Ms Justice Fidelma Macken has barely had time to warm her seat on the High Court bench to which she was appointed last December.
She was educated at Scoil an Leanbh in Rinn and the Marist Convent in Carrick-on-Shannon. She graduated in legal science in Trinity College, where she was second in her class. She also studied at the King's Inns and was called to the Bar in 1973.
She then did a master in law degree in the London School of Economics, and was called to the English Bar in 1989. She was one of the lawyers who resigned from the Legal Aid Board in 1990 over its under-funding by the then government.
She had a substantial general practice, but it was her work in preparing a report on the Government handling of the hepatitis C issue which brought her to prominence. She was also appointed to assist Dr Roderick Murphy in his inquiry into the sex abuse in swimming scandal.
In her brief career she has become highly regarded as a judge, and the overwhelming reaction from lawyers last night to her appointment was annoyance that she was going from the High Court. "She's a hard worker, she turns up and does the cases. She's just a loss to the High Court," was a typical comment.