The Bar Of Ireland

The Bar Council of Ireland's response to the long-awaited review of protections for vulnerable witnesses in the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences is reproduced in full below. We welcome the publication this morning of the Report on the Review of Protections for Vulnerable Witness

Maura McNally SC has been elected as chair of the Council of The Bar of Ireland, succeeding Mícheál P. O’Higgins SC after two years in the post. She becomes the second-ever woman elected to the position, following Ms Justice Mella Carroll who held the role more than four decades

Lawyers and judges have paid tribute to Mr Justice Peter Kelly, president of the High Court, on his retirement today. Micheál P O’Higgins SC, chairman of the Council of the Bar of Ireland, called him "an advertisement for the Irish bar and bench".

Lawyers have shared their perspectives and experiences of building a career in EU law in an online event hosted by the Irish Society for European Law (ISEL) and the Young Bar Committee of The Bar of Ireland. Yesterday's joint webinar heard from Anne Riley, who recently retired as head of global anti

The Bar Council of Ireland should be slapped with a €2 million bill and asked to pay market rent for the continued use of the Law Library building at the Four Courts or be evicted to make way for a family courts complex, a barrister has said. Eugenie Houston, a practising barrister "who is inde

The Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) has become an approved professional body with access to the The Bar of Ireland's direct access scheme. Approved organisations can access the services of any of 1,825 barristers without going through a solicitor through the Direct Professional Acces

Suggestions that ordinary criminal trials should take place without juries or with a smaller number of jurors during the COVID-19 emergency have been rejected by The Bar of Ireland. In a submission to the Courts Service, the barristers' body said the "draconian measure" of reducing the number of jur

The Bar of Ireland has failed in a bid to secure a rent suspension for its use of two floors in the Criminal Courts of Justice. The representative body for barristers wrote to the Courts Service to request a suspension from March 2020 because its income has been "adversely affected" by the COVID-19

The Bar of Ireland has pushed back against reports that it is considering proposals to expand the use of non-jury trials during the COVID-19 crisis. A report in The Irish Times, citing an anonymous barrister said to be involved in the process, said the Bar Council is currently "researching the idea"

Irish barristers have joined legal colleagues around the world in condemning the arrests of lawyers and democracy activists in Hong Kong. The Council of The Bar of Ireland wrote to Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam and to China's embassy in Ireland following the arrests of Martin Lee QC and Dr

Approved organisations have been reminded by The Bar of Ireland that they can directly access barristers for legal opinion on a wide range of matters. The Bar issued the reminder about the Direct Professional Access Scheme in response to widespread legal uncertainty created by the coronavirus crisis

Hundreds of barristers have volunteered to carry out coronavirus contact tracing for the HSE in order to relieve pressure on health staff. A total of 385 barristers, about a sixth of all practising barristers, had signed up by Friday night, the Irish Independent reports.

A portrait of Ms Justice Mary Laffoy by award-winning artist Hetty Lawlor has been unveiled as part of The Bar of Ireland’s International Women’s Day celebrations.

The inaugural ‘Justice Week’ kicks off today, spearheaded by The Bar of Ireland. The objective of the week is to raise awareness amongst under-25s of the importance of the justice system, and how the law protects fundamental rights and freedoms.

The Bar of Ireland has welcomed 100 students from across the State as part of the Look into Law Transition Year Programme.