Siobhan Keegan

Keegan was educated at St. Clare's Primary School and Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.^[3][4]

She studied law at Queen's University Belfast and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in July 1993. After further study, she was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 1994.^[4]

Keegan became a barrister when she was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 1994.^[4] She specialised in family law but has also had experience in criminal law and judicial review.^[3]

She was made a Queen's Counsel (QC) in June 2006.^[4] Between 2011 and 2013, she served as Chair of the Family Bar Association.^[4] In 2014, she was elected Vice Chair of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland.^[5]

For each of the financial years from 2013 to 2015, Keegan was the fourth-highest-earning barrister in Northern Ireland in terms of legal aid, having received £504,177 in 2012/2013, £513,405 in 2013/2014, and £427,632 in 2014/2015.^[6][7][8]

On 23 October 2015, Keegan was appointed a judge of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.^[3][9] She was sworn into office by Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, at the same time as Denise McBride.^[10] This made Keegan and McBride jointly the first female high court judges of Northern Ireland.^[3][5] On 23 November, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).^[11]

On 16 June 2021, Keegan was nominated to be Northern Ireland's first female Lord Chief Justice.^[12][13] Keegan chose to be styled Lady Chief Justice and was sworn-in on 2 September 2021.^[14] On 29 September, Keegan was appointed to the Privy Council.^[15]