Blinne Nessa Áine Ní Ghrálaigh KC is an Irish barrister who has worked in England and Ireland. She specialises in human rights and international law.

Early life and education

Ní Ghrálaigh was raised primarily in London by an Irish family,^[1] her mother from Dublin and her father from Mayo.^[2] She was interested in law from a young age, and would spend her school holidays visiting the gallery of the Old Bailey. She studied French and Latin at Queens' College, Cambridge on a Foundation Scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Modern and Medieval Languages.^[3]

After graduating, Ní Ghrálaigh worked for an American think tank, for an NGO, and as a paralegal for a human rights firm in London. She was offered a job as a legal observer on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, prompting her to move to Derry for a year. Of the experience, Ní Ghrálaigh said in 2022 "It was an immense privilege to be part of that historic legal process" and that she remains friends with a number of the families she worked with.^[1] She went on to complete a Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Westminster and a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Legal Studies at New York University. She also took a vocational course at the Inns of Court School of Law.^[4]

Career

Ní Ghrálaigh joined Matrix Chambers in 2005, when she was called to the Bar of England and Wales. Later she was also called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and to the Bar of Ireland in 2017. She was vice chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee from 2014 to 2019. In 2016, she was a visiting fellow at Harvard Law School.^[5]

At the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023, Ní Ghrálaigh was appointed to King's Counsel^[6][7] and welcomed as a new silk by Lincoln's Inn.^[8] Also in 2022, she was shortlisted for Barrister of the Year by The Lawyer and placed third.^[9][10]

Notable cases

In 2015, Ní Ghrálaigh worked on the Croatia–Serbia genocide case at the International Court of Justice on behalf of Croatia, though both claims were ultimately dismissed.^[11] In 2017, she secured an acquittal for activists Sam Walton and Dan Woodhouse,^[1] who had been arrested for attempting to disarm Typhoon jets they believed were bound for Saudi Arabia to be used to bomb Yemen.^[12]

Ní Ghrálaigh went on to work on the Colston Four trial regarding the toppling of the Colston statue by four protesters in Bristol in 2020, representing Rhian Graham. The jury acquitted the protesters in January 2022, and The Times named Ní Ghrálaigh Lawyer of the Week.^[13]

In January 2024, Ní Ghrálaigh returned to the ICJ as a member of the legal team representing South Africa's proceedings accusing Israel of genocide.^[14] In her remarks, Ní Ghrálaigh claimed it to be the "first genocide in history" to be broadcast "in real-time".^[15] She had previously been to the Gaza strip on a legal fact-finding in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead in 2009.^[1]

Bibliography

• "Human Rights, International Justice and the Rule of Law" in Globalisation – A Liberal Response (2007), with Philippe Sands
• "Towards an International Rule of Law?" in Tom Bingham and the Transformation of the Law: A Liber Amicorum (2009), with Philippe Sands
• "Civilian Protections and the Arms Trade Treaty" in The Grey Zone (2018)

References