Tipperary barrister to work on innocence project cases in the United States

A Clonmel woman is one of three junior barristers practising in criminal law who have been selected to work on wrongful conviction cases with the Wisconsin Innocence Project and the Innocence Project of Florida in the United States.

Róisín O’Mara from Russelstown, Clonmel, was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2020.

She will spend three months in Wisconsin, advocating for the release and/or exoneration of cases presenting meritorious innocence claims based on evidence of innocence, and promote necessary criminal justice reform to avoid wrongful incarcerations in the future.

Róisín O’Mara, BL, says “The Innocence Project scholarship is an unique opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of the wrongfully convicted.

“I look forward to applying my own legal and non-legal experience to the review of cases.

“I strongly encourage all junior members interested in developing a practice in criminal law to apply”.

The daughter of Eamonn and Fiona O’Mara, Róisín is a past pupil of the Sisters of Charity National School and the Loreto Secondary School, Clonmel.

She completed a degree in Midwifery in UCD, as well as a Masters in Common Law in UCD, before graduating from King’s Inns with a Barrister at Law degree.

Since 2010 The Bar of Ireland, the representative body for the barristers’ profession in Ireland, has supported junior members to travel to the US to work on innocence project cases, aimed at exonerating wrongfully convicted people.

The scholarships cover travel and living expenses for the three-month period, enabling the recipients to fully immerse themselves in their work with the respective innocence projects.

During their time in the US, they will collaborate with legal experts, review case files, conduct investigations and assist in preparing legal documents aimed at exonerating individuals who have been wrongfully convicted.