Sir John Joseph Sheil (born 19 June 1938) is a retired Northern Irish

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. He was a High Court Judge of Northern Ireland from 1989 to 2004, and a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

of Northern Ireland from 2004 to 2007.

Early life and education

Sheil was born on 19 June 1938. He was educated at

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

, an all-boys

voluntary secondary school In education in the Republic of Ireland, education in Ireland, a voluntary secondary school (or privately-owned secondary school; ) is a secondary education, post-primary school that is Private school, privately owned and managed. Most are Denomin ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, Ireland where his twin brother, Fr. Michael Sheil SJ, is currently rector. He then studied 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

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

Career

In 1964, Sheil was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

of Northern Ireland and began practising as a

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 ...

. He was made 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) in 1975. #he was Chairman of the Mental Health Review Tribunal from 1985 to 1987, and was a member of the Fair Employment Appeals Board from 1986 to 1989. In 1989, Sheil was made a High Court Judge of Northern Ireland. He served as a

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

from September 2004 to 31 December 2006. He retired from the judiciary at the end of 2006. Since 1 September 2010, Sheil has been a Surveillance Commissioner. As this position has a three-year term, he was reappointed on 1 September 2013, and again on 1 September 2016.

Honours

In 1989, Sheil was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

. On 5 Nov 1996, he was elected an Honorary Bencher of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. On 16 May 2005, he was elected an Honorary Bencher of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. In 2005, he was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheil, John 1938 births Living people Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish barristers Knights Bachelor Lord justices of appeal Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 20th-century King's Counsel High Court judges of Northern Ireland Lords Justice of Appeal of Northern Ireland People educated at Clongowes Wood College Northern Ireland King's Counsel