Tara Burns is an Irish judge who has 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 ...

since July 2023. She previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2018 to 2023. She was the Chairperson of the Referendum Commission for a 2019 referendum on divorce. She formerly practiced as a barrister specialising in criminal law and has continued to focus on criminal trials while serving on the bench.

Early life

Burns was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, Canada, but grew up in

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

, Ireland. She attended Mercy College, Sligo. She obtained a BCL from

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 ...

in 1993.

Legal career

Burns was a barrister from 1995 and became a senior counsel in 2013. She frequently appeared in

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

cases for both defendants and the Director of Public Prosecutions. She appeared on behalf of the Garda Commissioner at the Morris Tribunal in 2002 and represented Superintendent Dave Taylor at the Disclosures Tribunal. She also often practised on the Midland and Northern Circuits.

Judicial career

High Court

Burns was appointed a judge of the High Court on 28 June 2018. She has heard cases involving sexual offences and homicide. In November 2018, she was assigned to the Special Criminal Court. She was the judge in charge of the Asylum List of the High Court in 2020.

Referendum Commission

She was appointed chairperson of the Referendum Commission in February 2019 for the May 2019 referendum to amend the Constitution. Burns attended events around Ireland to promote voter participation in the referendum, including a ceremony to confer

Irish citizenship The primary law governing nationality of Ireland is the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, which came into force on 17 July 1956. Ireland is a member state of the European Union (EU), and all Irish nationals are EU citizens. They ...

on 2,500 people. The Commission spent €2.34 million. Burns endorsed the idea of having a permanent electoral commission and modernising the voter registration system.

Court of Appeal

She was nominated for appointment to the

in May 2023. She was appointed in July 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Tara Living people High Court judges (Ireland) Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) Alumni of University College Dublin People from Sligo (town) Irish women judges Year of birth missing (living people) Chairpersons of the Referendum Commission Alumni of King's Inns Lawyers from County Sligo 20th-century Irish lawyers 21st-century Irish judges Irish Senior Counsel People educated at Mercy College, Sligo 21st-century Irish women lawyers