Irish women
raising the Bar BY LLOYD GORMAN Justice Mary Irvine was appointed as President of the High Court on June 12 by President of Ireland Michael D Higgins. She is the first woman to hold the position - or even be nominated for it - and her designation comes almost 100 years after women were first allowed to enter the Irish bar. “She will bring the qualities of independence, deep legal knowledge and insight that have characterised her distinguished career as a judge,” said Law Society President Michele O’Boyle. “I welcome in the warmest of terms this nomination of Ms Justice Mary Irvine both as an outstandingly able judge and as the first woman in history to hold this absolutely key role in the Irish judiciary.” Her appointment as a High Court judge was made in 2007, the Court of Appeal in 2018 and the Supreme Court last year. The Dublin born legal eagle entered the Bar in 1978 and became a Senior Counsel in 1996. She was the secretary of the Bar Council of Ireland in 1992 and was elected a Bencher of the King’s Inns in 2004. Before her legal life she was also a promising golf player, having won the Irish Girls Close Championship in 1975. She may be the first female to smash the barriers that have traditionally blocked women from reaching the top of the Irish legal system, but she will not be the last. Justice Irvine is the apex of a wave of female lawyers and judges coming through the ranks. Figures from the Irish Court Service show that in 1996 just 13% of all judges in the legal system were women. THE IRISH SCENE | 20
Top: Seal the deal; President Michael D. Higgins and right former Taoiseach Leo Vadakar - appointed Justice Mary Irvine as President of the High Court of Ireland. Above: Justice Mary Irvine Today they make up 38%. Four of nine Supreme Court judges are women, as are eleven of 40 at the High Court, seven of 15 at the Court of Appeal and 16 of 38 in the Circuit Court and 23 of 63 in the District Court. Of Ireland’s 167 judges, 63 are women, each of whom is carving out their own legacy in a legal system which owes some credit to the original female trailblazers. According to the Irish Law Library Averil Deverell and Frances Kyle were the first women to be called to the Irish Bar in November 1921.
