Denis McDonald

Denis McDonald is an Irish lawyer who has been a Judge of the High Court since April 2018. He was previously a barrister with a speciality in commercial law. He was the chair of the Irish Takeover Panel between 2010 and 2018.

This article is about the Irish judge. For the American politician, see Dennis McDonald.
The Hon. Mr. Justice

Michael MacGrath
Judge of the High Court
Assumed office
18 April 2018
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Personal details
NationalityIrish
Alma mater

Early life

McDonald attended Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with a law degree in 1984.[1] He received a Barrister-at-Law degree from the King's Inns in 1986.[2]

He was called to the Bar in July 1986 and became a senior counsel in October 2000.[3] His practice was focused on commercial law.[4]

He has represented Smart Telecom, Bank of America, Allied Irish Banks, Royal Dutch Shell, and Paddy McKillen.[5][6][7][8][9] He was involved in several insolvency proceedings during the 1990s, including of the Irish Press, business interests of Larry Goodman and Windmill Lane Studios.[10][11][12] He appeared for the administrators of businesses of Seán Quinn in the 2010s.[13] He has acted at the Valuation Tribunal.[14]

He appeared in the High Court for the Mahon Tribunal against The Irish Times and Bertie Ahern.[15][16] He also appeared in court for the Smithwick Tribunal.[17]

He was the lead counsel for the Competition Authority's case against the Beef Industry Development Society in the Irish courts and the European Court of Justice.[18][19] The case was important in European Union competition law for determining "by object" restrictions in cartels.[20] He acted for Ireland regarding the EU illegal State aid case against Apple in Ireland.[21]

He represented Brian Curtin in impeachment proceedings before the Oireachtas and the Attorney General of Ireland in a case surrounding defamation proceedings being taken by two of the Birmingham Six.[22][23]

He became the chairperson of the Irish Takeover Panel in October 2010.[24] He was reappointed again in 2016.[3]

He became a Bencher of the King's Inns in 2017.[2]

Judicial career

His appointment to the High Court was made in April 2018.[25] He has been a member of the Commercial Court since October 2018.[2] He has heard cases involving insolvency, injunctions, personal injuries, child law, judicial review, and constitutional law.[26][27][28][29][30][31]

In 2020, he determined an appeal by Perrigo against a decision of the Revenue Commissioners regarding a €1.6 billion tax liability.[32]

He was the judge in charge of personal insolvency matters until 2019.[33] He presided in a personal insolvency case involving Frank McNamara.[34]

A three-judge division of the High Court, in which he was a member with the President of the High Court Mary Irvine and Niamh Hyland, sat in June 2020. Ivana Bacik was the lead plaintiff in an action taken against the Taoiseach to ask the court if Seanad Éireann could sit without the nominated members of Seanad Éireann. The three judges held that it could not.[31]

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References
  1. "The Princes of the Law - Class of 1984 Reunion". TCD. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  2. "Judges of the Commercial Court". Courts.ie. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. "New Chairperson of Takeover Panel Announced". Central Bank of Ireland. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  4. "Government nominates three judges for appointment". Irish Legal News. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  5. Carolan, Mary. "Smart Telecom says Eircom curbs cost it €47m per year". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  6. Carolan, Mary. "Ex-bank employee faces questioning in AIB's US lawsuit". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  7. Carolan, Mary. "AIB secures charges over Zoe rents". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  8. Carolan, Mary. "Judgment reserved in Shell contempt case". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  9. "McKillen seeks documents held by Barclay brothers". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  10. "Plan proposed 225 redundancies in Press group". The Irish Times. 4 March 1994. p. 6.
  11. "Examiner appointed to Windmill Lane". The Irish Times. 12 November 1991. p. 12.
  12. "Goodman examiner permitted to sell companies". The Irish Times. 13 November 1990. p. 4.
  13. "High Court approves sale of Quinn Insurance". www.irishexaminer.com. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  14. "NSCDA (Operations) Limited and Commissioner of Valuation" (PDF). Valuation Tribunal. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  15. Carolan, Mary. "Mahon tribunal's case against 'Irish Times' adjourned". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  16. Carolan, Mary. "Taoiseach cannot be questioned about statements made in Dáil". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  17. "Detective welcomes Smithwick Tribunal statement". RTÉ News. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  18. Carolan, Mary. "Beef industry deal 'anti-competitive'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  19. Competition Authority v Beef Industry Development Society Ltd, Barry Brothers (Carrigmore) Meats Ltd Case C‑209/07
  20. "Antitrust, Restriction by Object and Agreed Capacity Reductions: Case C-209/07". EU Law Blog. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  21. "Departmental Legal Costs – Thursday, 26 Jan 2017 – Parliamentary Questions (32nd Dáil) – Houses of the Oireachtas". www.oireachtas.ie. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  22. O'Brien, Carl. "Lawyers for ex-judge seek €1.9m legal fees". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  23. Carolan, Mary. "Birmingham Six pair may sue barrister for pamphlet defamation". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  24. "McDonald named chair of Takeover Panel". RTÉ News. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  25. "Diary President Appoints Mr. Justice Denis Macdonald As Judge Of The High Court". president.ie. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  26. "Interim examiner appointed to parent company of Compu b". RTÉ News. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  27. Goodbody, Will (20 August 2019). "Ryanair injunction decision due in morning". RTÉ News. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  28. Mannion, Teresa (26 October 2018). "MMA fighter awarded €90,000 for injuries from collision". RTÉ News. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  29. "Mother and son settle High Court adoption action". RTÉ News. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  30. "High Court reserves Garda Commissioner decision". RTÉ News. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  31. "High Court rules first lawful meeting of Seanad must have 60 members". www.irishexaminer.com. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  32. Goodbody, Will (4 June 2020). "Pharmaceutical firm contests €1.6 billion tax bill". RTÉ News. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  33. "Insolvency Service of Ireland" (PDF). ISI. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  34. "Court approves €3m McNamara, Lowe debt write-off". RTÉ News. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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