Overview
Niamh practices exclusively in family law. Prior to joining the Bar in England, she worked as a Barrister and in other legal disciplines in the Republic of Ireland, the Middle East, and the USA. Niamh holds a specialist qualification in international arbitration.
Niamh is instructed in public and private law children cases. Niamh also represents clients in family finance cases. Niamh’s experience and expertise of family law in both England and Ireland ensures she is regularly instructed on matters involving cross-boarder issues between both jurisdictions in financial proceedings and Children Act proceedings.
Niamh also undertakes child abduction work, involving the use of the 1980 Hague Convention, Brussels II Revised regulation. Niamh’s knowledge of the law and practices of many jurisdictions from her international experience gives her a particular edge in this field.
Niamh is also qualified to accept direct access instructions.
Niamh’s diverse background stretches across multiple international jurisdictions including the Republic of Ireland, the USA and various countries within the Middle East and Asia. Prior to commencing her practice as a barrister, Niamh also worked as an in-house legal advisor for an international oil and gas company providing legal advice across multiple jurisdictions. Niamh also worked as a Dispute Specialist Consultant for an international claims’ consultancy whereby she advised on and developed strategies to execute the most efficient and effective dispute resolution proceedings for her clients. Niamh also holds a specialist qualification in respect of international arbitration.
Niamh has also practiced in the DIFC Courts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Niamh acted as lead and co-counsel in a number of disputes before the DIFC Courts in addition to acting as lead counsel in international and domestic arbitration disputes in the UAE.
Rights of Audience
- Niamh is qualified to accept instructions and represent clients in court in both England and Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
Direct Access
- Niamh is Direct Access qualified and can be directly instructed by members of the public through Direct Public Access. Please contact the clerks as 5SAH if you would like to instruct her directly.
Family & Children & International Family
Family Finance and Divorce
Niamh represents clients in financial remedies proceedings. Niamh has experience dealing with more complex matters within financial proceedings such as trusts, interveners, bankruptcy, divorce, TOLATA, and often with cases having an international dimension. Niamh has experience drafting pre and post nuptial agreements. Niamh is also instructed by clients based outside of England and Wales (Ireland and UAE) but subject to financial proceedings within this jurisdiction due to her broad experience having worked in all three jurisdictions.
Private Children
Niamh has extensive experience representing clients in a broad range of private children applications such as child arrangements, relocation (national and international), child abduction, child maintenance and Schedule 1 applications. Niamh also represents clients in what are often ancillary applications relating to domestic abuse. In addition to representing parents within these types of proceedings, Niamh has also acted for grandparents, guardians, and special guardians.
International Family Law
Within her private children practice, Niamh is regularly instructed on international child abduction cases and relocation cases. Niamh has experience with both Hague Convention and non-Convention proceedings concerning child abduction.
Niamh has recently presented a webinar on the subject of International Child Abduction and has written several articles for Family Law Week also focused on this topic. Niamh’s most recent cases in this area involved representing parties who were successful in obtaining orders for the return of their children from the UK to the USA and Lithuania.
Care Proceedings
Niamh has vast experience acting for local authorities, parents and guardians in public law children proceedings. In particular, Niamh has represented clients in cases of neglect, abuse, domestic violence, and non-accidental injuries and adoption. Niamh has also represented parties in applications for Deprivation of Liberty (DOLS). Additionally, Niamh completed an in-house secondment within a local authority gaining invaluable experience on the inner workings of local authorities and their approach to public law proceedings.
Most notably, Niamh represented a local Authority in complex proceedings in the High Court for a wardship application which also involved extraction of a child from Syria and a prohibition on press releasing information.
Niamh has represented and advised a local authority in respect of a child who was already subject to a public law order in the jurisdiction of England and Wales and was subsequently subject to public law proceedings in Ireland.
Additional Information
Education
- LLB (Hons): Irish Law.
- Barrister at Law Degree: Kings Inns, Ireland.
- PGDip Int. Dispute Resolution (Arbitration) Queen Mary University, London.
- Called to the Bar of Ireland: 2011.
- Called to the Bar of England and Wales: 2019.
Awards
- Niamh was selected by the Bar Council of Ireland for a secondment to the internationally renowned Innocence Project in Ohio, USA in 2016.
- Niamh was also the winner of the Young Barrister of the Family Lawyers Association of Ireland 2016.
Articles and Publications
- Family Law Week: Re T (Abduction: Protective Measures: Agreement to Return) [2023] EWCA Civ 1415 (“Re T”): Lessons to be learned
- Family Law Week: Re T [2023] EWCA Civ 1415
- Family Law Week: T v G EWHC 246 (FAM) [2024]
- 5SAH Family Law Update: October 2023
- New Law Journal: Thoroughly Modern Will Disputes
- FT Advisor: Navigating Maintenance Orders Post-Brexit
Professional Memberships
- Middle Temple.
- Family Law Bar Association (FLBA).
- Family Lawyers Association of Ireland.
- Child Abduction Lawyers Association.
