UCC Law Society 23rd Annual Conference

21 Nov 2023

UCC Law Society held their 23^rd Annual Conference on 13 November 2023 on the theme 'Ireland’s Role in International Justice Through the European Lens’.  The event was sponsored by William Fry LLP.

Final year Law and Irish student and Conference Director, Orla Leahy, chose this theme to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Ireland joining the European Union and 70 years since Ireland ratified the European Convention on Human Rights.  Ireland held the Council of Europe Presidency during 2022.  Irish ended its derogation period to become a full official and working language within the European Union in 2022.

The event began with music performed by Quercus Creative & Performing Arts Scholar Donnchadh Mac Aodha.

Professor Mark Poustie, Dean of Law opened the conference.  Orla Leahy and Harry Emerson, Auditor of the UCC Law Society, also delivered opening addresses.

The first panel, chaired by Declan Walsh, “Ireland’s Legal Influence in the European Union”, examined some of the core pillars of the European Union, from the Court of Justice to the European Parliament.  Anthony M Collins, Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) provided a comprehensive overview of the role of the Irish judiciary within the CJEU. Professor Gavin Barrett, UCD Sutherland School of Law, spoke about how Ireland can maximise its legal influence in the EU. Grace O’Sullivan, Member of the European Parliament, addressed her experience and role within the Parliament as an MEP.

The second panel, chaired by Dr Seán Ó Conaill, “Alumnis’ Paths to Careers in European Law”, saw five UCC Law alumni return to their alma mater for a career-focused panel discussion and subsequent careers networking session. 

The panel comprised: Benoît Keane, Solicitor and Founder of Keane Legal; Maeve Collins, Director General of the EU Division, Department of Foreign Affairs; Leo Flynn, Head of the State Aid Team in the European Commission; Caitríona King, Graduate Policy Officer at the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union, and; Cárthach Ó Faoláin, Lawyer Linguist in the CJEU.

After this panel, CEO of Nasc, Fiona Hurley provided an introduction to the work of Nasc, who were chosen as the conference charity partner this year. Nasc’s goal is to realise the rights of all migrants and refugees within Irish society. Nasc (the Irish word for 'link') empowers people to fulfil their rights, with the support of its free, direct services including their advocacy and legal information service. The Law Society will announce the total figure raised in aid of Nasc in the coming weeks.

The third and final panel, chaired by Professor Áine Ryall, focused on “Ireland’s Role in Shaping the European Legal Landscape”.  Breifne O’Reilly, Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe until August 2023, and now Director of Enlargement for South East Europe and the Western Balkans Unit, discussed Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe. Dr Pádraig Ó Laighin, Academic and Head of the Stádas Campaign addressed Irish becoming a Full Official & Working Language of the EU. Finally, Dr Luigi Lonardo, School of Law UCC, spoke about Irish neutrality within Europe. 

Partner in William Fry’s Cork Office, Laura Houlihan, formally closed the conference.

The conference welcomed over 100 attendees, including several local barristers and solicitors. The conference was organised by Orla Leahy and the Conference Subcommittee, Winona Casey, Sinéad Kavanagh, Brian Lynch, Andrea Iporre Quintana, Shauna Dalton, Tara O’Leary, Damien Byrne, and Rachel O’Driscoll.

Orla Leahy stated:

I am incredibly grateful to all of our guest speakers and panel chairs who gave up their time and travelled to UCC to address the student body, practitioners, and other attendees on “Ireland’s Role in International Justice Through the European Lens”.

It was an honour to welcome so many distinguished alumni and experts in their fields to the conference. I thoroughly enjoyed organising the event, and feel fortunate to have worked with such a fantastic subcommittee to bring the event into fruition.

I would also like to acknowledge the generous sponsorship from William Fry LLP, and the continuous support from the School of Law. I hope that all attendees enjoyed the day, and learned something new from our panels.