Clonakilty native to be made Supreme Court judge

A Clonakilty native who is a grand-nephew of Michael Collins is to be made a judge on the Supreme Court.

Mr Justice Maurice Collins has been nominated as an ordinary judge on the Supreme Court.

He will replace Mr Justice Frank Clarke, who retired from the Supreme Court in October of last year.

Mr Justice Collins is the son of the late Liam Collins, who was a nephew of General Michael Collins. In 1943, Liam Collins established the Clonakilty legal firm Collins Brooks and Associates.

Maurice Collins did his BA (Hons) at University College Cork and was called to the Bar in 1989, becoming a senior counsel in 2003. A former chair of the Incorporated Council for Law Reporting, he became a bencher, or Master of the Bench, at King’s Inns in 2017.

He was invested as a judge in 2019 and has served on the Court of Appeal since then. He was appointed as part-time Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission in 2020.

Mr Justice Collins and his wife, solicitor Nora Rice, are patrons of the National Gallery.

The Government has also agreed on the nomination of Melanie Greally as an ordinary judge of the High Court for appointment by the President of Ireland.

The High Court vacancy arose following the appointment of Justice Nuala Butler to the Court of Appeal.

Judge Greally received her education at University College Dublin and King’s Inns, and entered the Bar in 1991.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the Government said it had taken the necessary steps to formally advise President Michael D Higgins of the nominations in accordance with constitutional practice.