Mella Carroll


Mella Elizabeth Laurie Carroll
was the first woman to serve as a judge of the High Court in the Republic of Ireland.

Early life

Mella Carroll was born in Dublin, her parents were Patrick Carroll and Agnes Mary Caulfield. Her siblings were Milo, Paddy, and Una.

Education

Carroll attended Sacred Heart Convent School of Lower Leeson Street and then University College, Dublin where she graduated in French and German.
Then she studied at King's Inns where she came top in the examination for the high profile Brooke scholarship. She was called to the Bar in 1957, building a large practice and in 1976 was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland.

Legal career

In 1977 she became a Senior Counsel in the Republic of Ireland. For a time, she was the only female Senior Counsel practising in the Irish State. In 1979 she was the first woman to be elected a bar bencher of King’s Inns and chairman of the Bar Council.
Carroll became the first woman to serve as a judge in the High Court of Ireland, called on 6 October 1980. She was addressed as 'my lord' by barristers in her court for 10 years until she announced she would prefer to be called 'judge'.
During her High Court career she delivered a number of important decisions. For instance, the attempted ban on One Girl's War: Personal Exploits in MI5's Most Secret Station was declined by her after a request by the Attorney General of England and Wales. She also delivered judgements in controversial cases on abortion, bin charging and unmarried mothers. She sat in the Central Criminal Court over the Catherine Nevin murder trial and subsequent retrial because of the jury being overheard in its deliberation.
On 21 April 2004 Mella Carrol was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Law by University College Dublin.
She retired from the courts in November 2005 after 25 years, due to long-running illness.
Carroll chaired a number of high-profile commissions in the Republic; the County and County Borough Electoral Area Boundaries Commission and the Commission on the Status of Women descbed as "a comprehensive statement of the demands of Irish women for equality". She also chaired the Commission on Nursing, a "significant milestone in the history of nursing and midwifery in Ireland".
Carroll also held judicial positions in the administrative tribunal of the International Labour Organization, Geneva, for a time being the vice-president. She was elected president of the International Association of Women Judges, serving from 2000-2002. She was appointed Chancellor of Dublin City University in 2001 and held this post until her death.
Mella Carroll died on 15 January 2006 and is buried in Waterville, Co Kerry.