Dame Denise Anne McBride, , styled The Hon Madam Justice McBride, is a Northern Irish judge and former

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

specialising in

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

and

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

. In October 2015, she was appointed the first female judge of the

High Court of Northern Ireland The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Prior to the partition of Ireland, Northern I ...

Early life

McBride was educated at Clough Primary School and

Down High School Down High School is a controlled co-educational grammar school located in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. The school has students from the ages of eleven to eighteen in the senior school — of which there are 953 students (2024/25 ...

, a grammar school in

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Down Cathedral, Its cathedral is sai ...

, County Down, Northern Ireland. She studied law at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, and graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LLB) degree in June 1988.

Legal career

McBride was called to the

Bar of Northern Ireland The Bar of Northern Ireland is the professional association of barristers for Northern Ireland, with over 600 members. It is based in the Bar Library, beside the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast, Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, together with ...

in 1989. In September 2011, she was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(QC). From 2012 to 2014, she was Vice Chair of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland. In addition to her practising career, she is also involved in the academic side of law. Since 1991, she has been a tutor and guest lecturer in

land law Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

at the School of Law,

. In 2006, she was appointed an Honorary Lecturer "in recognition of long service as a tutor and guest lecturer". On 23 October 2015, McBride was appointed a judge of the

High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Prior to the partition of Ireland, Northern I ...

. Two weeks later, McBride was appointed deputy chair of the

Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland In the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It c ...

. On 23 November 2015, she was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Denise Living people High Court judges of Northern Ireland Women judges from Northern Ireland People educated at Down High School Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Year of birth missing (living people) Northern Ireland King's Counsel Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century King's Counsel Lawyers from County Down 21st-century British women judges 21st-century lawyers from Northern Ireland 21st-century women lawyers from Northern Ireland Lawyers awarded damehoods