Patrick James McCarthy is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

since July 2018. He previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2007 to 2018. McCarthy obtained a BCL degree from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

and attended the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) 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 environment ...

. He became a barrister in 1982 and became a senior counsel in 2000. His practice was focused on the Cork circuit. He frequently acted as prosecuting counsel for the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

in criminal trials. He was also a member of the bars of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. He was appointed to the

Criminal Law Codification Advisory Committee The Criminal Law Codification Advisory Committee is a legal review committee established by Michael McDowell, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in 2006 under the Criminal Justice Act 2006. Recommendations The committee is chaired ...

in 2006, to advise on codification of

Irish criminal law The Republic of Ireland has no set criminal code. Instead, criminal law is set out in a diverse range of statutes and court decisions. Crime is investigated by the police force, the Garda Síochána. Serious offences are prosecuted by the Director ...

. He was appointed to the High Court in May 2007, where he was assigned to the

Central Criminal Court A Central Criminal Court refers to major legal court responsible for trying crimes within a given jurisdiction. Such courts include: *The name by which the Crown Court is known when it sits in the City of London *Central Criminal Court of England ...

. During his term he was critical of proposed government changes to the selection of judicial appointments. McCarthy became a Judge of the

in July 2018. His appointment was to fill the vacancy on the court left by Judge

Alan Mahon Alan Joseph Mahon (born 4 April 1978) is an Irish former professional footballer who played a midfielder and was capped by the Republic of Ireland. Playing career Club career Early career Dublin-born Mahon, who was educated at St. James Str ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Patrick Living people Alumni of University College Cork High Court judges (Ireland) Place of birth missing (living people) Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) Alumni of King's Inns 1952 births Irish Senior Counsel Lawyers from County Cork