The government has appointed three new judges, with one of them joining the High Court and the remaining two serving the Circuit Court. Moreover, Ms Justice Niamh Hyland, an existing High Court Judge, has earned herself a nomination as a judge for the Court of Appeal. This opportunity arose in the Court of Appeal after Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh received an appointment within the European Court of Human Rights early this month.
Ms Nessa Cahill, SC has been identified as the new High Court judge, a position that opened up after Mr Justice Michael MacGrath was moved to the Court of Appeal on the 14th of June, 2024. Roderick Maguire BL and Ms Sinéad McMullan BL are the ones chosen to be judges of the Circuit Court.
These appointments within the Circuit Court came about due to the retirements of judges Alice Theresa Doyle and Thomas O’Donnell. These judicial appointments have been carried out by President Michael D Higgins, as per the Constitution’s rules, based on the Government’s advice.
The four nominees are all alumni of Trinity College Dublin among various other esteemed academic institutions. Ms Justice Hyland received her education at Trinity College Dublin, Magdalen College Oxford, and the Honourable Society of King’s Inns. She earned her admission to the Inner Bar in 2012 and got an appointment to the High Court in 2019.
Nessa Cahill, SC is a graduate of Trinity College, the College of Europe, Bruges, and the Honourable Society of King’s Inns where she gained entry into the Inner Bar in 2020. Roderick Maguire BL went to Trinity and the London School of Economics, obtained further education from Goldsmith’s College at the University of London and The Honourable Society of King’s Inns. He joined the Bar in 2003. Sinéad McMullan, BL also attended Trinity College Dublin; in addition, she studied at the University of Oxford and the Honourable Society of King’s Inns, earning her Bar admission in 1998.