Mr Michael Hanna SC is originally from Belfast. He studied in Trinity College Dublin, where he was a contemporary and close friend of the Tánaiste, Ms Mary Harney.
They were both members of the Fianna Fáil cumann in the college and succeeded each other as auditors of the college's Historical Society.
Mr Hanna studied law at the King's Inns and was called to the Bar in 1976.
He became a senior counsel in 1996, practising on the south- eastern circuit as well as in Dublin.
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He practised mainly in the areas of tort and personal injury law, including medical negligence.
He enjoys singing and has performed alongside Mr Justice Peter Kelly in legal productions for charity of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury.