Mary Thompson Irvine
Mary Thompson Irvine (born 10 December 1956[1]) is an Irish judge and barrister who has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since May 2019. She previously served a Judge of the Court of Appeal from 2014 to 2019 and a Judge of the High Court from 2007 to 2014.
Early life[edit]
Irvine was born to John and Cecily Irvine in 1956 in Clontarf, Dublin.[1][2] Her father was once deputy director of RTÉ.[3] She was educated at Mount Anville Secondary School, University College Dublin and the King's Inns.[4] She was an international golf player,[3] winning the Irish Girls Close Championship in 1975.[5]
Legal career[edit]
She was called to the Bar in 1978, and became a Senior Counsel in 1996.[6] She was the secretary of the Bar Council of Ireland in 1992.[7] She was elected a Bencher of the King's Inns in 2004.[4]
Irvine specialised in medical law.[4] She was a legal advisor to an inquiry into Deposit interest retention tax conducted by the Public Accounts Committee, along with future judicial colleagues Frank Clarke and Paul Gilligan.[8] She appeared with Peter Kelly to argue on behalf the right of the unborn in a reference made by President Mary Robinson under Article 26 of the Constitution of Ireland to the Supreme Court in 1995 regarding the Information (Termination of Pregnancies) Bill 1995.[9]
Judicial career[edit]
High Court[edit]
Irvine was appointed as a Judge of the High Court in 2007.[6][10] 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.[11][12][4]
Court of Appeal[edit]
She was appointed to Court of Appeal on its establishment in October 2014.[6] Some of her judgments on the Court of Appeal reduced awards given by lower courts for personal injuries compensation.[13] 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.[14]
She was appointed to chair a statutory tribunal to conduct hearings and deal with cases related to the CervicalCheck cancer scandal from 2019.[11]
Supreme Court[edit]
On 4 April 2019, she was nominated by the Government of Ireland as a Judge of the Supreme Court. She was appointed by the President of Ireland on 13 May 2019.[15]
Irvine was appointed by Chief Justice Frank Clarke in 2019 to chair the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council.[13] The purpose of the committee is to review the levels of compensation issues in court cases arising out of personal injuries.[16]
Personal life[edit]
Irvine was formerly married to retired judge Michael Moriarty, with whom she has three children.[17]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Births". Irish Independent. 12 December 1956. p. 1.
- ↑ "Ex-RTÉ executive John Irvine dies". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Five called to Inner Bar". The Irish Times. 6 March 1962. p. 8.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Supreme Court of Ireland Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Supreme Court of Ireland. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ↑ "Elm Park History". Golfing Ireland. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Justice Mary Irvine goes to the Supreme Court". Law Society Gazette. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ↑ "On the move". The Irish Times. 21 February 1992. p. 30.
- ↑ O'Halloran, Marie (12 October 1999). "Mitchell winds up inquiry". Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ↑ Re Information (Termination of Pregnancies) Bill, 1995, 1995 IESC 9 (Supreme Court 12 May 1996).
- ↑ "Appointments to the Court of Appeal". Department of the Taoiseach. 29 October 2014.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Government announces the establishment of an independent statutory Tribunal to deal with claims arising from CervicalCheck". Irish Government News Service. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ↑ "Report of Working Group on Medical Negligence - Module 2" (PDF). Department of Health. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Ms Justice Mary Irvine to chair Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee". www.lawsociety.ie. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ↑ Keena, Colm (3 June 2019). "Many personal injury awards being reduced or dismissed". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ↑ "President appoints Justice Mary Irvine to the Supreme Court". President of Ireland. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ↑ O'Donnell, Orla (28 November 2019). "Committee on personal injuries guidelines to meet". RTÉ News. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ↑ Leahy, Pat (2 April 2019). "Ms Justice Mary Irvine to be promoted to the Supreme Court". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
