Karen O'Connor (judge)

She was called to the Bar in 1993.^[3] During her career as a barrister she frequently appeared in criminal trials, often prosecuting on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions.^[4] She acted in cases involving sexual offences, drug offences, theft, murder and assault.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

O'Connor became a judge of the Circuit Court in November 2014.^[10] She presided over criminal trials in the Circuit Court.^[11][12] She was initially not assigned to a circuit and heard cases in Galway.^[13][14] She was assigned to the Dublin Circuit between 2017 and 2021.^[2][15][16]

O'Connor was the presiding judge in the criminal trials of Tom Humphries in 2017 and David Drumm in 2018.^[17][18] The Drumm trial lasted for 16 weeks.^[19]

The Irish government agreed to nominate her to become a judge of the High Court in November 2021.^[1] She was appointed on 6 December 2021.^[20]