Greg Ó Ceallaigh
Practice
Greg specialises in asylum and immigration law.
Greg’s work consists of asylum, human rights, deportation, detention, citizenship/nationality, work and education visas, family reunion and other entry clearance work. Greg is an experienced Tribunal advocate both at the First Tier and the Upper Tribunal.
Greg has a particular interest in immigration detention and has represented detainees at every level from the Tribunal to the Administrative Court. He frequently appears pro bono on behalf of Bail for Immigration Detainees.
Greg has a substantial public law practice involving judicial reviews of immigration decisions, notably in detention, nationality, third country, age assessment and children’s long residence matters. He has much experience of urgent removal cases and is comfortable taking instructions at short notice.
Greg is one of the authors of Butterworths’ Immigration Law Service, where he has responsibility for the chapters on Immigration Detention, Illegal Entry, Removal and Deportation, and General (including concessions and the Immigration Rules).
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Greg trained at Garden Court Chambers and Tooks Chambers before becoming a tenant at 1 Pump Court.
Before pupillage Greg worked as a researcher for Keir Starmer QC, the current Director of Public Prosecutions. He was a paralegal at Janes Solicitors while volunteering at the AIRE Centre advising on European law and human rights to members of the public. He assisted in research for Blackstone’s Guide to the Identity Cards Act 2006.
Greg has a degree in Philosophy and English from Trinity College Dublin and a Masters’ Degree in Legal and Political Theory from University College London. He completed his CPE at City University and BVC at the Inns of Court School of Law.
In 2005 Greg was awarded a Gold Medal for Oratory by the University Philosophical Society of Trinity College Dublin.
In 2006 Greg was awarded the Otto Rix Scholarship by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.
NOTABLE CASES
R (Abdullah) v Secretary of State for the Home Department QBD (2010) (as a junior): successful challenge to the SSHD’s detention of the Claimant for 3 years.
R(Kumlachew) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: judicial review of the SSHD’s refusal to grant citizenship following compulsory involvement in the Dergue regime (citizenship granted with costs following grant of permission).
PK(Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: appeal to court of Appeal following of misapplication of RN(Zimbabwe), appeal allowed by consent following grant of permission, costs awarded.
AM(Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: appeal to Court of Appeal following of misapplication of RN(Zimbabwe), appeal allowed by consent following grant of permission.
MEMBERSHIPS
Haldane Society; London Irish Lawyers Association (Committee Member); Young Legal Aid Lawyers.
PRO BONO / COMMUNITY WORK
Greg undertakes a large volume of pro bono work both in immigration law (including for BID) and other areas including employment, social security and education law.
Greg was a runner-up at the Bar Pro Bono Award 2009 with a team from Tooks Chambers for work on an application to the Human Rights Appeal Panel in Kosovo on behalf of the family of Mon Balaj.
Greg previously worked on a team writing the legal arguments for an amicus curiae on behalf of Binyam Mohammed (detained at the time in Guantanamo Bay), in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld in the United States Supreme Court.
OTHER INTERESTS
Greg considers himself a triathlete based on very limited evidence. He enjoys playing and watching football.
LANGUAGES
Irish (fluent); French (conversational); German (basic)
