Judge Yvonne Murphy’s appointment as chairwoman of the commission of investigation into matters related to mother and baby homes is her latest such role in high-profile State inquiries.
The retired Circuit Court judge previously led the Government’s commission of investigation into the handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations in the Dublin archdiocese between 1975 and 2004, which led to the publication of what became known as the Murphy report.
Last November she was appointed by then minister for health James Reilly to an advisory position in helping "find closure" for women who had suffered the effects of symphysiotomy.
At the time, the minister noted the “appointment of an independent person of Judge Yvonne Murphy’s calibre will hopefully bring closure for these women for the years of suffering they have endured”.
A former news journalist with RTÉ, Judge Murphy entered the Law Library in the 1980s and was subsequently appointed to the Circuit Court bench in the late 1990s, where she presided mainly over criminal cases and also dealt with family law cases.
UCD awarded her an honorary degree of doctor of laws last December, citing several of her achievements including being called to both the English and Northern Irish Bar.
The university also acknowledged her former positions as vice-chairwoman of the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Employment Equality Agency. From Donegal, she is married to Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman of the Supreme Court, with whom she has three children.
