Pictures: 'Fitting' that international lawyer who is past pupil is honoured at Ashton School

Cork’s Ashton School has honoured former student and senior prosecutor Clare Lawson with a prestigious Hall of Fame award.

The event, hosted at Ashton School, Blackrock Road, last week, saw Ms Lawson receive the Hall of Fame award, which focuses on alumni who have had remarkable success in their careers, on the sports field, or in the world of arts and entertainment.

Since qualifying as a solicitor in Ireland in 2007, Ms Lawson has worked across a variety of positions.

These include working as an attorney-at-law in New York; on behalf of the Irish government and the European Union at the United Nations in New York; and now, as a senior prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague with the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office.

The Hall of Fame ceremony celebrated Ms Lawson’s journey from school and beyond, with head students Zoe Fahy, Michael Turner, Sarah Chambers, and David Hrihorov greeting her upon arrival.

Students Saoirse Cullen and Eve McDonald, who both won the school’s recent human rights essay competition, further read their reflections on the topic to the assembled audience, before principal Adrian Landen delivered an address.

Mr Landen said: “Clare has built an extraordinary career at the highest levels of international law and criminal justice.

“As senior prosecutor at the specialist prosecutor’s office in The Hague, Clare co-leads the largest trial at the court, oversees investigations and prosecutions, and provides legal oversight and strategic direction within the office.

“Clare’s career is a testament to the power of a strong sense of justice, great expertise, and perseverance.

“Her work embodies the very principles of human rights and the rule of law, making her an outstanding role model for current and future Ashton students.

“It is only fitting that Clare Lawson would join the ranks of Ashton School’s most esteemed past students in our ‘Hall of Fame’.”

The Ashton School Choir, accompanied by their music teacher Mary G O’Brien, then closed the ceremony with A Gaelic Blessing by John Rutter.