Patricia Ryan (judge)

Patricia Ryan is an Irish judge who has served as President of the Circuit Court since 2019 and a Judge of the Circuit Court since July 2002.

Early life
Ryan attended University College Dublin and the King's Inns. She was called to the Irish Bar in 1984. She acted in cases including those involving personal injuries.

She was appointed a vice-chairperson of the Employment Appeals Tribunal in 1998 and was re-appointed in 2001.

Circuit Court
Ryan was nominated to the Circuit Court in June 2002 and appointed in July 2002. She has presided over criminal law trials involving dangerous driving, manslaughter, fraud, sexual offences, theft, harassment, health and safety law, and drugs offences.

She sat on the Special Criminal Court.

President of the Circuit Court
She became the President of the Circuit Court in July 2019.

Personal life
Ryan married Brian Lenihan Jnr in 1997 with whom she had two children. Lenihan died in 2011.