Mary Irvine

Irvine was appointed as a Judge of the High Court in June 2007.[14][6][15] 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.[16][17][4]

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.[18] 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.[19]

She was appointed to chair a statutory tribunal to conduct hearings and deal with cases related to the CervicalCheck cancer scandal in 2019.[16] However following her appointment as President of the High Court in 2020, she was unable to continue with the position.[20]

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.[21] She wrote decisions for the court in appeals involving planning law,[22] the law of tort,[23] intellectual property law,[24] judicial review,[25] and chancery law.[26]

Irvine was appointed by Chief Justice Frank Clarke in 2019 to chair the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council.[18] The purpose of the committee is to review the levels of compensation issues in court cases arising out of personal injuries.[27] Minister of State at the Department of Finance Michael W. D'Arcy wrote a letter to congratulate Irvine on her appointment and outlined his views that personal injuries awards in Ireland should be "recalibrated". She responded to the letter by saying it was the not the Committee's duty to tailor its findings "in a manner favourable to any particular interest group".[28]

Following a cabinet meeting on 12 June 2020, it was announced that she would be nominated to succeed Peter Kelly as President of the High Court.[29] A three person panel consisting of the Chief Justice Frank Clarke (later substituted by George Birmingham[30]), the Attorney General Séamus Woulfe and a management consultant Jane Williams reviewed applications for the position, before making recommendations to cabinet.[31] The President of the Law Society of Ireland welcomed her appointment, describing her as a "outstandingly able judge".[32] She is the first woman to hold the role.[33] As she was previously an ordinary judge of three courts, her appointment as President of the High Court made her the first person to have held four judicial offices.[34] She was appointed on 18 June 2020 and made her judicial declaration on 19 June.[35][36]

She took over as President in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland. She issued guidelines for lawyers to negotiate personal injuries cases outside of court due to the backlog formed by delays in hearings.[37] She issued a practice direction in July 2020 that face coverings were to be worn at High Court hearings.[38] She criticised barristers and solicitors in October 2020 for not wearing masks in the Four Courts.[39]

In her first week as President, she presided over a three-judge division of the High Court in a case taken by a number of members of Seanad Éireann. The plaintiffs sought a declaration that the Seanad should sit even though the nominated members of Seanad Éireann had not been appointed.[40] The court refused the relief and found for the State.[41] She continues to sit in the Supreme Court following her appointment.[42]