Michael Hanna
Judge of the High Court
In office
15 November 2004 – 13 July 2023
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMary McAleese
Personal details
BornBelfast, Northern Ireland
NationalityIrish
EducationSt MacNissi's College
Alma mater

Michael Anthony Patrick Hanna is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the High Court from 2004 to 2023.

Early life

Hanna originates from Belfast and was educated at St MacNissi's College. His father was Frank Hanna, a Northern Ireland Labour Party MP.[1] He was educated at Trinity College Dublin and the King's Inns.[2] He is a former auditor of the College Historical Society.[3]

He became a barrister in 1976 and a senior counsel in 1996.[2] Hanna's practice was focused on the Dublin and South-Eastern circuits, where he specialised in personal injury cases and the law of tort.[2] Criminal cases also formed part of his practice.[4]

Judicial career

Hanna was appointed to the High Court in 2004.[5][6] He was appointed following recommendation by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board.[7] He presided over a planning law case involving Van Morrison and his wife Michelle Rocca in 2010.[8] He was the judge in a 2011 case taken by Ryanair against a German ticket sale website, in which he held that ticket scraping was a breach of Ryanair's website terms. This was considered to be the first Irish case involving the enforceability of online terms of service.[9] He often acted as judge at the Court of Criminal Appeal, prior to its disbandment following the establishment of the Court of Appeal.[10]

He frequently heard personal injuries cases when he was on the bench of the High Court. He applied a test of "ordinary common sense" to assess evidence in a personal injuries case involving a woman who had slipped in a car park.[11] This test was endorsed in a judgment of Mary Irvine in the Court of Appeal.[12]

His final sitting as a judge was on 13 July 2023.[13][14]

Personal life

He became ill while in Spain in 2014 and was in an induced coma. He was unable to hear cases for a period of time following.[10] Hanna is a singer of opera.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Six women among 36 called to Bar". The Irish Times. 19 November 1976. p. 14.
  2. ^ a b c "Mr Michael Hanna SC". The Irish Times. 10 November 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  3. ^ "President and Vice Presidents". College Historical Society. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  4. ^ Carolan, Mary (29 June 1999). "Man claims he was put under pressure on murder plea". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Iris Oifigiúil - 19 November 2004, No. 93, 1234" (PDF). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Government selects 11 judges for appointment". The Irish Times. 10 November 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Judicial Appointments Advisory Board Annual Report 2004" (PDF). Courts.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  8. ^ Finneran, Aoife (12 June 2010). "Judge tells the lawyers to 'wise up' as Michelle privacy row drags on". Evening Herald. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  9. ^ "High Court upholds Ryanair's website terms of use in "Screen-Scraping" case". Matheson Solicitors. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  10. ^ a b Kavanagh, Brian (22 January 2014). "High Court judge Hanna in induced coma in Spain". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Insight from Deirdre Munnelly in Mason Hayes & Curran". BizPlus. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  12. ^ Byrne v Ardenheath Company Ltd & Anor, [2017 IECA 293] (Court of Appeal 9 November 2017).
  13. ^ Legal Diary, High Court (13 July 2023).
  14. ^ "Tributes to The Hon. Mr. Justice Michael Hanna to mark his retirement". LinkedIn. Courts Service. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  15. ^ Ingle, Roisin (22 January 2000). "Brief tales". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
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