Joanna was first appointed to the Commission in April 2025.
Joanna Ralston is a practising Barrister-at-Law with 22 years post qualification experience. She is based in Cork and has a broad general practice on the Cork Circuit, and in Dublin. In particular, Joanna has developed her practice specialising in child and family law. Joanna has a particular interest and expertise in mental health law, capacity law, and the law surrounding vulnerable persons. Joanna holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, a BCL and an LLM (Child and Family Law), First-Class Honours from University College Cork (UCC). Joanna also completed a PhD in the area of mental health law and children’s rights at UCC in December 2022. From 2015 to 2022, Joanna was an assistant law lecturer at the Law School at UCC. From September 2023 to May 2024, Joanna was a lecturer in law at the Law School at UCC.
First Appointed: 04/04/2025
End of Term: 03/04/2030
Position Type: Member
Basis of Appointment: appointed by the Minister of State for Mental Health following a PAS process.
