David Barniville is an Irish judge who has served as President of the High Court since July 2022 and a Judge of the High Court since July 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as a Judge of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

from 2021 to 2022. He is also a former Chair of the Bar Council of Ireland. He is an member of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and the Court of Appeal.

Early life

Barniville is from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He was born to Geraldine and Harry (both international tennis players), while his grandfather

Henry Barniville Henry Leo Barniville (10 April 1887 – 23 September 1960) was an Irish politician and surgeon who served as a Senator for the National University from 1922 to 1936 and 1938 to 1960. Life and career Barniville was born in Belfast in 1887, to Jo ...

was a member of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

and surgeon. He attended secondary school at

Blackrock College Blackrock College () is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 1860 as a school and later became al ...

. He studied for a BCL degree at

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 ...

, graduating in 1988. He completed his studies at 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 ...

Legal career

Barniville 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 ...

in July 1990 and became a Senior Counsel in October 2006. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2016. He is a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the King's Inns and of Middle Temple. His practice as a barrister consisted of commercial law and constitutional and administrative law. He was also an Accredited Mediator with a special interest in

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

. He was counsel for the

Beef Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Beef Processing Industry, also known as the Beef Tribunal, was established on 31 May 1991, chaired by Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton. It was set up to inquire into malpractice in the Irish beef processing industry, ma ...

and appeared with

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 ...

for

Michael Lowry Michael Lowry may refer to: * Michael Lowry (politician) Michael Lowry (born 13 March 1953) is an Irish independent politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) since 1987, currently for the Tipperary North constituency. He previously se ...

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 ...

. He represented the Minister for Finance in the High Court on the nationalisation of

Allied Irish Banks Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is one of the so-called Big Four (banking)#Ireland, Big Four commercial banks in the Republic of Ireland. AIB offers a full range of personal, business and corporate banking services. The bank also offers a range of ge ...

in December 2010, and again on the recapitalisation of Irish Life & Permanent. He appeared regularly in the

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 ...

representing Ireland. He was the chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland between 2014 and 2016. He has also been a member of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, the Board of the Courts Service of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board and the Legal Aid Board. In 2016, the Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald sought clarifications from the Bar Council on the procedure of Barniville's appointment to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. The Department of Justice and Equality was ultimately satisfied with the selection process. He is an adjunct professor of law at the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

. He has acted as a governor of the

National Maternity Hospital, Dublin The National Maternity Hospital (), popularly known as Holles Street Hospital, is a large maternity hospital in Ireland. It is at the eastern corner of Merrion Square, at its junction with Holles Street and Mount Street Lower, Lower Mount Street i ...

and was the chair of Irish Rule of Law International.

Judicial career

High Court

He was appointed a Judge of the High Court in December 2017. He was the court's designated arbitration judge from June 2018. As of 2020, he was the Judge in Charge of the Commercial List. In the High Court, he has presided over cases on matters including insolvency law, injunctions, defamation law, and judicial review. He was previously the Judge in Charge of the Strategic Infrastructure List, hearing appeals of

An Bord Pleanála (; meaning "The Planning Board"; ABP) is an independent, statutory, quasi-judicial body that decides on appeals from planning decisions made by local authorities in Ireland. As of 2007, An Bord Pleanála directly decided major strategic infra ...

decisions, including for developments at

Saint Anne's Park Saint Anne's Park () is a public park situated between Raheny and Clontarf, suburbs on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is owned and managed by Dublin City Council. The park, the second largest municipal park in Dublin, is formed from pa ...

and

Cherrywood, Dublin Cherrywood () is a developing suburb of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Cabinteely, Loughlinstown and Rathmichael. It is located to the southeast of the city, in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The development commenced on a greenfield site in 1998 a ...

. He was appointed the chairperson of the

Referendum Commission A Referendum Commission () was an independent statutory body in Ireland which had been set up in advance of referendums in Ireland from 1998 to 2019. The Referendum Act 1998 as amended by the Referendum Act 2001 provided for the establishment of ...

in September 2019 for a referendum on Nonresident voting at Irish presidential elections.

Court of Appeal

The appointment of Maurice Collins as a part-time commissioner of the Law Reform Commission permitted a vacancy on the

. Barniville was nominated to fill the role in June 2021 and was appointed in August 2021.

President of the High Court

Barniville was nominated to become President of the High Court in June 2022, to succeed

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 ...

on her retirement in July 2022. He was appointed on 13 July 2022.

Personal life

Barnville is married to Susan O'Connell and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barniville, David Living people High Court judges (Ireland) Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) Presidents of the High Court (Ireland) Irish Senior Counsel Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns People educated at Blackrock College Year of birth missing (living people) Lawyers from County Dublin 20th-century Irish lawyers 21st-century Irish judges