Chief Justice Mathilda Twomey

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With her recent appointment (August 2015) as Chief Justice of Seychelles, Mathilda Twomey has had an interesting career path to date. Originally from Mahe, Seychelles, Chief Justice Twomey is the first Seychellois woman to hold the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Seychelles.

Qualifying as a lawyer and admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1987, Mathilda worked as a lawyer in Seychelles in a private practice before moving to Ireland in 1995. In 1996 she was a regional coordinator for Multiple Sclerosis Ireland, the nongovernmental organisation working in advocacy, policy development and legal advice for people with disabilities.

In March 2011, while studying for an LLM at NUI Galway, she was appointed to the Court of Appeal of Seychelles, making her the first female judge in the history of Seychelles. Mathilda completed her PhD last summer and was appointed Chief Justice of Seychelles on 9 August 2015. She will now combine both roles, serving both courts with equal energy and fervour.

While reminiscing about her time spent at NUI Galway, Mathilda recalled having highly stimulating and intellectual discussions with academic staff and students during her time in Galway, and is thankful for the close friendships she formed from her time as a student and lecturer.

We look forward to following Chief Justice Twomey’s story as she spearheads constitutional and structural reforms to bring the Seychelles judicial system ‘into the 21st century’ and hope to see her back on campus at NUI Galway soon.

Offering a little advice to current students, Chief Justice Twomey advised:

“know that your dreams can be realised....also know that study on its own can be extremely fulfilling and rewarding”