Alexander Owens

For the brass band conductor, see Alexander Owen.

The Hon. Mr. Justice Alexander Owens
Judge of the High Court
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 February 2019
Nominated by	Government of Ireland
Appointed by	Michael D. Higgins
Personal details
Nationality	Irish
Alma mater	Trinity College Dublin King's Inns

Alexander Owens is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the High Court since February 2019. He formerly worked as a barrister with an expertise in criminal law.

Education

Owens attended Trinity College Dublin where he obtained a BA.[1] He studied to become a barrister at the King's Inns.[2]

Legal career

He was called to the Bar in 1980 and became a senior counsel in 2000.[3] His practice focused on criminal law, and the law of conveyancing, local government and chancery law.[4] He also appeared in cases involving company law and personal injuries.[5][6]

He frequently appeared on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions. He prosecuted criminal trials of a serious nature involving sexual offences, kidnapping, murder, waste offences, and terrorism offences.[7][8][9][10][11] He appeared for the Minister for Justice in an action relating to the publication of the Cloyne Report.[12]

He was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Panel of Enquiry of the University of Dublin in 2004 and subsequently became the chair.[13][1]

Judicial career

Owens was appointed a judge of the High Court in February 2019.[14] He has presided over cases involving extradition, sexual offences, murder, manslaughter, false imprisonment, and the proceeds of crime.[15][16][17][18][19][20] Outside of criminal law he has heard cases involving child law, property, and personal injury law.[21][22]

He became a judge of the Special Criminal Court in July 2019, replacing Aileen Donnelly.[23] He has acted as the presiding judge in that court.[24]

Notable cases he has presided over include the trial of Circuit Court judge Gerard O'Brien in December 2023,[25] and the trial of Conor McGregor in November 2024.[26]

References

1. "Committees - Trinity College Dublin" (PDF). TCD.ie. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
2. "Appointments to the High Court". merrionstreet.ie. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
3. "John Jordan SC and Alexander Owens SC nominated for High Court". Irish Legal News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
4. "Senior counsel named for High Court". www.lawsociety.ie. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
5. "Court appoints a liquidator to 'insolvent' firm". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
6. "Girl awarded €3.9m for injuries that left her a paraplegic". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
7. "Trial of man accused of rape opens". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
8. "Man (20) guilty of kidnap and rape". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
9. "Man shot four times, court hears". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
10. Giblin, Ruaidhrí. "State challenges acquittal of man over hazardous landfill site". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
11. "Ex-Wexford resident admits he funded Isis". Gorey Guardian. Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
12. "Nearly all report on Cloyne abuse to be published". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
13. "Minutes of Special Board Meeting, Monday 10 May 2004" (PDF). TCD.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
14. "Diary President Appoints Judges To The High Court". president.ie. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
15. O'Faolain, Aodhan. "UK seeks to extradite man accused of London murder". The Times. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
16. Hoban, Brion (9 March 2020). "Rape victim tells court two convicted men have robbed her of last five years of her life". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
17. Reynolds, Paul (11 September 2020). "Man convicted of feud murder at Dublin pub". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
18. Reid, Natasha. "Woman cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter of her boyfriend". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
19. "Mansfield Jnr pleads not guilty to false imprisonment". RTÉ News. 23 October 2020. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
20. Criminal Assets Bureau v. John McCormack (2020) IEHC 32 Archived 2021-09-22 at the Wayback Machine.
21. "Tusla granted orders to place girl in secure facility". RTÉ News. 25 April 2019. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
22. Brian O’Riordan v. SLGI (Holdings) plc (2019) IEHC 247 Archived 2021-09-22 at the Wayback Machine.
23. "Judge Sarah Berkeley moves to Special Criminal Court". www.lawsociety.ie. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
24. "David Hunter found guilty of Tyrone man murder in Dublin pub". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
25. Dodd, Eimear; Henry, Claire (22 December 2023). "Judge found guilty of sexually assaulting six young men while he was a teacher in the 1990s". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
26. Doyle, Maggie (5 December 2024). "Woman told McGregor she didn't want to have sex, court told". RTÉ News. Retrieved 5 December 2024.