Siobhan Keegan

The Right Honourable
Dame Siobhan Keegan
DBE
Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland[1][2]
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 September 2021
Nominated byBoris Johnson
Appointed byElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Declan Morgan
Personal details
Born (1971-06-06) June 6, 1971 (age 53)
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
ResidenceNorthern Ireland
EducationSacred Heart Grammar School, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland
Alma materQueen's University Belfast
OccupationJurist
ProfessionLaw
AwardsKC (2006 to 8 September 2022 as Queen's Counsel, then King's Counsel since then)
DBE (2015)

Dame Siobhan Roisin Keegan DBE(born 6 June 1971) is a Northern Irish judge who has been Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland[1][2] (styled Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland) since September 2021.[3] She was formerly a judge of the High Court of Northern Ireland from October 2015 until her appointment as Lord Chief Justice, prior to which she practised as a barrister specialising in family law.

Early life

Keegan was educated at St. Clare's Primary School and Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.[4][5]

She studied law at Queen's University Belfast and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in July 1993. After further study, she was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 1994.[5]

Keegan became a barrister when she was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 1994.[5] She specialised in family law but has also had experience in criminal law and judicial review.[4]

She was made a Queen's Counsel (QC) in June 2006.[5] Between 2011 and 2013, she served as Chair of the Family Bar Association.[5] In 2014, she was elected Vice Chair of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland.[6]

For each of the financial years from 2013 to 2015, Keegan was the fourth-highest-earning barrister in Northern Ireland in terms of legal aid, having received £504,177 in 2012/2013,[7] £513,405 in 2013/2014,[8] and £427,632 in 2014/2015.[9]

On 23 October 2015, Keegan was appointed a judge of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.[4][10] She was sworn into office by Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, at the same time as Denise McBride.[11] This made Keegan and McBride jointly the first female high court judges of Northern Ireland.[4][6]

On 23 November 2015, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).[12]

On 16 June 2021, Keegan was nominated to be Northern Ireland's first female Lord Chief Justice.[13][14] She was sworn in as Lord Chief Justice at a ceremony on 2 September 2021.[3]

On 29 September 2021, Keegan became a member of the Privy Council.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 s.12".
  2. ^ a b "Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 s.2".
  3. ^ a b "Judiciary of Northern Ireland".
  4. ^ a b c d "First women appointed as NI High Court judges". BBC News. BBC. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e "First female High Court judges appointed in NI". UTV. 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Female judges appointed to NI High Court for first time". The Irish Times. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  7. ^ Hughes, Brendan (24 December 2013). "Legal aid cost public purse £94.1m". The Irish News. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  8. ^ Kula, Adam (16 April 2015). "Lawyers' legal aid fees described as staggering". The News Letter. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  9. ^ McAleese, Deborah (16 April 2015). "Belfast QC Patrick Lyttle paid more than £1m from public purse... for the second year in a row". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Crown Office - Northern Ireland". The Belfast Gazette. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Congratulations to Denise McBride QC and Siobhan Keegan QC on Celebrated Appointment". The Bar of Northern Ireland. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Damehoods conferred: Siobhan Keegan and Denise McBride". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  13. ^ "MRS Justice Siobhan Keegan appointed North's first female chief justice". The Irish Times.
  14. ^ "MRS Justice Keegan named NI's first female top judge". RTÉ.ie. 16 June 2021.
  15. ^ List of Business, mk0privycouncilpmjhh.kinstacdn.com. Accessed 21 November 2022.