Aileen Donnelly is an Irish judge who 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 June 2023. She previously served as a Judge of the Court of the Appeal from 2019 to 2023 and a Judge of the High Court from 2014 to 2019.

Legal career

Donnelly attended

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 ...

, where she obtained a BCL degree in 1986 and a master's degree in equality studies in 1995. She also attended 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 1988, she was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

. Between 1996 and 2002, she was a board member and co-chair of the

Irish Council for Civil Liberties The Irish Council for Civil Liberties () is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland. History Founded on by future President Mary Robinson, Kader Asmal and others, the or ...

(ICCL). She was counsel for a complainant in the

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) was one of a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government to investigate the extent and effects of abuse on children from 1936 onwards. Commencing its work in 1999, it was commonly known ...

. In 2004, she was called to the Inner Bar. She has published legal texts on tax law, the law of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

and gender and law.

Judicial career

High Court

She was appointed a Judge of the High Court in September 2014. She was in charge of High Court

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

cases. Donnelly postponed an order of extradition for a man to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 2018, as a result of the

2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number) *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album), 2007 * ''15'' (Phatfish album), 2008 * '' ...

. She referred the issue to the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ( or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, this EU ins ...

. Her subsequent decision did not find that there was a specific threat to the accused man's rights to a fair trial. Donnelly's preliminary decision received substantial personal criticism from some Polish media publications, leading to Association of Judges of Ireland and the European Association of Judges writing statements of support for the judge.

Court of Appeal

Donnelly became a Judge of the Court of Appeal in June 2019. Her appointment followed the elevation of

Mary Irvine Mary Irvine (born 10 December 1956) is a retired Irish judge who served as President of the High Court between 2020 and 2022, a Judge of the High Court from 2007 to 2014, and 2020 to 2022, a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2019 to 2020, and a ...

to the

Supreme Court

The Irish Government nominated Donnelly for appointment to the

in May 2023. She was appointed in June 2023.

Personal life

She is the first openly gay member of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. She is married to Susan Miner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Aileen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of University College Dublin High Court judges (Ireland) Irish Council for Civil Liberties LGBTQ judges Irish LGBTQ lawyers Irish lesbians Place of birth missing (living people) Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) Alumni of King's Inns 21st-century Irish LGBTQ people 20th-century Irish lawyers 21st-century Irish judges Irish Senior Counsel Irish women judges 21st-century women judges Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland