Mary_Ellen_Ring

Mary Ellen Ring

Mary Ellen Ring

Irish barrister, High Court judge since 2015

Mary Ellen Ring (born 1955)[1] is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the High Court since July 2015. She previously served as Chairperson of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission from 2015 and 2021 and a Judge of the Circuit Court from 2012 to 2015.

Quick Facts The Hon. Ms. Justice, Judge of the High Court ...

Early career

Ring was born in and grew up in Norwich, Connecticut, with Irish parents.[2][3] She attended the Norwich Free Academy, graduating in 1973, before moving to Ireland.[2] She studied Politics and Philosophy at University College Dublin and law at Dublin Institute of Technology.[4] She studied at the King's Inns and became a barrister in 1985. She became a senior counsel in 2002.[4] Her practice was primarily focused on criminal law, administrative law and child law.[5] She was counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions in the 2004 trial against Judge Brian Curtin for possession child pornography[6] and in the 2010 case against Eamonn Lillis for the manslaughter of his wife Celine Cawley.[7]

She was the chair of the Irish Women Lawyers' Association.[8] The organisation awarded her the title of Woman of the Year in 2018.[5] She co-founded the Children's Legal Centre and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development.[4][3] She was appointed to the Advisory Group on Criminal Law and Procedure in 1996 by Minister for Justice Nora Owen.[9]

Judicial career

Circuit Court

Ring was appointed to the Circuit Court in April 2012.[4] She was assigned to the Dublin circuit.[10] She initially presided over Court Five, which was considered "by far the busiest circuit court in the country".[8]

She was the trial judge in case which found Heather Perrin, a judge of the District Court, guilty of deception.[11] She presided over the first trial of Seán FitzPatrick, related to an alleged failure to disclose loans to Anglo Irish Bank's external auditors at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.[12] She sentenced former Senator Ivor Callely to five months in prison in 2014 arising out of his filing of fraudulent expenses.[13]

High Court

She was appointed to the High Court in July 2015.[14]

GSOC

Ring became chairperson of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in August 2015.[4] She was reappointed in 2016.[15] She has been critical of the disciplinary procedures within the Garda Síochána.[16] She has sought to increase the numbers of personnel within GSOC since her appointment.[17] She was critical of the police force in May 2018 at a hearing of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality for not disclosing some internal investigations into gardaí to GSOC.[18]

Her term finished on 11 December 2021.[19]

References

  1. [1]
    Minihan, Mary. "Government appoints 12 new judges to courts". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  2. [2]
    Florin, Karen (18 August 2019). "Justice Mary Ellen Ring, from Norwich, sits on Ireland's high court". The Day. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  3. [3]
    "Forget glass ceilings, build new houses says judge". Law Society Gazette. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  4. [4]
    "Justice Mary Ellen Ring". GSOC. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  5. [5]
    "Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring to be named Woman of the Year". Irish Legal News. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  6. [6]
    Coulter, Carol (22 April 2004). "Counsel opens case against Judge Curtin". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  7. [7]
    Newenham, Pamela (4 February 2010). "Lillis sentencing hearing adjourned". The Irish Times.
  8. [8]
    Gallagher, Conor (19 May 2013). "Judge causes consternation – by working too hard". Irish Independent. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  9. [9]
    Oireachtas, Houses of the (5 March 1997). "Written Answers. - Working Groups and Committees. – Dáil Éireann (27th Dáil) – Wednesday, 5 Mar 1997 – Houses of the Oireachtas". www.oireachtas.ie. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  10. [10]
    "Appointments to the Circuit and District Courts". Irish Government News Service. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  11. [11]
    Gallagher, Conor; O’Keeffe, Cormac (29 November 2012). "Former judge jailed for deception of friend". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  12. [12]
    "Jury discharged in the trial of Sean FitzPatrick". The Irish Times. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  13. [13]
    "Ivor Callely jailed for five months for fraudulently claiming expenses". RTÉ News. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  14. [14]
    "President appoints Mary Ellen Ring as a Judge of the High Court". President of Ireland. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  15. [15]
    "Appointments to Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission". Irish Government News Service. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  16. [16]
    Clifford, Michael (5 March 2018). "GSOC head criticises Garda disciplinary 'maze'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  17. [17]
    McMahon, Aine (7 November 2018). "Gsoc authorised to expand staff by 42". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  18. [18]
    Reynolds, Paul; McAllister, Edel (8 May 2019). "Garda superintendents call for clarification from GSOC chair". RTÉ News. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  19. [19]
    "Cabinet approves nomination for Chairperson of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission". www.gov.ie. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
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