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Originally from Limerick, I moved to Dublin in 1992 and have lived in the North Inner City for fourteen years, where I have also worked for the last ten years.I am married to Richard and we have two daughters, Maeve, born in December 2009 and Rose, born in June 2011. As part of my commitment to the people of the north inner city and to working on Dublin City Council, I did not take maternity leave after either baby.
I'm a practicing solicitor specialising in criminal and mental health law. In 2001 I was elected head of the national organisation representing trainee solicitors and for three years I was elected to the governing council of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association, until stepping down earlier this year. As well as being a member of the Law Society Education Committee and bursary committee I also serve on the boards of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, the Community After Schools Project and the Community Action Network. My priority in my voluntary work has always been to try and improve circumstances, particularly educational, for communities and especially for young people.
Since my election to Dublin City Council in June 2009 I have been appointed to the consultative group of the Grangegorman Development Agency, the Dominic Street Regeneration Board and the Council of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. In the first five months after my election I attended over seventy meetings of the council and of residents, in order to listen to and learn of the wishes and needs of local communities.
I am particularly interested in providing more green and play spaces in the north inner city, tackling litter and providing allotments, and also addressing anti social behaviour by looking at ‘community payback’ methods.
Claire.
MY CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
2000-2003 LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND
1998-1999 DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Studies
Three first class honours, three second class honours
1992-1996 B.A. - TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN 1st Class Honours Degree
English (major)/ Drama (minor) subjects
3rd year Erasmus in University of London
1986-1992 CRESCENT COLLEGE COMPREHENSIVE, LIMERICK
Employment Record
March 2007 – present.
Associate Solicitor, MacGuill and Co., Dublin and Dundalk specialising in criminal law and mental health law.
June 2007 - present
Tutor, Criminal Law, Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.
March 2004- February 2007.
Solicitor, Ferrys Solicitors, Dublin 7, specialising in criminal law.
Jan. 2000 – March 2004.
Trainee solicitor - Associate Solicitor, MacGuill and Company,
Dundalk, Co. Louth and Dublin 7.
Nov, Dec. 1999
Participant, ‘Visiting Scholar’ programme, Law Clinic, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
June 1997 - July 1998.
Co-ordinator, ArtsLinks Project, Co-operation Ireland, Dublin
Interests and Voluntary Work Experience
2009 – present: Member of the steering committee, Community After Schools Project
2008 – present: Board member, Irish Penal Reform Trust
November 2007 – present: Member of the Education Committee, Law Society of Ireland
October 2007 – present: Management Committee Member C.A.N. – Community Action Network’
October 2007: Elected to council, DSBA, member of and former chair of Litigation Committee
January 2006 – present: Member of Dublin Solicitors Bar Association (DSBA).
2005 – present: Member of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL).
October 2006: Requested by Director of the ICCL to assist with and attend at the ICCL presentation to the European Council Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
2003 – present: Volunteer with Ballymun Community Law Centre. Activities include provision of seminars on criminal law, organisation of work experience for students and mature students in solicitors offices
2002 – present: Member of Election Monitor Register under the auspices of the Development Co-operation Directorate with the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Election Monitor Register provides personnel to the European Commission, OSCE and UN for election observation missions.
April 2002 – December 2003: Volunteer with FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres), Ballymun, Dublin.
January – December 2001: Auditor 'SADSI' (Solicitors Apprentices Debating Society)
Elected Head of National Representative Organisation for 1,100 Trainee Solicitors nationwide
Role included:
- Convening a ten person team of representatives of trainee solicitors from all parts of the country.
- Making a successful application to the Law Society to introduce an ‘Access Programme’ in the Law School to assist trainee solicitors of limited means in qualifying. Interviewing access officers and students on access programmes in 3rd level universities nationwide as part of proposal.
- Conducting a survey of the costs of qualifying as a solicitor and organising an increase in wages for trainee solicitors
- Putting a successful proposal to the Law Society under the new Minimum Wage Act 2000 that the act applied to trainee solicitors. Analysed legislation and briefed counsel as part of proposal. Law Society had believed the act did not apply to trainees
- Setting up a website for SADSI, an e-mail address/help line and compiling a nationwide directory of trainee solicitors
- Responsibility for trainees page in the Law Society Gazette published monthly
- Changing Law Society regulations to change name of parties to traineeship from ‘Apprentice’ and ‘Master’ to ‘Trainee Solicitor’ and ‘Training Solicitor’.
1997 - 2000 - Member of the Committee on the Administration of Justice, (CAJ), Northern Ireland.
Monitored the policing of contentious parades with CAJ during marching season in Northern Ireland, 1997, 1998.
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