Rossa Fanning

Irish barrister and Attorney General of Ireland (born 1976)

Rossa Fanning
SC
32nd Attorney General of Ireland
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 December 2022
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
TaoiseachLeo Varadkar
Preceded byPaul Gallagher
Personal details
BornDublin, Ireland
EducationBlackrock College
Alma mater
  • University College Dublin
  • University of Michigan
  • King's Inns

Rossa A. Fanning (born 1976) is an Irish barrister and legal academic who has served as the Attorney General of Ireland since December 2022. His practice at the Bar has been primarily focused on commercial litigation and insolvency.

Early life

Fanning was born in 1976 and is from Leopardstown, Dublin.[1] He attended secondary school at Blackrock College.[2] He studied for a BCL law degree from University College Dublin and obtained a master's degree from UCD where he wrote a thesis on civil procedure.[3] While at UCD, he was returning officer for the University College Dublin Students' Union and was auditor of the University College Dublin Law Society.[4] He studied for an LLM degree at the University of Michigan Law School as a scholar of the Fulbright Program.[5] He attended the King's Inns and was the individual winner of the Irish Times Debate while studying there.[6]

Legal career

Fanning was called to the Bar in 1999 and devilled for David Barniville.[7] He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2016.[8] He has worked across a broad spectrum of commercial cases including insolvency and restructuring, commercial leases, defamation, debt recovery, repossessions and professional negligence.[9][5][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Notable cases

He has represented various multinational technology companies including Facebook, Google, and Twitter in disputes.[16][10][17][18]

He acted for Rory McIlroy in a High Court dispute over agreements with his former management company and MCD Productions's barrister when it sought to enforce a judgment against Prince.[19]

Fanning has acted in cases for various insolvency practitioners and creditors across notable cases including CityJet, USIT, Monsoon Accessorize, the Business Post, Debenhams, and Norwegian Air, and acted for the receivers of Apollo House.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

He obtained a €8.2 million judgment against Bill Cullen for his client Danske Bank in 2012.[27]

Fanning was barrister for Michael Fingleton in a debt recovery case taken by former employer Irish Nationwide Building Society.[28]

He was a member of the legal team for Seán Quinn and two of his sons in action taken by Anglo Irish Bank but resigned while the case was ongoing.[29][30]

He was defence counsel for the Congregation of the Holy Spirit in a civil action for damages.[31]

In 2022, he represented Dany Boon in a High Court action to recover money that Boon claimed was fraudulently taken from him.[32]

Fanning has acted for the State in judicial review proceedings and for the Health Products Regulatory Authority in a test case in relation to the Pandemrix vaccine.[33][34]

He appeared at the Disclosures Tribunal (for Paul Williams and Independent News and Media) and the Moriarty Tribunal (for Michael Lowry).[35][36]

In February 2024, Fanning presented Ireland's submission to the International Court of Justice on Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.[37]

Academic career

Fanning was a lecturer in law at UCD, lecturing in company law and constitutional law,[3] and has written on these topics for the Irish Jurist.[38] The growth of his practice led to him leaving behind teaching.[7] He took part in a panel discussion at the Constitutional Convention in 2014 on the topic of economic, social and cultural rights.[39]

Attorney General

Fanning was appointed Attorney General of Ireland on 17 December 2022 on the nomination of Leo Varadkar, succeeding Paul Gallagher.[40][41]

Personal life

Fanning lives in Dublin city centre. He is a past chair of the selection committee for the Ireland Davis Cup team.[7][1]

References

  1. ^ a b Brennan, Michael (17 December 2022). "Varadkar names cautious cabinet to face up to 'age of emergencies'". Business Post. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Past Vs Present Debate 2017". Blackrock College. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b "UCD School of law - Staff - Rossa Fanning". ucd.ie. 10 February 2007. Archived from the original on 10 February 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  4. ^ "UCD President's Award for Excellence in Student Activities 1998". Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Judges lack the resources to deal with this recession". Irish Independent. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Dublin dominates `Irish Times' debate". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Carswell, Simon (19 December 2022). "Rossa Fanning profile: New AG a courtroom bruiser with straight-talking reputation". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Rossa A Fanning SC". Law Library. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Case between Kilkenny Shop and landlord adjourned". RTÉ News. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  10. ^ a b O'Donnell, Orla (20 July 2022). "Parents of Nóra Quoirin settle case against Facebook". RTÉ News. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  11. ^ "BoI in legal challenge to developer". RTÉ News. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Commercial Court to hear building supplies share case". RTÉ News. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Dunnes secures injunction over Mr Price selling food". RTÉ News. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Arrest of three siblings ordered in repossession case". RTÉ News. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Court hears €12m Dalkey house is country's 'unluckiest'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Google added to High Court action over DPC complaint". RTÉ News. 17 May 2022.
  17. ^ "MCD to pursue Prince over €2.2m". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Iona Institute member sues Twitter over alleged defamation". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Judge orders 'peace talks' in McIlroy-Horizon case". RTÉ News. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  20. ^ "High Court confirms appointment of examiner to CityJet". RTÉ News. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  21. ^ O'Donnell, Orla (27 March 2020). "Liquidators appointed to four USIT travel group firms". Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Provisional liquidator appointed to Monsoon Accessorize". RTÉ News. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Sunday Business Post to exit examinership". RTE.ie. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Examiner appointed to Debenhams Ireland". RTÉ News. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Irish registered Norwegian Air firm wound up by court". RTÉ News. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  26. ^ "High Court action to have Apollo House vacated". RTÉ News. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Bank obtains €8.2m judgment against Bill Cullen". RTÉ News. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  28. ^ Kilfeather, Vivion (2 November 2010). "Former Nationwide boss told to repay €13.6m". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Blow to Sean Quinn case as key lawyer Rossa quits". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  30. ^ Carvajal, Doreen (3 September 2012). "Irish Billionaire Family Given a Reprieve on Data". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  31. ^ "Former priest files defence over abuse allegation". RTÉ News. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  32. ^ O’Faolain, Aodhan (2 December 2022). "French film star Dany Boon gets judgment against alleged fraudster and linked entities". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  33. ^ "Court challenge over sales ban on goods containing THC". RTÉ News. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  34. ^ Traynor, Vivienne (15 October 2019). "No link between vaccine and narcolepsy, court hears". RTE.ie. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Disclosures Tribunal: Ex-Garda press officer accused of 'false' and 'implausible' evidence". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  36. ^ "A curtain is drawn back to give a glimpse". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  37. ^ "ICJ told Israel in 'serious breach' of Palestinian rights". 22 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  38. ^ "Previous Editions". Irish Jurist. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  39. ^ "Eighth Report of the Convention on the Constitution" (PDF). Convention on the Constitution. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  40. ^ "Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government (33rd Dáil) – Vol. 1031 No. 4". Houses of the Oireachtas. 17 December 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  41. ^ "Appointment of the Attorney General" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 2022 (101): 1536. 23 December 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Paul Gallagher
 Attorney General of Ireland
2022– 		Incumbent
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