Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh
 Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh    (barrister) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Blinne Nessa Áine Ní Ghrálaigh |
| Alma mater | Queens' College (Cambridge), University of Westminster, New York University |
Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC is an Irish barrister who has worked in England and Ireland. She specialises in human rights and international law.[1]
On 11 January 2024, Al Jazeera reported:
Irish lawyer Blinne Ni Ghralaigh who is supporting South Africa's legal team at the ICJ, says the number of orphans caused by ‘Israel’s genocidal assault on the Palestinian population in Gaza’ has led to the need for a new acronym: WCNSF - wounded child, no surviving family.[2]
Contents
Background
Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh was raised primarily in London by an Irish family, her mother from Dublin and her father from Mayo. 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. 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.
Career
Ní Ghrálaigh joined Matrix Chambers in 2005. She went to the Gaza Strip on a legal fact-finding in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead in 2009. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales of Ireland, and later 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.
At the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023, Ní Ghrálaigh was appointed to King's Counsel and welcomed as a new silk by Lincoln's Inn. Also in 2022, she was shortlisted for Barrister of the Year by The Lawyer and placed third.
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. In 2017, she secured an acquittal for activists Sam Walton and Dan Woodhouse, who had been arrested for attempting to disarm Typhoon jets they believed were bound for Saudi Arabia to be used to bomb Yemen.
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.
SA-Israel ICJ case
| SA-Israel ICJ case Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC |
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.[3] In her remarks, Ní Ghrálaigh claimed it to be the "first genocide in history" to be broadcast "in real-time".
Craig Murray was in the public gallery of the ICJ, and wrote:
- Undoubtedly the highlight of the entire morning was the astonishing presentation by Irish KC Blinne Ni Ghràlaigh. Her job was to demonstrate that if the Court did not order “provisional measures”, then irreparable damage would be done.
- There are times when a writer must admit defeat. I cannot adequately convey to you the impression she made in that courtroom. Like the rest of the team she eschewed atrocity porn and set out the simple facts plainly but elegantly. She adopted the ploy used by all the South African team, of not using emotional language herself but quoting at length deeply emotional language from senior UN officials. Her outline of daily deaths by type was devastating.
- I simply urge you to listen to her. “Each day over ten Palestinians will have one or more limbs amputated, many without anaesthetic …”[4]
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 Gray Zone (2018)
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:South Africa’s Case Was a Display of International Solidarity - We Should Support It | Article | 12 January 2024 | Jeremy Corbyn | At the International Court of Justice, South Africa spoke on behalf of the billions of people who oppose Israel's genocide in Gaza — and put Western governments to shame for their deplorable complicity. |
References
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