Irish judge (born 1957)
Charles Francis Meenan (born 21 June 1957
[1] ) is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the
Court of Appeal since July 2023. He previously served as a Judge of the
High Court from 2017 and 2023.
Early life
Meenan graduated from
Gonzaga College in 1975.
[2] He was educated at
University College Dublin and
King's Inns .
[3] He was the auditor of the
UCD Literary and Historical Society between 1980 and 1981. His inaugural speech featured contributions from former
Taoiseach
Jack Lynch , then
Leader of the Opposition
Garret FitzGerald and Professors James Meenan and Brendan Walsh.
[4] His father Charles Meenan and uncles James and
Patrick were also former auditors.
[5] He was the team winner of the
Irish Times Debate in 1981 for the L&H with teammate
Gerard Stembridge .
[6]
Legal career
He was called to the
Bar in 1980. He became Senior Counsel in 1998 and is a CEDR Accredited Mediator.
[3] He led a wide practice, including representing clients in matters involving professional negligence,
[7] personal injuries, constitutional law, commercial and administrative law.
[3]
He represented
John Bruton at the
Moriarty Tribunal in 1999.
[8] He represented
Des Smyth and his co-investors in actions against businessman Thomas O'Keeffe.
[9] He was counsel for
James Reilly who appeared in a personal capacity in a defamation action and acted for
Michael Neary in several actions.
[10]
[11]
[12]
He provided legal advice to the
Oireachtas committee conducting hearings during the
Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis .
[13]
He was a legal assessor for bodies including the
Irish Medical Council and the
Irish Nursing Board . He was the Chairman of the Ethics Committee of the
Temple Street Children's University Hospital between 2002 and 2015.
[3]
Judicial career
High Court
He was nominated to the
High Court in May 2017 and appointed in June 2017.
[14]
[15]
Meenan has heard cases involving personal injuries against the estate of
Dolores O'Riordan and a defamation action taken by
Gerry Adams against the
BBC .
[16]
[17] In 2017, he overturned a decision of the
Data Protection Commissioner which had found that
Alan Shatter had acted in breach of his duties while
Minister for Justice and Equality .
[18] He found in 2018, that [Simon Harris]] had not taken proper account of reports in his role as
Minister for Health in a decision to launch an inquiry into the welfare of patients at the
National Maternity Hospital, Dublin .
[19]
He was appointed to make a report into issues surrounding the
CervicalCheck cancer scandal in August 2018. The purpose of his investigation was to propose alternatives to court cases.
[20] He proposed the establishment of a tribunal of inquiry in his findings published in October 2018,
[21] which formed the basis of the government's decision to introduce the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019.
[22]
As of 2020, Meenan is the Judge in Charge of the Non-Jury and Judicial Review List of the High Court.
[23]
[24] In May 2020, he presided over a hearing in which
Gemma O'Doherty and
John Waters sought leave for
judicial review to challenge the constitutionality of
legislation enacted in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic .
[25] He refused to grant leave.
[26]
Court of Appeal
He was nominated for appointment to the
Court of Appeal in May 2023.
[27] He was appointed in July 2023.
[28]
Personal life
He and his wife, Anita, have two children who are solicitors.
[29]
References
^ "Births, Marriages, Deaths". The Irish Times . 28 June 1957. p. 14.
^
"Gonzaga in the 1970s" (PDF) . Gonzaga Archive .
Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2020 .
^
a
b
c
d
"Appointments to the High, Circuit and District Court" . Merrion Street Irish Government News Service . 23 May 2017.
Archived from the original on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017 .
^ "Lynch backs economics policies". Irish Press . 29 November 1980. p. 3.
^
"Pioneering physician who worked on polio vaccine" . The Irish Times . 19 July 2008.
Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2020 .
^
"The Irish Times Debate at 60: How changing topics reflected the ages" . The Irish Times .
Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020 .
^
"Hospital to appeal birth negligence case" . RTÉ News . 13 March 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^ O'Sullivan, Roddy (7 July 1999).
"Inquiry told Bruton accepts tribunal chairman disclosed his shareholding" . The Irish Times . Retrieved 6 May 2020 .
^
"Businessman ordered to sell horses" . Irish Independent . 27 July 2002. Retrieved 4 February 2022 .
^
"Reilly receives apology over developer article" . RTÉ News . 13 July 2015.
Archived from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"Neary bid to block civil action adjourned" . www.irishexaminer.com . 22 February 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"Doctor's decision to operate was a 'doomsday remedy' " . Irish Independent . Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^ Deegan, Gordon (4 August 2015).
"Lawyer gets €18,000 for seven days' work at the Bank Inquiry" . Irish Independent .
Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2020 .
^ McQuinn, Cormac (24 May 2017).
"Four judges approved in spite of Ross law crusade" . Irish Independent .
Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2020 .
^
"President appoints judges to the High Court and the Court of Appeal" . www.president.ie . 19 June 2017.
Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^
"Flight attendant seeks damages from O'Riordan's estate" . RTÉ News . 14 October 2019.
Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"Adams seeks more documents from BBC in defamation case" . RTÉ News . 6 February 2020.
Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^ Brennan, Cianan.
"DPC 'welcomes detailed analysis' by High Court after appeal by Alan Shatter upheld" . TheJournal.ie .
Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^ Traynor, Vivienne (6 September 2018).
"High Court quashes minister's order for NMH inquiry" . RTÉ News .
Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"Mr Justice Meenan to investigate alternatives to court for CervicalCheck women" . Irish Legal News . Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^ Halpin, Hayley.
"Judge recommends establishment of tribunal to deal with CervicalCheck claims" . TheJournal.ie .
Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Second Stage – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) – Wednesday, 26 Jun 2019 – Houses of the Oireachtas" . www.oireachtas.ie . Houses of the Oireachtas. 26 June 2019.
Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"General Notices: 12 February 2020 - HC Judges Hilary '20" . Courts.ie.
Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020 .
^
"Notice - High Court Michaelmas Term - Assignment of Judges" . Courts Service . 13 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020 .
^
"Court reserves judgment on challenge against Covid-19 lockdown laws" . belfasttelegraph .
Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^ Faolain, Aodhan O. (13 May 2020).
"High Court rejects legal challenge by Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters to Covid-19 laws" . TheJournal.ie .
Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020 .
^
"Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly set for Supreme Court" . www.lawsociety.ie . Retrieved 26 May 2023 .
^
"Diary President Appoints Judges To The Court Of Appeal 4 7 2023" . president.ie . Retrieved 13 July 2023 .
^
"July 2017" (PDF) . Law Society Gazette . July 2017. p. 17.