E122 The Fifth Court

Frank McNally, author of Irish Times 'An Irishman's Diary', on Bloomsday, June 16th 1904 - The many legal themes running through one of the great English language books.

His cultural recommendation, 'The Third Policeman', by Flann O'Brien

His movie choice is 'All the President's Men'

The episode also includes recent important cases drawn from the Decisis casebook and discussed by Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL.

These cases are brought to you thanks to Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners, Georges St. Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Cases include

• A Personal Injuries case involving the Hotel Kilkenny and a claim about a wet floor
• A case where a businessman breached several equitable reliefs
• A judgement debt that had not been extinguished by a previous settlement agreement

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 121 of The Fifth Court is the first of a mini-series of the podcast recorded at the Kilkenny Law Festival 2025, held from May 16–18 in Kilkenny City. It offered a dynamic weekend of discussions on contemporary and historical legal topics aimed at making legal discourse accessible and engaging, blending serious analysis with entertainment - a bit like our own podcast!

The event featured a diverse lineup of speakers, including judges, journalists, academics, and legal practitioners. Topics ranged from the impact of AI and blockchain on the legal profession to discussions on censorship, defamation, and constitutional reform.

• On this episode co-host Peter Leonard chats to Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger, appointed as a Judge of the High Court in January 2022. She is very well known for work in employment and equality law. She co-authored seminal legal texts such as Criminal Law (with Peter Charleton and Paul Anthony McDermott), Sex Discrimination and the Law, and Employment Equality Law and served as Chairperson of the Employment Bar Association of Ireland as well as being a member of the executive board of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.
• Notable Judgments:
• In a 2024 case, emphasized the importance of firsthand recollections in traumatic events, stating that assumptions about memory fading shouldn't apply to unusual incidents like witnessing a death outside a nightclub.
• In 2025, ruled that a plaintiff's claim regarding defective breast implants was sufficiently pleaded, allowing the case to proceed.

Her cultural recommendation, 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia (2025) by Phillipe Sands. He examines the cases of Augusto Pinochet and Nazi officer Walther Rauff, highlighting issues of impunity and international justice.

The episode also includes recent important cases drawn from the Decisis casebook and discussed by Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL.

These cases are brought to you thanks to Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners, Georges St. Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Cases include

• A case involving a failure to comply with a court order
• A wind turbine operation restriction to minimise noise, particularly at night
• A High Court decision involving a Norwich Pharmacal Order, a type of court order compelling a third party—usually an innocent but involved party, like an internet service provider, bank, or social media platform—to disclose information that can help identify a wrongdoer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Ciara Smyth, a distinguished lecturer at the School of Law at University of Galway She is the Programme Director for the LLM in International Migration and Refugee Law and Policy at the Irish Centre for Human Rights. Her expertise lies in the areas of asylum law, refugee protection, and human rights.

She talks about her very early experiences in post Pol Pot Cambodia

She later worked with the UNHCR in Dublin

This episode is essential listening for anyone and everyone who would like to know how both the refugee and international protection systems work.

Ciara's legal/cultural recommendation is a movie called 'The Swimmers'

The episode also includes recent important cases drawn from the Decisis casebook. These are brought to you thanks to Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners, Georges St. Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Case include

• Northern Ireland administration and whether it was recognised in Ireland - very interesting in terms of law across the two jurisdictions
• A case involving the demolition of historic properties and an assessment that was not carried out.
• The sale of farmland and an injunction that was sought, claiming the land was being sold under its correct value.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.