In 2008, Anna was admitted to the Law Society of Ireland and in 2010, she was admitted to the UK Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Prior to this, Anna attended University College Dublin and after studying for one year in Switzerland, she attained a European BCL degree in law. Following this, she completed a Masters in Commercial Law, graduating with honours. Anna then went on to qualify as a Solicitor in Eversheds Sutherland, a commercial law firm in Dublin. After 15 years with Eversheds Sutherland, having become a partner, she moved to take up her current position of General Counsel and Company Secretary with the Mater Hospital Group.
As General Counsel and Company Secretary to 7 boards within the Mater Group, Anna advises the respective Chairs and directors on all aspects of corporate governance and compliance as well as providing induction training for all new directors. On a day to day basis, Anna works with the CEOs and senior management of the hospitals in the Group to assist them with company law matters, charity requirements, data protection including GDPR, patient consent issues, protected and open disclosure, emergency ward of court High Court applications as well as commercial contracts.
In June 2019, Anna took up the position of external independent director for the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP). www.icgp.ie
Anna is also a guest lecturer for the Law Society of Ireland on its Diploma in Law and Diploma in Employment Law courses. She is a member of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association employment law committee which works to promote the welfare and interests of solicitors through continuous professional development.
In McAteer v South Tipperary County Council (2014), the employee was an Evangelical Christian. He often spoke about his faith with his co-workers and complaints were raised. He was asked to desist from sharing his faith during the course of the working day, including during his break. The employee undertook to desist but failed to do so and was ultimately called to a disciplinary meeting and received a written warning. After further faith sharing incidents with members of the public, he respectively received a final written warning, suspension and dismissal.
The Equality Officer (“EO”) found that the manifestation of religious beliefs is covered by the Employment Equality Acts. The EO also confirmed that staff were asked to monitor the employee and his interactions and this amounted to less favourable treatment based on religion. The EO was also satisfied that the ban on faith sharing disproportionately impacted on persons of the Evangelical Christian faith and this was not objectively justified, particularly because there was no evidence of how the Council was brought into disrepute. The employee was awarded €70,000.
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