David Keane (born 19 September 1964) is an Irish lawyer who is currently a Judge of the High Court.

Early life

Keane was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1964. He attended

Rockwell College Rockwell College ( ga, Coláiste Charraig an Tobair), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools Se ...

and studied law at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. At Trinity he was the President of the

University Philosophical Society The University Philosophical Society (UPS; ), commonly known as The Phil, is a student paper-reading and debating society in Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1683 it is the oldest student, collegial and paper-reading society in ...

and won the

Irish Times Debate The Irish Times National Debating Championship is a debating competition for students in higher education in Ireland. It has been run since 1960, sponsored by ''The Irish Times''. While most participants represent institutions in the Republic of ...

. He obtained an

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

in 1997.

Legal career

He first qualified as a solicitor in 1992 and then converted to become a barrister in 1998. He became a senior counsel in 2009. He trained and subsequently practised in the offices of future judge

Garrett Sheehan Garrett Sheehan is a former judge of the Irish Court of Appeal from 2014 until 2017. Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeal, he was a judge of the Irish High Court from 2007. He was educated at University College Dublin and the Law S ...

and worked at the

Chief State Solicitor's Office Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the b ...

from 1997 to 1998. His practice at the bar focused on criminal law, administrative law and civil litigation. He was a council member of the

Irish Council for Civil Liberties The Irish Council for Civil Liberties ( ga, An Chomhairle um Chearta Daonna) is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland. History Founded in 1976 by future President Mary ...

from 1992 to 1994. He was involved in the cases ''Heaney & McGuinness v Ireland'' in relation to

Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights is a provision of the European Convention which protects the right to a fair trial. In criminal law cases and cases to determine civil rights it protects the right to a public hearing before an ...

and ''Cogley v RTÉ'' which established rules relating to public interest and defamation in the press. He represented

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

at the

Barr Tribunal The Barr Tribunal was a Public Inquiry in Ireland established by Resolutions passed by the Dáil Éireann and the Seanad Éireann on 17 and 18 April 2002, and by Instrument entitled Tribunals of Inquiry Evidence Acts 1921 (Establishment of Tribun ...

and the

Flood Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of cor ...

. He also appeared at 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 ...

Judicial career

In 2008 he was nominated by the Government of Ireland to be one of three candidates to be put forward for election to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

. He came in second place to

Ann Power Ann Power (born 23 November 1962) is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the Court of Appeal since November 2019. She previously served as a Presiding Judge of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office from 2017 t ...

and therefore he was not elected. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court in July 2013. Keane was appointed through application to the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board. He has heard cases including those involving matters of family law, liquidation, personal injuries, immigration law, and medical negligence. He heard a constitutional challenge of electoral gender quotas legislation in 2016 from a

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian ...

candidate who was not selected for election. His decision that the plaintiff did not have

locus standi Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award ...

was successfully appealed to

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

. He presided over a case initiated by

Seán Gallagher Seán Gallagher (born 7 July 1962) is an Irish businessman and former reality television personality. He was a co-founder in 2000 of Smarthomes, which after initial success, failed in 2008–2010, and Gallagher departed in 2010–11. He was a p ...

seeking damages from RTÉ for airing a misleading tweet during a televised debate during the

2011 Irish presidential election The 2011 Irish presidential election was the thirteenth presidential election to be held in Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwest ...

. The matter was subsequently resolved outside of court. In 2018 he accused lawyers of professional misconduct by omitting certain details from their arguments before him in a trial involving the removal order of a Polish citizen from Ireland. He threatened the lawyers in question with having to pay litigation costs, however no further action was taken by him. In May 2019, Keane had 22 cases awaiting judgment for at least two months, the highest amount among his High Court colleagues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, David Living people High Court judges (Ireland) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin 1964 births Irish barristers Alumni of King's Inns