New High Court judge Kevin Feeney was formally appointed to the bench this afternoon.
President Mary McAleese performed the ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin today.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell also attended.
Mr Feeney was educated in Gonzaga College, UCD and the King's Inns, and was called to the Bar in 1973. He became a senior counsel in 1991.
He is a member of the Bar of England and Wales and also of the Northern Ireland bar.
He stepped down as senior counsel at the Oireachtas committee set up to inquire into the conduct of Judge Brian Curtin once he was nominated to the High Court.
His practice included lengthy commercial cases such as the Bula and Tara mines case, which sat for 279 days, and the recent Fyffes and DCC case, as well as a number of high-profile defamation actions.