Ms Hayden, who works for the Irish Red Cross, succeeds Aoife McNicholl, who has led the association for the past three years and continues as an ordinary committee member.

A dual-qualified solicitor in Ireland and in England and Wales, she has served on the IWLA committee since 2018 in a variety of roles, including as vice chair for the past three years.

Ms Hayden has also served on a number of corporate and NGO boards, including four years on the board of the Irish Red Cross. She currently serves on the board of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) and the registration committee of the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC).

Long-standing committee member Jane McGowan BL has been elected as vice chair, while Deirdre O’Hanlon and Leanne Caulfield will serve as treasurer and secretary respectively.

The remaining committee members are Ms McNicholl, Audrey Byrne, Dr Catherine O’Sullivan, Fiona McNulty, Niamh McGuinness and Demilade Adeniran.

Commenting on her election, Ms Hayden told Irish Legal News: “I am honoured to take on the role of chair of the Irish Women Lawyers Association. It’s a genuine case of standing on the shoulders of giants and I am honoured to carry forward the aims of the association.

“I joined the solicitors’ profession the year that Ireland became the first in the world to have a gender-balanced legal profession, but unfortunately the balance in numbers hasn’t yet translated to gender balance at partner level in firms, where only 37 per cent of law firm partners are women, while at the Bar only 20 per cent of senior counsel are women.

“I am hugely proud to lead the Irish Women Lawyers’ Association and work with all stakeholders to increase gender balance in the legal professions, but I will be even prouder when we have a legal profession that is fully reflective of society.”