Comhrá with Villiers School

Pictured above (L-R): Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley and Mr Justice Maurice Collins.

Today, the Supreme Court held a 'Comhrá' with students of Villiers School in Co. Limerick.

Comhrá (the word for ‘conversation’ in Irish) is an education initiative of the Supreme Court that enables secondary school students to participate in live question-and-answer sessions with judges of the Supreme Court from anywhere in Ireland by video call.

The programme provides students with an opportunity to ask judges questions about their work, the role of the Supreme Court and of the courts system more generally within our democracy, allowing them to gain an insight and understanding of the function of the Supreme Court and promote an interest in law.

Today’s call took place between Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley, Mr Justice Maurice Collins, and a mix of 4^th and 5^th year students. During the hour-long call, the judges addressed a range of interesting questions curated by the participating students like what the process of appointment is to become a judge in Ireland; what criteria apply in order for a case to proceed to the Supreme Court; how do the judges approach making a decision when there is disagreement about the outcome of an appeal; and do judges generally take up other offers of employment after their time on the Court comes to an end.