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Irish Women Lawyers Association

IWLA Committee & Sub-Committees

The Hon. Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness

The Hon. Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness

President

Catherine McGuinness served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2000 to 2006, a Judge of the High Court from 1996 to 2000, a Judge of the Circuit Court from 1994 to 1996 and a Senator for the University of Dublin from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1987. She was appointed by President Michael D. Higgins to the Council of State from 1988 to 1990 and 2012 to 2019.

She served as President of the Law Reform Commission from 2007 to 2009. In May 2013, she was appointed Chair of the National University of Ireland Galway Governing Authority. In addition to her judicial career, McGuinness has served on the Employment Equality Agency, Kilkenny Incest Investigation, the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, the National Council of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland, and the Irish Universities Quality Board. In June 2011, she became patron of the Irish Refugee Council. In November 2011, she was appointed Chairperson of the “Campaign for Children.”

Aoife McNicholl

Aoife McNicholl

Chairperson

A native of Limavady, Aoife graduated from Ulster University in 2012 with a L.L.B. Honours degree in Law & Politics. Following graduation, she volunteered with the Committee on the Administration of Justice in Northern Ireland working on the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry. Aoife joined Sheehan & Partners in November 2012.

Aoife qualified as a solicitor in December 2017. Aoife works primarily in the areas of Criminal Defence, Civil Litigation, Judicial Review and Prisoner Litigation, and has substantial High Court experience in the field of Prison Law.

Rosemarie Hayden

Rosemarie Hayden

Vice Chairperson

Rosemarie graduated from University College Dublin in 2000 with a BA (Political Science) degree and furthered her legal studies at post-graduate level at DIT. She is currently undertaking an LLM at Northumbria University on the topic of Article 41.2 of the Constitution, otherwise known as the woman’s place in the home provision. She qualified as a solicitor in 2015 after 15 years in a variety of in-house legal positions in a succession of software MNCs. Rosemarie has a strong interest in corporate governance having served on a variety of boards internationally and currently serves on the board of the Irish Red Cross. She joined the IWLA committee in 2018.

Deirdre O'Hanlon

Deirdre O'Hanlon

Hon. Treasurer

Deirdre qualified from Trinity College Dublin in 2008 with an  L.L.B. Honours degree in Law.  Following graduation she qualified as a Solicitor with the Law Society of Ireland in 2013 and and is a registered Legal Irish Practitioner on Clár na Gaeilge (An Dlí-Chumann) .Deirdre also qualified as a  Financial Advisor (QFA) and has extensive experience in Financial Services and is currently working as an in-house lawyer/counsel  specialising in Corporate Legal, Regulatory/Company Secretarial and Commercial Contracts.

Deirdre is a volunteer with the Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC ) and is a Mentor with the Trinity College Women in Law Mentoring Society.  

Deirdre is a member of the IWLA committee since 2021 having recently been appointed as Treasurer. 

Jane McGowan

Jane McGowan

PRO

Jane McGowan, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2012. She practices criminal law, human rights law and administrative law. Jane is a lecturer-at-law teaching a variety of subjects including ‘criminal law’, ‘evidence’, ‘miscarriages of justice’ and ‘tort law’ at Griffith College, Dublin. She is a lecturer in ‘criminal practice and procedure’ on the Barrister-at-Law Degree course in the Honorable Society of King’s Inns. Jane is the Chairperson of the Irish Criminal Bar Association and a Senior Supervising Lawyer with the Irish Innocence Project. Jane joined the IWLA committee in 2016.

Fiona McNulty

Fiona McNulty

Fiona McNulty LLB was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland in 2016. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, she is an Associate at Mason Hayes & Curran. Fiona has completed a Higher Diploma in Corporate, White Collar and Regulatory Crime, and is a registered Legal Irish Practitioner on Clár na Gaeilge (An Dlí-Chumann) and the Irish Language Register (Law Society of Ireland). She is a member of the IWLA Committee since 2015, and is also a member of the Law Society of Ireland’s Younger Members Committee.

Aisling Mulligan BL

Aisling Mulligan BL

Aisling has been a practising barrister since 2013. Her practice extends into a number of diverse fields including medical law, mental health, health and social care law.

Aisling holds an MSC in Healthcare Ethics and Law from RCSI and was the recipient of the prestigious Catherine McGuiness fellowship, awarded by the Bar of Ireland, in 2017. Aisling joined the IWLA committee in 2018.

Audrey Byrne

Audrey Byrne

Audrey Byrne is an experienced Disputes Partner at McCann Fitzgerald. She holds a BCL from University College Dublin and a Diploma in European Studies, International Law and Legal Studies from Université Toulouse 1 Capitole.

She qualified as a solicitor in Ireland in 1999 and was admitted to the Institute of Taxation Examinations in 2001, and as a CEDR registered Mediator in 2009. She is a member of the board of the Peter McVerry Trust and joined the IWLA Committee in 2020. 

Catherine O'Sullivan

Catherine O'Sullivan

Catherine O’Sullivan is a graduate of UCC (BCL, LLM) and Osgoode Hall Law School, Canada (PhD).  She is the Director of the BCL(Pathways) degree in UCC where she lectures Criminal Law and Criminology.   She is a member of the IWLA Commitee since 2020.

Anne Conlon BL

Anne Conlon BL

Anne Conlon has been a practising barrister since 2017, working in the area of general practice, she specialises in employment law, medical negligence law, personal injury law, and company law.

Anne has a strong research background and holds an LLM in Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights from the University of Keele (UK), an MA in Women’s Studies from University College Dublin, and an MSc in Healthcare Management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.  In addition, Anne holds qualifications in employment law and data protection law.

Prior to practising at the Bar Anne had a career in healthcare management.