Name Frank Clarke | Role Judge | |
 | ||
Education University College Dublin, Honorable Society of Kings Inns | ||
Frank clarke simply painting introduction to watercolour
Frank Clarke (born 10 October 1951) is the 12th and current Chief Justice of Ireland. He was appointed by President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins on 28 July 2017.
Contents
- Frank clarke simply painting introduction to watercolour
- Early life and education
- Legal career
- Personal life
- References
Early life and education
Clarke was born on 10 October 1951 in Walkinstown, Dublin, Ireland. He was educated at Drimnagh Castle Secondary School, a Christian Brothers secondary school in Dublin. He later studied at University College Dublin and the King's Inns.
Legal career
He was called to the Bar in 1973 and to the Inner Bar in 1985. He was Chairman of the Bar Council from 1993 to 1995. He had a practice in commercial, constitutional and family law. He was external counsel to the Laffoy inquiry on child abuse, the Ryan Inquiry, and represented the Flood Tribunal in its case against Liam Lawlor.
He was appointed a Judge of the High Court in 2004. He was chairman of the Referendum Commission for the second Lisbon Treaty referendum in 2009. As a High Court judge he gave a ruling, on the Leas Cross nursing home case against RTÉ, that the public interest justified the broadcasting of material that otherwise would have been protected by the right to privacy.
He was appointed to the Supreme Court on the 9 February 2012. On 26 July 2017 it was announced that the Government of Ireland had agreed to nominate Mr Justice Clarke for appointment by the President of Ireland as the next Chief Justice of Ireland, to succeed Ms Justice Susan Denham on the expiry of her term of office. He is due to retire in 2021.
Mr Justice Clarke is particularly noted for the clarity of his judgments and highly proficient style of writing.
Personal life
He is married to Dr. Jacqueline Hayden since 1977 and they have a son and a daughter.