The Right Honourable
Dame Siobhan Keegan
DBE
Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland[1][2]
Assumed office
2 September 2021
Nominated byBoris Johnson
Appointed byElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Declan Morgan
Personal details
Born (1971-06-06) June 6, 1971
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
ResidenceNorthern Ireland
EducationSacred Heart Grammar School, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland
Alma materQueen's University Belfast
OccupationJurist
ProfessionLaw
AwardsQC (2006)
DBE (2015)

Dame Siobhan Roisin Keegan DBE (born 6 June 1971) is a Northern Irish judge who has been Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland[3][4] (styled Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland) since September 2021.[5] She was formerly a judge of the High Court of Northern Ireland from October 2015 until her appointment as Lord Chief Justice, prior to which, she practised as a barrister specialising in family law.

Early life

Keegan was educated at St. Clare's Primary School and Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.[6][7]

She studied law at Queen's University Belfast and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in July 1993. After further study, she was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 1994.[7]

Keegan became a barrister when she was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 1994.[7] She specialised in family law but has also had experience in criminal law and judicial review.[6]

She was made a Queen's Counsel (QC) in June 2006.[7] Between 2011 and 2013, she served as Chair of the Family Bar Association.[7] In 2014, she was elected Vice Chair of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland.[8]

For each of the financial years from 2013 to 2015, Keegan was the fourth-highest-earning barrister in Northern Ireland in terms of legal aid, having received £504,177 in 2012/2013,[9] £513,405 in 2013/2014,[10] and £427,632 in 2014/2015.[11]

On 23 October 2015, Keegan was appointed a judge of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.[6][12] She was sworn into office by Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, at the same time as Denise McBride.[13] This made Keegan and McBride jointly the first female high court judges of Northern Ireland.[6][8]

On 23 November 2015, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).[14]

On 16 June 2021, Keegan was nominated to be Northern Ireland's first female Lord Chief Justice.[15][16] She was sworn in as Lord Chief Justice[3][4] at a ceremony on 2 September 2021.[5]

On 29 September 2021, Keegan became a member of the Privy Council.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002".
  2. ↑ "Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002".
  3. 1 2 "Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002".
  4. 1 2 "Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002".
  5. 1 2 "Judiciary of Northern Ireland".
  6. 1 2 3 4 "First women appointed as NI High Court judges". BBC News. BBC. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "First female High Court judges appointed in NI". UTV. 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Female judges appointed to NI High Court for first time". The Irish Times. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Hughes, Brendan (24 December 2013). "Legal aid cost public purse £94.1m". The Irish News. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Kula, Adam (16 April 2015). "Lawyers' legal aid fees described as staggering". The News Letter. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  11. ↑ McAleese, Deborah (16 April 2015). "Belfast QC Patrick Lyttle paid more than £1m from public purse... for the second year in a row". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Crown Office - Northern Ireland". The Belfast Gazette. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Congratulations to Denise McBride QC and Siobhan Keegan QC on Celebrated Appointment". The Bar of Northern Ireland. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Damehoods conferred: Siobhan Keegan and Denise McBride". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "MRS Justice Siobhan Keegan appointed North's first female chief justice". The Irish Times.
  16. ↑ "MRS Justice Keegan named NI's first female top judge". RTÉ.ie. 16 June 2021.
  17. ↑ List of Business, mk0privycouncilpmjhh.kinstacdn.com. Accessed 21 November 2022.
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