List of judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland

List of judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland
Liosta Breithiúna Chúirt Uachtarach na hÉireann
Established29 December 1937
JurisdictionIreland
Authorised byConstitution of Ireland, Article 34
Judge term lengthUntil aged 70,
7 years for Chief Justice
Number of positions10 and 2 ex officio members
Websitewww.supremecourt.ie

The Supreme Court of Ireland is the highest judicial authority in Ireland. The following is a list of current and former judges of the court.

Current members

Name Appointed Notes
Donal O'Donnell March 2010 Chief Justice since October 2021[1]
Elizabeth Dunne July 2013
Peter Charleton June 2014
Iseult O'Malley October 2015
Séamus Woulfe July 2020[2]
Gerard Hogan October 2021
Brian Murray February 2022
Maurice Collins November 2022[3]
Aileen Donnelly June 2023[4]
George Birmingham April 2018 ex officio 2018–present
David Barniville July 2022 ex officio 2022–present

Former members

  •   denotes Chief Justices
Name Birth–Death Term of office Chief Justice Notes
Hugh Kennedy 1879–1936 1924–1936 1924–1936 First Chief Justice
Gerald Fitzgibbon 1866–1942 1924–1938 —
Charles O'Connor 1854–1928 1924–1925 — Last Master of the Rolls 1912–1924
Timothy Sullivan 1874–1949 1924–1946 1936–1946 ex officio as President of the High Court 1924–1936
James Murnaghan 1881–1973 1925–1953 —
James Geoghegan 1886–1951 1936–1950 —
Conor Maguire 1889–1971 1936–1961 1946–1961 ex officio 1936–1946
James Creed Meredith 1875–1942 1936–1942 —
William John Johnston 1868–1940 1939–1940 —
John O'Byrne 1884–1954 1940–1954 —
William Black 1879–1967 1942–1951 —
George Gavan Duffy 1882–1951 1946–1951 — ex officio 1946–1951
Cecil Lavery 1894–1973 1950–1966 —
Cahir Davitt 1894–1986 1951–1966 — ex officio 1951–1966
T. C. Kingsmill Moore 1893–1979 1951–1966 —
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh 1911–1978 1953–1973 1961–1973
Martin Maguire 1954–1961 —
Kevin Haugh 1901–1969 1961–1969 —
Brian Walsh 1918–1998 1961–1990 —
Gardner Budd 1904–1976 1966–1975 —
William Fitzgerald 1906–1974 1966–1974 1973–1974
Aindrias Ó Caoimh 1912–1994 1966–1974 — ex officio 1966–1974
Richard McLoughlin 1902–1972 1969–1972 —
Séamus Henchy 1917–2009 1972–1988 —
Frank Griffin 1918–2016 1973–1991 —
Thomas Finlay 1922–2017 1974–1994 1985–1994 ex officio 1974–1985
Tom O'Higgins 1916–2003 1974–1985 1974–1985
John Kenny 1975–1982 —
Weldon Parke 1912–1981 1976–1981 —
Anthony J. Hederman 1921–2014 1981–1993 —
Niall McCarthy 1925–1991 1982–1992 —
Liam Hamilton 1928–2000 1985–2000 1994–2000 ex officio 1985–1994
Hugh O'Flaherty 1990–1999 —
Séamus Egan 1923–2004 1991–1995 —
John Blayney 1925–2018 1992–1997 —
Susan Denham 1945– 1992–2017 2011–2017 First woman appointed, first woman Chief Justice
Harry Whelehan 1944– 1994 — ex officio 1994
Declan Costello 1926–2011 1995–1998 — ex officio 1995–1998
Donal Barrington 1929–2018 1996–2000 —
Ronan Keane 1932– 1996–2004 2000–2004
Francis Murphy 1996–2002 —
Kevin Lynch 1927–2013 1996–1999 —
Henry Barron 1928–2010 1997–2003 — First Jewish member
Frederick Morris 1929– 1998–2001 — ex officio 1998–2001
John L. Murray 1943–2023 1999–2015 2004–2011
Catherine McGuinness 1934– 2000–2006 —
Adrian Hardiman 1951–2016 2000–2016 —
Hugh Geoghegan 1938–2024 2000–2010 —
Nial Fennelly 1942– 2000–2014 —
Joseph Finnegan 1942–2023 2001–2012 — ex officio 2001–2006
Brian McCracken 1934– 2002–2006 —
Nicholas Kearns 1946– 2004–2015 — ex officio 2009–2015
Fidelma Macken 1942– 2005–2012 —
Richard Johnson 1937–2019 2006–2009 — ex officio 2006–2009
Liam McKechnie[5] 1951– 2010–2021 —
Frank Clarke 1951– 2012–2021 2017–2021
John MacMenamin 1952– 2012–2022 —
Mary Laffoy 1945– 2013–2017 —
Sean Ryan 1948– 2014–2018 — ex officio 2014–2018
Peter Kelly 1950– 2015–2020 — ex officio 2015–2020
Mary Finlay Geoghegan 1949– 2017–2019 —
Mary Irvine 1956– 2019–2022 — ex officio 2020–2022
Marie Baker 1954– 2019–2024 —

See also

References

  1. ^ "Diary - President Appoints Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell As New Chief Justice". president.ie. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  2. ^ "President Appoints New Judge Of The Supreme Court". president.ie. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Diary President Appoints Judges To The Supreme Court And The High Court 29 11 22". president.ie. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  4. ^ "President appoints Justice Aileen Donnelly to the Supreme Court". president.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  5. ^ Carolan, Mary (16 April 2021). "Judge whose ruling crucial in recognising rights of trans people retires". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.