Susan Denham

The Hon. Mrs. Justice Susan Denham
Denham in 2014
11th Chief Justice of Ireland
In office 25 July 2011 – 28 July 2017
Nominated by	Government of Ireland
Appointed by	Mary McAleese
Preceded by	John L. Murray
Succeeded by	Frank Clarke
Judge of the Supreme Court
In office 1 May 1992 – 28 July 2017
Nominated by	Government of Ireland
Appointed by	Mary Robinson
Personal details
Born	Susan Mary Gageby 1945 (age 78–79) Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland
Spouse	Brian Denham
Children	4
Education	Alexandra College
Alma mater	Trinity College, Dublin Columbia Law School King's Inns
Profession	Barrister Judge

Susan Mary Denham (née Gageby; born 1945) is a former judge in Ireland. She served as the 11th Chief Justice of Ireland from 2011 to 2017 and was the first woman to hold the position. She was a member of the Supreme Court from 1992 until her retirement as Chief Justice, and was the longest-serving member of the court on her retirement.

Early and personal life

Susan Gageby was born in Dublin in 1945 and educated at Alexandra College, Dublin; Trinity College, Dublin; the King's Inns; and the Law School of Columbia University, New York City (LL.M. 1972). She is the daughter of the former editor of The Irish Times, Douglas Gageby; and the sister of leading criminal barrister Patrick Gageby. She is married to paediatrician Dr Brian Denham and they have four children. From 1996 to 2010, Denham was a Pro-Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin. She is a member of the Church of Ireland. Her maternal grandfather Seán Lester served as the third and final Secretary-General of the League of Nations from 1940 to 1946.

Legal career

She was called to the bar in 1971 and became a Senior Counsel in 1987. She worked on the Midland circuit until 1979, following which she was based in Dublin. She was involved in a number of leading cases while a junior barrister and a Senior Counsel particularly in the area of judicial review. She became a High Court judge in 1991. In 1992 she was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court.

From 1995 to 1998, she chaired the Working Group on a Courts Commission, which was responsible for a significant reform of the organisation of the courts since the foundation of the state. It led to the establishment of the Courts Service. She was on the Interim Board of the Court Service and served on the Board of the Court Service from its inception, and chaired the board from 2001–04.

From 2006, she chaired the Working Group on a Court of Appeal. The report of the group was published by the government in August 2009. It recommended the establishment of a general Court of Appeal. This was ultimately established in 2014, after a referendum in 2013.

Denham was part of the Irish delegation which, with the Netherlands and Belgium, established the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) and she continues an involvement in this Network. From 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2016, she was President of the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union which is an association of Supreme Court Presidents and Chief Justices of EU Member States.

She wrote the judgment in McD v. L (2009), upholding the parental rights of a sperm donor.

On 25 July 2011, she was appointed by the president as Chief Justice on the nomination of the government. She was the first woman appointed to the office and as a member of the Church of Ireland, she was the first non-Catholic to hold the position. She was also the first graduate of Trinity College, Dublin to have been appointed; Chief Justices have largely been graduates of University College Dublin. She retired from the position in July 2017, and was succeeded by Frank Clarke.