Aileen Donnelly

Aileen Donnelly is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since June 2023. She previously served as a Judge of the Court of the Appeal from 2019 to 2023 and a Judge of the High Court from 2014 to 2019.

Legal career Donnelly attended University College Dublin, where she obtained a BCL degree in 1986 and a master's degree in equality studies in 1995. She also attended the King's Inns. In 1988, she was called to the Bar. Between 1996 and 2002, she was a board member and co-chair of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL). She was counsel for a complainant in the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. In 2004, she was called to the Inner Bar. She was in charge of High Court extradition cases. Donnelly postponed an order of extradition for a man to Poland in 2018, as a result of the 2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis.

Court of Appeal Donnelly became a Judge of the Court of Appeal in June 2019. Her appointment followed the elevation of Mary Irvine to the Supreme Court of Ireland.

Supreme Court The Irish Government nominated Donnelly for appointment to the Supreme Court of Ireland in May 2023. She was appointed in June 2023.

Personal life She is the first openly gay member of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. She is married to Susan Miner.