Chief Justice honoured by Dublin City University

On Thursday, 24 October, Chief Justice O’Donnell was conferred with the award of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) by Dublin City University.

Delivering the citation at Thursday’s graduation ceremony, Dr Tom Hickey, Associate Professor at DCU’s School of Law and Government, remarked that:

“[Chief Justice O’Donnell] has a process-based, and legitimacy-oriented judicial philosophy. It is a philosophy informed by lawyerly virtues such as attention to legal and factual detail; fidelity, but not mindless devotion, to legal and constitutional text; and institutional, as well as personal intellectual, humility – manifested, for example, by an aversion to the use of moral rhetoric in judgments handed down by courts of law. 

No judge has contributed more to the development and refinement of foundational constitutional doctrine.”

In his acceptance speech, Chief Justice O’Donnell spoke about the significance of 2024 in the history of the Irish legal system, commenting:

“I am conscious that this honour is not just personal, but also reflects the fact that in 2024 we are celebrating 100 years of an independent Irish legal system which can be dated back to the enactment of the Courts of Justice Act 1924. 

The process of commemorating that event, and celebrating this centenary, has been a valuable and instructive one. In particular, connecting again with the spirit of that turbulent and formative period in our country’s history helps us to recognise something that was apparent then, and has come increasingly into focus now: that is that a functioning legal system is an essential element in a rights-based democracy with a separation of powers enforced by the judicial branch.

That operates not simply at the elevated constitutional level, but also at the most basic level, that the administration of justice in ordinary courts day in day out is a vital component of a modern rights based democracy. And that is important for everyone, not just lawyers.”

Addressing the graduates who had received their degrees during the ceremony, Chief Justice O’Donnell commented on the value of education, stating:

“Whether you are now standing at the entrance of a legal career or another career, it is worth asking yourselves what you believe in… I realise that I do believe in something – something that I think Irish people have believed in not just for the last century but for more, and that is the value of education. That is something based on the same essential structure as the legal system itself and central to my own field of endeavour, but it is to be found in most worthwhile enterprises.  A belief that problems can be addressed and resolved by study, discussion, debate and reason alone. That is a tradition worth maintaining for the next century.”

You can read the Chief Justice's speech here.

Pictured above: Chief Justice O'Donnell and Dr Tom Hickey. Photos provided courtesy of DCU. Photo credit: Julien Behal.