THE Irish Government has agreed to nominate Supreme Court Judge Donal O'Donnell to be the next Chief Justice.
Belfast-born Mr Justice O’Donnell will succeed the current Chief Justice Frank Clarke who is due to retire in October.
His nomination was approved at Cabinet yesterday after his name was brought to ministers by the Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys.
The nomination followed discussions between the Attorney General Paul Gallagher and the three Government party leaders.
He was appointed directly from the bar to the Supreme Court in 2010 and was seen in legal circles as the favourite for the position.
Mr Justice O’Donnell, who is 63, attended UCD and practised in Dublin. He became a senior counsel in 1995.
He comes from one of Ireland's most distinguished legal families.
His brother, Turlough, is also a Senior Counsel.
Their father, Turlough O’Donnell was a High Court and Court of Appeal judge in the north.
Mr O’Donnell, who died in 2017, served as a judge throughout the Troubles, overseeing some of the most infamous paramilitary trials in Northern Ireland legal history.
