Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell receives honorary doctorate from DCU
He joins noted figures from politics, sport, literature and industry in receiving this award from DCU, including Louis le Brocquy, Brian O’Driscoll, President Mary Robinson, Former Chief Justice Susan Denham, Jim Gavin, Vivien Lusted and Annette Kennedy and most recently, Community Leader Pat Kavanagh.
About Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell
Born in Belfast, Mr Justice O'Donnell was educated at St Mary's CBS in Belfast, UCD (BCL), King's Inns (BL) and the University of Virginia in the US (LLM).
He was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1982, and to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1989. He became a Senior Counsel in 1995, and has practised in all courts in Ireland, Northern Ireland, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. He was known for his expertise in constitutional law, frequently appearing on behalf of the State in major cases in that field. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010.
He was a member of the Law Reform Commission from 2005 to 2012.
He was a director of Our Lady's Hospice from 2009 to 2014. He was a council member of the Irish Legal History Society from 2018 to 2021 and is now a joint patron of the Society. He is also an honorary member of the Society of Legal Scholars, as well as an ex officio member of Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for Ireland.
His late father, Lord Justice Turlough O'Donnell, was a judge of the High Court of Northern Ireland from 1971-1979, and a judge of the Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland from 1979-1990.
Justice O’Donnell was appointed as Chief Justice of Ireland in 2021.
In his citation, delivered at the event, Dr Tom Hickey, Associate Professor at the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University, said:
“Judge O’Donnell has a process-based, and legitimacy-oriented judicial philosophy. It is a philosophy informed by lawyerly virtues such as attention to legal and factual detail; fidelity, but not mindless devotion, to legal and constitutional text; and institutional, as well as personal intellectual, humility – manifested, for example, by an aversion to the use of moral rhetoric in judgments handed down by courts of law.
No judge has contributed more to the development and refinement of foundational constitutional doctrine.”
Speaking at the ceremony, Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell said
“I am conscious that this honour is not just personal, but also reflects the fact that in 2024 we are celebrating 100 years of an independent Irish legal system which can be dated back to the enactment of the Courts of Justice Act 1924.
The process of commemorating that event, and celebrating this centenary, has been a valuable and instructive one. In particular, connecting again with the spirit of that turbulent and formative period in our country’s history helps us to recognise something that was apparent then, and has come increasingly into focus now: that is that a functioning legal system is an essential element in a rights-based democracy with a separation of powers enforced by the judicial branch.
That operates not simply at the elevated constitutional level, but also at the most basic level, that the administration of justice in ordinary courts day in day out is a vital component of a modern rights based democracy. And that is important for everyone, not just lawyers.”
Prof Daire Keogh, President of Dublin City University said:
“In an exceptional career, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell has made an extraordinary contribution to Irish constitutional law and to our country’s independent courts system, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary.
His intellect, integrity and dedication to constitutional principles has been critically important for the development and refinement of the fundamental law of our republic.”