Maurice Gerard Collins is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the

Supreme Court of Ireland The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...

since November 2022. 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 2019 to 2022.

Early life

Collins is from

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. He is the grandnephew of

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

. He completed a BA in English Literature and Philosophy at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

and later attended 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

He 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 1989 and became a senior counsel in 2003. He is a former chair of the Incorporated Council for Law Reporting and became 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 in 2017. Collins had a broad practice while at the bar. He frequently represented the State in public law matters. He appeared for the State in a challenge taken by Brian Mohan to the constitutionality of parliamentary gender quota legislation and an action initiated by

Jolyon Maugham Jolyon Toby Dennis Maugham (; born 1 July 1971) is a British barrister. Initially a practitioner in taxation law, he later became a founder and director of the Good Law Project, through which he has played a role in bringing a number of legal c ...

to try to prevent

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

through the High Court. His practice included commercial matters and disputes. He represented parties opposite

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...

and

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. It was founded by Ben Dunne (businessman, born 1908), Ben Dunne in 1944. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain al ...

. He also appeared in actions involving medical negligence. He appeared for Ireland in 2019 in the EU's General Court in appeal to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

's decision arising from the

EU illegal State aid case against Apple in Ireland Apple's EU tax dispute refers to an investigation by the European Commission into tax arrangements between Apple Inc., Apple and Ireland, which allowed the company to pay close to zero corporate tax over 10 years. On 29 August 2016, aft ...

Judicial career

Court of Appeal

He became a Judge of the

in November 2019. His appointment arose out of a vacancy was created due to the retirement of Michael Peart.

Law Reform Commission

Collins was appointed to the

Law Reform Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

as a part-time commissioner for a five-year term in October 2020.

Supreme Court

Collins was nominated and appointed to the

in November 2022.

Personal life

He is married to Nora Rice. They are patrons of the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Maurice Living people Alumni of University College Cork Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland 21st-century Irish judges Alumni of King's Inns Year of birth missing (living people) People from Clonakilty Lawyers from County Cork 20th-century Irish lawyers Irish Senior Counsel