E131 The Fifth Court

Co-host of the Fifth Court, Peter Leonard, BL, met with Kirk Offel at the Dublin Tech Summit, promoter of the 5th Industrial Revolution.

'Data centres are the most important things to be manufactured in the world'. That's Kirk's view and that's just the beginning of this terrific chat about all things AI and Data Centres.

Kirk is not your typical tech CEO. From a military family, a former US Navy submariner, nuclear-trained engineer, cancer survivor, and now founder of Overwatch Mission Critical, he brings a mix of discipline, resilience, and purpose to the fast-changing world of digital infrastructure. His company designs and delivers the data centres that make the cloud, AI, and mission-critical systems possible — what he likes to call “the sky for the cloud.”

You'll also learn everything you ever wondered about life in a submarine under the ocean...though some of what he's done he can't talk about.

Before that, Peter and Mark Tottenham, BL, examine notable recent court decisions featured on Decisis.ie including:

• A 'Proceeds of Crime' case and whether it should be reopened with new material comes to light?
• A case full of energy, including a windfarm, a hydrogen plant and turf-cutting.
• Another planning case, this one regarding an old paint factory that was being used to house migrants. It turned out to be a moot case.

Whether you're in practice or just passionate about the law, this episode is a must-listen for its clarity, depth, and practical relevance.

Sponsored by Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners – family law with a collaborative approach.

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

Episode 130 – The Fifth Court

Recorded at the Dublin Tech Summit, Peter Leonard BL speaks with Ukrainian Dr. Anna Mysyshyn, a leading expert in AI ethics, regulation, cybersecurity, and digital governance. Anna holds a PhD in Law and an LL.M. in Innovation and Technology, bringing both academic depth and practical insight to one of the most pressing issues facing courts, regulators, and governments worldwide: how to balance innovation with accountability in the age of AI.

Before that, they examine notable recent court decisions featured on Decisis.ie including:

• A claim of 'adverse possession'...and fabricated documents. Judge Nolan declared it a fraud.
• A case involving an illegal adoption. A claim was made against the religious order that arranged the adoption, as well as against the State.
• A case where the court was asked to order the Minister for Defence to tell if there had been any side effects from the use of anti-malaria drug, Lariam.

Whether you're in practice or just passionate about the law, this episode is a must-listen for its clarity, depth, and practical relevance.

Sponsored by Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners – family law with a collaborative approach.

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

Episode 129 The Fifth Court

Elizabeth Winkler is an acclaimed literary critic and investigative journalist whose work spans some of the world’s most respected publications. She chats to Mark Tottenham BL on this episode of the Law Society of Ireland Award Winning Podcast.

A graduate of Princeton with a master’s in English literature from Stanford, Elizabeth has built a reputation for fearless, insightful storytelling that challenges received wisdom.

In her book Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies she dives into one of literature’s most incendiary debates—the authorship of Shakespeare—and explores how the controversy reflects wider questions about authority, identity, and who gets to shape history. It's a subject that has intrigued judges and lawyers for centuries. With wit and intellectual rigour, Winkler invites you to question long-held assumptions, making her a captivating guest for any conversation about literature, law, and the power of ideas.

Her cultural recommendation is 'The Third Reich of Dreams: The Nightmares of a Nation' written by Charlotte Beradt

Before that, they examine notable recent court decisions featured on Decisis.ie including:

• A case about wills and probate...two wills followed by a codicil that refers to an earlier will. Legal arguments followed.
• A medical negligence case. A claim that a maternity hospital was negligent in the treatment of a patient.
• A party to a settlement wasn't happy with her legal team.

Whether you're in practice or just passionate about the law, this episode is a must-listen for its clarity, depth, and practical relevance.

Sponsored by Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners – family law with a collaborative approach.

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

E128 The Fifth Court – Drawing the Line: The Story of the Irish Boundary Commission

Dr. Cormac Moore – an historian with Dublin City Council’s Historian-in-Residence programme and author of Birth of the Border: The Impact of Partition in Ireland. He is a recognised authority on the politics, personalities, and legal frameworks surrounding the Irish border.

It was meant to settle the border between North and South once and for all. Instead, it nearly collapsed the Irish Free State government. On this episode of The Fifth Court, barristers Peter Leonard and Mark Tottenham are joined by historian Dr. Cormac Moore, who explains the secretive, scandal-ridden tale of the Irish Boundary Commission of 1924–25—a political time bomb buried in the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

From leaked maps to aborted transfers of land, Dr. Moore lays out how the Commission’s quietly explosive findings were suppressed, how the Free State’s hopes were dashed, and why the whole affair continues to echo in Irish constitutional law and cross-border politics today.

Cormac's cultural reference...a movie 'The Treaty' on YouTube, and he also loves 'Amadeus', the movie.

Before that, they examine notable recent court decisions featured on Decisis.ie including:

• An AI case...artificial insemination that is. A case about bull semen and a woman who, it was claimed, was acting as though she were a vet. The Veterinary Council of Ireland got involved.
• A defamation case where the wrong person was identified as having been on the tax defaulters list. Qualified privilege did not arise.
• A case involving a medical practitioner who it was said about him, had a persistent delusional disorder. The Medical Council was on one side.

Whether you're in practice or just passionate about the law, this episode is a must-listen for its clarity, depth, and practical relevance.

Sponsored by Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners – family law with a collaborative approach.

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

On Episode 127 of The Fifth Court, hosts Peter Leonard BL and Mark Tottenham BL are joined by Matthew Holmes BL, author of Habeas Corpus: Practice and Procedure. (This is his sixth book!). They delve into the historical roots, practical applications, and enduring importance of habeas corpus in modern Irish law. Everything you need to know in 30 minutes (but you'll still want to buy the book!). He makes mention of a very special case involving the people of Laois. If you're from Laois, or know people from the county, you will have to listen to this, and have a good chuckle.

Matthew's culture recommendation is 'D-Day - The Battle for Normandy' by Antony Beevor. His movie choice is 28 Years Later.

Before that, they examine notable recent court decisions featured on Decisis.ie including:

• Ward V DPP re the validity of a certificate by Forensics Science Ireland
• A case involving a question around a land dispute, and a deposit and whether they got the deposit back?
• A case involving Starbuck franchise directors and their failure to pay rent.

offering expert insight into the evolving Irish legal landscape.

Whether you're in practice or just passionate about the law, this episode is a must-listen for its clarity, depth, and practical relevance.

Sponsored by Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners – family law with a collaborative approach.

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

Episode 126, The Fifth Court featuring – Catastrophe: Nakba II with author Fintan Drury (Legal & Human Rights Special)

Fintan Drury’s Catastrophe: Nakba II is a punch in the gut—not a balanced history lesson. On The Fifth Court, we dig into the polemical argument beneath the exhaustive research, and why it reads more like a rallying cry than a neutral narrative. As a lawyer, judge, or rights campaigner, you’ll find it both infuriating and illuminating.

Expect:

• Legal flashpoints and human rights redlines
• The rule of law and the right to self-defence
• A call to action underneath the history

If you care about international law, ending impunity, or simply understanding how history becomes a platform for justice, this episode is for you.

Listen, discuss, and REPOST this episode to your network—because silence isn't an option.

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

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

This episodes cases include;

• A family law case, whether a court can interfere in the sequence of calling a witness
• The National Transport Authority v Anderson, whether the NTA was allowed to carry out a 'covert' investigation
• Veterinary Council of Ireland case to do whether a vet could be struck off on a summary basis

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or at thefifthcourt.ie and give us a Five Star ***** Review!

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

Episode 125 The Fifth Court

John Brennan ran America’s most secretive operations as CIA director. Now he’s sharing what he learned about balancing intelligence, justice, and democracy. From briefing presidents to confronting terror, Brennan gives The Fifth Court a rare insider’s view—and explains why Ireland’s Centre for Justice and Law Reform Summer School 2025 could shape vital global conversations. The Fifth Court co-presenter Peter Leonard seized his chance to get a rare interview with this world player. Fascinating.

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.

This episodes cases include;

• Were the Garda Siochana justified in refusing station bail following an arrest for an alleged breach of a barring order
• 'Passing off', Yoplait V Nutrica (maker of Danone)
• Mount Salus Residents V An Bord Pleanala involving a County Development Plan

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or at thefifthcourt.ie and give us a Five Star ***** Review!

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

Conversation from the Bench, Retired Judge Alice Doyle at the Inaugural Kilkenny Law Festival

Recorded live at the Kilkenny Law Festival, this special episode of The Fifth Court — recent Merit Award winner of the Law Society of Ireland's Awards — features a wide-ranging conversation with Retired Circuit Judge Alice Doyle. With over two decades on the bench, Judge Doyle shares rare insights into the pressures of presiding over criminal, family, and civil cases across Ireland.

She is very self-effacing about her school days and her lack of qualifications early on...however she made up for it later.

She discusses the human stories behind the courtroom, including her first time giving a long sentence for a crime, the evolution of legal practice, and life after retirement. A must-listen for legal professionals and court-watchers alike.

Her culture recommendation? A movie, 'My Cousin Vinnie'.

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.

This episodes cases include;

• An appeal of findings of 'professional misconduct' - a solicitor was not happy with a disciplinary hearing finding
• A case where a child was not entitled to special care as all other options had not been exhausted
• A case involving a Garda disciplinary issue where the Garda was seeking a Judicial Review

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