Fidelma Macken

Who is Fidelma Macken?

Fidelma O'Kelly Macken is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland. She was appointed a High Court judge in 1998. She succeeded John L. Murray, Chief Justice since July 2004, as Ireland's appointee on the European Court of Justice from 5 October 1999 to 22 September 2004. Appointed initially for a five-year term, she was the first female appointee to the ECJ but had her mandate renewed in 2003. She was reappointed a justice of the High Court on 18 October 2004 on her return to Ireland. She served a Supreme Court judge from 2005 to 2012.

Macken was educated at King's Inns and Trinity College. She became a barrister in 1972; practiced as legal adviser, Patents and Trade Marks Agents and became a Senior Counsel in 1995.

As a lawyer, she specialised on medical defence work and pharmaceutical actions. She acted as defence counsel in a series of cases brought by children against whooping cough vaccine manufacturers for damage allegedly caused by the vaccine. The Supreme Court nominated her to act in three referrals by the President of Ireland querying the constitutionality of new legislation before she became a judge.

She has been a lecturer in Legal Systems and Methods and Averil Deverell Lecturer in Law at Trinity College Dublin.