Founding Patron

Professor Geoffrey Shannon is a solicitor and the Government Special Rapporteur for Child Protection. He is the Chairman of the Adoption Authority of Ireland and is the Irish Expert Member on the Commission on European Family Law.  Professor Shannon is the recipient of several awards for his work in the area of children's rights and national and international family law. These include the 2005 JCI Outstanding Person of the Year Award, the 2006 Canon Maurice Handy Award and the 2013 Irish Law Award. Professor Shannon is a prolific author and has written leading texts on national and international child and family law. He is also the editor of the Irish Journal of Family Law.