Supreme Court sits in Letterkenny

Pictured above: The Supreme Court, Judge Éiteáin Cunningham, and Courts Service staff outside Letterkenny Courthouse (photo credit: Clive Wasson).

Today, 28 April, the Supreme Court sat to hear an appeal in Letterkenny Courthouse, Donegal, marking its first sitting in the Northwest and its fifth sitting outside of Dublin since the initiative began in 2015. 

Before the hearing got underway, the eight members of the Court sat for the delivery of a statement by the Chief Justice. A reply welcoming the Court to Donegal was delivered on behalf of local practitioners by Damien Crawford BL.

Speaking from the bench, the Chief Justice said:

“What we are doing today in hearing a case is, in itself, a precious thing. The administration of justice in public under the Constitution means that any citizen of Ireland can come in and see the administration of justice in any court in Ireland – [they] can see the argument of counsel, the evidence of witnesses and hear and read the decisions, or in the case of the Supreme Court, the reasons for the decision.

That is something that is both precious and valuable, but also fragile. The purpose, in many ways, of the Court sitting outside Dublin is not just [to give] people an opportunity to see the Supreme Court, but it is a demonstration of the fact that the protection of the rule of law and the performance of the rule of law and the performance of justice is a job for every day.

The rule of law is something that has life and reality in every court in every courthouse on every day.”

The Chief Justice concluded his statement by thanking the courthouse staff, the practitioners present, and all those involved in facilitating a significant programme of outreach which the Court will engage in while in Letterkenny.

The Court heard the case of Imran v. Minister for Justice which concerned an issue of public importance in relation to the requirement for a proportionality assessment in a decision to revoke permanent residency.  

The Court’s sitting in Letterkenny reflects the fact that the Court hears cases of importance to everyone in the State, and it is therefore appropriate that the Court should occasionally sit in locations around Ireland. The Supreme Court first sat outside of Dublin ten years ago when it heard cases in Cork in 2015, followed by Limerick in 2018, Galway in 2019 and Waterford in 2020, before the practice was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.