Now in their 14th year, the LEAP Irish Law Awards 2026 continue to honour excellence, innovation, and leadership across Ireland’s legal profession. This year’s Awards will celebrate achievement across more than 30 categories, with two new additions, Expert Witness of the Year and Law Cor
Appointments
See all articlesHayes solicitors LLP is to welcome five newly-qualified solicitors following the completion of their training contracts with the firm.
A&L Goodbody has appointed Dervla Broderick as a partner in its EU, competition and procurement practice. With close to 20 years’ experience, Ms Broderick has worked in international law firms in the UK and Ireland advising clients on all aspects of Irish, EU and UK competition law.
Cork-based JRAP O’Meara LLP has appointed Jerry Canty as its new managing partner. Mr Canty takes the reins of the 156-year-old firm from Darren O'Keeffe, who will remain as head of the firm's litigation department.
Lawyer Helen Dooley has been appointed as a special advisor to international advisory firm Interpath. Ms Dooley was previously group general counsel at Allied Irish Banks plc, where she was a member of the bank's executive leadership team.
Walkers has welcomed newly-qualified associates Emma Jackson, Dylan Kirwan, Conor McCabe, Aoife O’Leary and Coleen Wegmann to its Ireland office. The five lawyers are set to qualify as solicitors following their successful completion of the firm's 24-month training programme, which has now sup
Matheson has appointed Rachel Barry, Paula Collins, Anna Crowley, Maeve Delargy, Andrew Dixon, Laura James, Shane Kennedy, Mary Elizabeth Mahony and Kathryn Rice as partners.
Northern Ireland
See all articlesThe Chinook Justice Campaign has paid tribute to David Hill, a campaigner and technical advisor who has passed away from cancer. Mr Hill was a former aeronautical engineer who played a key role in clearing the two pilots of blame for the 1994 Chinook helicopter crash.
Three trainee barristers are benefitting from bespoke scholarships designed to support their studies at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) at Queen's University Belfast. Bar trainees Emma Faulkner and Georgia Liddle have been announced as the first ever recipients of the Bar of North
A former chief executive of a Northern Ireland council has gone on trial for alleged offences under freedom of information legislation. Anne Donaghy, 55, who previously headed Mid & East Antrim Borough Council, appeared in court on Friday in relation to allegations under section 77 of the Freedo
Northern Ireland solicitor Jenny Moore has donated £11,000 to cancer charity Marie Curie NI after a fundraising effort in memory of a late friend.
Northern Ireland personal injury law firm JMK Solicitors has named Air Ambulance NI as its official charity partner for 2026. A joint charity partnership announcement was made by the law firm alongside accident management company CRASH Services and serviced office and meeting room provider Granite E
Universities
See all articlesThree trainee barristers are benefitting from bespoke scholarships designed to support their studies at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) at Queen's University Belfast. Bar trainees Emma Faulkner and Georgia Liddle have been announced as the first ever recipients of the Bar of North
The detail of the European Union’s long-awaited accession to the European Convention on Human Rights is like a “three-dimensional puzzle” because of the several vital and interlocking elements which need to be agreed, a new study suggests. The Treaty of Lisbon created an obligation
The Hibernian Law Journal is now accepting submissions to be considered for publication in Volume 25. Established in 1999, the Hibernian Law Journal is a legal journal co-ordinated by trainee and qualified solicitors.
Business group Ibec is to sponsor the Dublin European Law Institute (DELI) at Dublin City University under a new three-year partnership. The sponsorship deal will support the DELI's critical research and policy work in the field of European defence, industrial policy, economic competitiveness and pr
University College Cork Law Society is to host the Intervarsity Law Summit 2026 later this month, bringing together law students from across the island alongside members of the judiciary, the legal profession, and academia. Established in UCC, the Intervarsity Law Summit has grown to become Ireland&
Interviews
See all articlesAdam Synnott has the felicitous capacity to combine brisk efficiency with engaging affability. It’s a useful admixture that undoubtedly facilitates his career at EY Law Ireland, a stand-alone, regulated law firm which forms part of the global EY network. Mr Synnott, partner and head of corpora
The word that regularly recurs in Constance Cassidy’s vocabulary is “busy”. Often augmented to “busy, busy, busy”. It’s hardly surprising. The senior counsel’s day has begun some five hours before our mid-morning interview and the number of appointments in h
Colin Cardwell
October is European Cybersecurity Month (ECSM), the EU's annual campaign dedicated to promoting cybersecurity among its citizens and organisations, and to providing current online security information. Ironically, it has coincided with Amazon Web Services (AWS) experiencing a recent major outage in
Colin Cardwell
The view from Andrew McGahey’s home office south of Navan in Co Meath is an idyllic one. The vista of tranquillity that takes in the Hill of Tara and the River Boyne ends here, though — the EMEA managing partner of Kennedys Law LLP is responsible for seven offices, where daily life is di
Colin Cardwell
The quest for knowledge has advanced beyond imagination in the millennia since Plato and Aristotle first proposed their theories of epistemology. For legal firms at the leading edge of meeting today’s exacting demands, ‘knowledge’ now involves a multitude of practical applications,
Colin Cardwell








