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 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 ...

from 2019 to 2020, and 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 2014 to 2019. She was nominated to become the President of the High Court in June 2020. In addition to being the first woman to hold that position, she is the first judge to have held four judicial offices.

Early life

Irvine was born to John and Cecily Irvine in 1956 in

Clontarf, Dublin Clontarf () is an affluent coastal suburb on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of Dublin in the city's List of Dublin postal districts, Dublin 3 postal district. Historically, there were two centres of population, one on the coast towards the c ...

. Her father was once deputy director of

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

. She was educated at Mount Anville Secondary School,

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 ...

and 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 ...

. She was an international golf player, winning the Irish Girls Close Championship in 1975.

Legal career

She 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 ...

in 1978, and became a Senior Counsel in 1996. She was the secretary of the Bar Council of Ireland in 1992. She was elected a Bencher of the King's Inns in 2004. Irvine specialised in medical law, appearing in medical negligence cases on behalf of and against health boards in actions. She was a legal advisor to an inquiry into Deposit interest retention tax conducted by the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

, along with future judicial colleagues Frank Clarke and Paul Gilligan. She represented the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

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 ...

. Her practice also extended to

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

. As a junior counsel, she represented the plaintiff in ''

Cahill v. Sutton Cahill (, or ) is a name of Irish origin. It is the anglicised version of the Gaelic "Ó Cathail" meaning "descendant of Cathal". "Cathal" consists of two parts: "cath" means battle; the second could be "val" (rule), so that the name as a who ...

'' in 1980 in the Supreme Court with seniors Niall McCarthy and James O'Driscoll. The case established the modern Irish law of

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the ...

for applicants to challenge the constitutional validity of statutes. She appeared with Peter Kelly to argue on behalf the right of the unborn in a

reference A reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''nam ...

made by President

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

under Article 26 of the Constitution to the Supreme Court in 1995 regarding the Information (Termination of Pregnancies) Bill 1995.

Judicial career

High Court

Irvine was appointed as a Judge of the High Court in June 2007. She was in charge of the High Court Personal Injuries list from 2009 to 2014 and subsequently became the second Chair of the Working Group on Medical Negligence and Periodic Payments, established by the President of the High Court.

Court of Appeal

She was appointed to

on its establishment in October 2014. Some of her judgments on the Court of Appeal reduced awards given by lower courts for personal injury compensation. She wrote "most of the key" Court of Appeal judgments between 2015 and 2017 which had the effect of reducing awards arising from subsequent actions in the High Court. She was appointed to chair a statutory tribunal to conduct hearings and deal with cases related to the

CervicalCheck cancer scandal The CervicalCheck cancer scandal first emerged in 2018 and involved several women in Ireland suing the Health Service Executive (HSE) after they received incorrect smear test results for cervical cancer. Background In 2011, Vicky Phelan, a ...

in 2019. However following her appointment as President of the High Court in 2020, she was unable to continue with the position.

Supreme Court of Ireland

On 4 April 2019, she was nominated by the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

as a Judge of the

. She was appointed by the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

on 13 May 2019. She wrote decisions for the court in appeals involving planning law, the law of tort, intellectual property law, judicial review, and chancery law. Irvine was appointed by Chief Justice Frank Clarke in 2019 to chair the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council. The purpose of the committee is to review the levels of compensation issues in court cases arising out of personal injuries.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance The Minister of State at the Department of Finance is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Finance of the Government of Ireland. A Minister of State does not hold cabinet rank. The position was created on 1 January 1978, replacing the ...

Michael W. D'Arcy wrote a letter to congratulate Irvine on her appointment and outlined his views that personal injuries awards in Ireland should be "recalibrated". She responded to the letter by saying it was the not the committee's duty to tailor its findings "in a manner favourable to any particular interest group".

President of the High Court

Following a cabinet meeting on 12 June 2020, it was announced that she would be nominated to succeed Peter Kelly as President of the High Court. A three-person panel consisting of the Chief Justice Frank Clarke (later substituted by

George Birmingham George Martin Birmingham (born 3 August 1954) is a retired Irish judge who served as President of the Court of Appeal from 2018 to 2024, a Judge of the Court of Appeal from 2024, and a Judge of the High Court from 2007 to 2014. He also served ...

), the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Séamus Woulfe Séamus Philip Woulfe (born 1962) is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since July 2020. He previously served as Attorney General of Ireland from 2017 to 2020. Prior to holding public office, he w ...

and a management consultant Jane Williams reviewed applications for the position, before making recommendations to cabinet. The President of the

Law Society of Ireland The Law Society of Ireland () is a professional body established on 24 June 1830 and is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the Solicitor, solicitors' profession in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As of 2020, the Law Society ha ...

welcomed her appointment, describing her as a "outstandingly able judge". She is the first woman to hold the role. As she was previously an ordinary judge of three courts, her appointment as President of the High Court made her the first person to have held four judicial offices. She was appointed on 18 June 2020 and made her judicial declaration on 19 June. She took over as president amid the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland The COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In Ireland, it has resulted in 1,753,206 cases ...

. She issued guidelines for lawyers to negotiate personal injury cases outside of court due to the backlog formed by delays in hearings. She issued a practice direction in July 2020 that face coverings were to be worn at High Court hearings. She criticised barristers and solicitors in October 2020 for not wearing masks in the

Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...

. In her first week as president, she presided over a three-judge division of the High Court in a case taken by several members 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 ...

. The plaintiffs sought a declaration that the Seanad should sit even though the

nominated members of Seanad Éireann There are 60 seats in Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). Its composition is set out in Article 18 of the Constitution of Ireland. This provides for 11 senators to be nominated by the Taoiseach who is appo ...

had not been appointed. The court refused the relief and found for the State. In 2021, she also presided over a three-judge division on a

voting rights case, where the plaintiff argued for the extension of voting rights to graduates of all third-level educational institutions and the wider population. The court found against the plaintiff. She continued to sit in the Supreme Court following her appointment. In April 2022, Irvine announced her intention to retire in July 2022. She retired on 13 July 2022 and was succeeded by David Barniville.

Personal life

Irvine was formerly married to retired judge

Michael Moriarty Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries ''Holocaust'' and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the ...

, with whom she has three children. Her only known son, Mark Moriarty, died suddenly on 19 August 2022 https://rip.ie/death-notice/mark-moriarty-dublin-blackrock-419814

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, Mary Living people Irish Senior Counsel Alumni of University College Dublin Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) Presidents of the High Court (Ireland) 21st-century Irish judges 20th-century Irish lawyers Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland Alumni of King's Inns 20th-century women lawyers 1956 births 21st-century Irish women judges People from Clontarf, Dublin Lawyers from County Dublin People educated at Mount Anville Secondary School