Government.
• Following Government decision, a non-statutory Advisory Committee was established to assist with identifying eligible qualified persons interested in the post of Chief Justice, considering their suitability, and making recommendations for the consideration of Government.The members of the Advisory Committee were:
  • The Rt. Hon. Sir Declan Morgan, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland;
  • Ms Jane Williams, Sia Partners; former chair of TLAC;
  • Mr. Paul Gallagher S.C., Attorney General.
• The Department of An Taoiseach provided the secretariat to the Committee. The Advisory Committee established its own procedures for inviting and assessing the expressions of interest from applicants, including from serving judges.    Limited biographical details:

• Mr. Justice Donal O'Donnell was born in Belfast and educated at St Mary's C.B.S. , University College Dublin (B.C.L.), The Honorable Society of King's Inns (B.L.) and the University of Virginia (LL.M).
• Mr. Justice O'Donnell was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1982, commenced practice in 1983 and was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1989.  In 1995, he was appointed a Senior Counsel and has practised in all of the Courts of Ireland, in the Court of Justice of the European Union (C.J.E.U) and in the European Court of Human Rights (E.Ct.HR).
• He was a member of the Law Reform Commission from 2005 to 2012. He has delivered the John Kelly lecture (U.C.D), the Brian Walsh lecture (I.S.E.L.), the Brian Lenihan lecture (T.C.D), the Dan Binchy lecture (Brehon Law School) and the keynote address at a conference in the University of Limerick to mark the 80th anniversary of the Constitution of Ireland. He has published articles on a variety of legal topics in the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, the Irish Jurist, the Dublin University Law Jounal, the Judicial Studies Journal, and has contributed to volumes of essays on legal issues. He was a director of Our Lady's Hospice from 2009 to 2014 and is the current Chairman of the Judges' Library Committee, a member of the Incorporated Council for Law Reporting and of the Council of the Irish Legal History Society.
• In 2009, he became a Bencher of the Honorable Society of King's Inns. 
• Mr. Justice O'Donnell was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in 2010.
• His father, Lord Justice Turlough O'Donnell, was a member of the Northern Ireland High Court and the Court of Appeal between 1971 and 1990 and was later a member of the Law Reform Commission.