Siobhan Keegan

Dame Siobhan Roisin Keegan, DBE, QC, styled The Hon Mrs Justice Keegan, is a Northern Irish judge and former barrister specialising in family law. In October 2015, she was appointed one of the first female judges of the High Court of Northern Ireland; the other was Denise McBride.

The Honourable

Mrs Justice Keegan

DBE QC
Judge of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland
Assumed office
23 October 2015
Personal details
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
NationalityBritish
ResidenceNorthern Ireland
EducationSacred Heart Grammar School, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland
Alma materQueen's University Belfast
OccupationJurist
ProfessionLaw
AwardsQC (2006)
DBE (2015)

Early life

Keegan was educated at St. Clare's Primary School and Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.[1][2]

She studied law at Queen's University Belfast and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in July 1993. After further study, she was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 1994.[2]

Keegan became a barrister when she was called to the bar in September 1994.[2] She specialised in family law but has also had experience in criminal law and judicial review.[1]

She was made a Queen's Counsel (QC) in June 2006.[2] Between 2011 and 2013, she served as Chair of the Family Bar Association.[2] In 2014, she was elected Vice Chair of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland.[3]

Since 2013, Keegan has been one of barrister receiving the most legal aid funding in Northern Ireland. In the 2012/2013 financial year she received £504,177 and was ranked the fourth highest,[4] in 2013/2014 she received £513,405 and was ranked fourth,[5] and in 2014/2015 she received £427,632 and was ranked fourth.[6]

On 23 October 2015, Keegan was appointed a judge of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.[1][7] She was sworn into office by Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, at the same time as Denise McBride.[8] This made Keegan and McBride jointly the first female high court judges of Northern Ireland.[1][3]

On 23 November 2015, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).[9]

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References
  1. "First women appointed as NI High Court judges". BBC News. BBC. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  2. "First female High Court judges appointed in NI". UTV. 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  3. "Female judges appointed to NI High Court for first time". The Irish Times. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  4. Hughes, Brendan (24 December 2013). "Legal aid cost public purse £94.1m". The Irish News. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  5. Kula, Adam (16 April 2015). "Lawyers' legal aid fees described as staggering". The News Letter. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  6. McAleese, Deborah (16 April 2015). "Belfast QC Patrick Lyttle paid more than £1m from public purse... for the second year in a row". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  7. "Crown Office - Northern Ireland". The Belfast Gazette. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. "Congratulations to Denise McBride QC and Siobhan Keegan QC on Celebrated Appointment". The Bar of Northern Ireland. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  9. "Damehoods conferred: Siobhan Keegan and Denise McBride". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
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