Remember me
Matheson LLP has announced the appointment of nine new partners across nine different practice areas, effective from 1 January.
The appointments - eight internal promotions and one external hire - bring the total number of partners and tax principals at the firm to 128, reflecting the firm’s continued investment in its client service capabilities.
The firm says the new appointments reinforce Matheson’s strength across a wide range of practice areas, including: Asset Management; Commercial Real Estate; Construction; Employment; Energy; Finance and Capital Markets; Healthcare; Restructuring and insolvency; and Tax.
The new partners and their practice areas are:
Rachel Barry (Employment); Paula Collins (Healthcare); Anna Crowley (Tax); Maeve Delargy (Energy); Andrew Dixon (Finance and Capital Markets); Laura James (Commercial Real Estate); Shane Kennedy (Asset Management); Mary Elizabeth Mahony (Construction); and Kathryn Rice (Restructuring / Insolvency).Matheson Managing Partner, Darren Maher, said, “The promotion of eight talented colleagues, alongside one strategic external hire, demonstrates our commitment to bringing the best expertise to our clients.
“These appointments span nine distinct practice areas, reflecting the breadth and depth of our client service capability and our sector specific expertise.
“They reinforce our position as trusted advisers on the most complex, high-impact matters.”
“As we begin 2026, I am confident that this investment in our partnership will ensure Matheson continues to deliver the expert, commercial advice that our internationally-focused clients require in today's rapidly evolving business environment.”
These partner appointments follow the recent additions to the partnership from other large law firms of Brian Butterwick into Matheson’s Corporate M&A team and of Marie McGinley, who also became Head of Matheson’s Technology and Innovation Group from 1 January 2026.
The nine additions bring the total number of partners and tax principals at the firm to 128
About the new partners
Rachel Barry (Employment)
Rachel provides advisory, transactional and contentious and non-contentious advice to clients in relation to employment and equality law.
She has extensive experience across a range of sectors, with particular expertise in the financial services, technology, life sciences, transport, agribusiness and energy sectors.
She has extensive experience in crisis management with an employment, industrial relations or privacy dimension, including strategically significant litigation, complex transactional work, strategic advisory work and dealing with complex workplace investigations.
Barry also leads Matheson’s corporate immigration practice.
Paula Collins (Healthcare)
Collins’ expertise spans the full spectrum of healthcare litigation services, including clinical negligence, product liability, defamation, regulatory investigations, disciplinary and criminal investigations, and inquests.
She regularly acts in high-value and complex clinical negligence claims before the Circuit Court, the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and has achieved a number of precedent-setting outcomes.
Based in Matheson’s Cork office, Collins also regularly acts for clinicians in complex regulatory investigations before the Medical and Dental Councils.
Her experience also includes personal injuries and product liability litigation and advising clients in respect of future-proofing their businesses against such claims, particularly in the healthcare and medical device sector.
Anna Crowley (Tax)
Crowley advises multinational corporations doing business in and from Ireland, and has a particular interest in transfer pricing, cross-border tax planning and tax controversy matters.
She advises on a broad range of tax issues relating to domestic and cross border tax disputes, intellectual property structuring and advising on the application of EU State aid principles in the context of Irish taxation matters.
Maeve Delargy (Energy)
Delargy specialises in planning, environmental and safety law and has advised on a wide variety of litigious and non-litigious planning and environmental matters.
She advises clients on the full project lifecycle, anticipating regulatory challenges and aligning legal strategy with project goals.
Recognised as a thought leader, with significant regulatory and transactional experience in identifying and mitigating planning and environmental risks, she is a regular speaker at public events on developments and trends in the environmental and planning areas.
Andrew Dixon (Finance and Capital Markets)
Dixon is an Aviation Finance and Transportation Partner in the Finance and Capital Markets Department, advising on aviation, shipping, rail and other asset financing, trading and leasing matters.
He has extensive experience acting for a range of aviation clients including leasing companies, airlines, banks, and funds on a variety of financing and leasing products and structures, including: operating and finance leases; sale and leasebacks; JOLCO structures; debt finance; joint ventures; capital market issuances; pre-delivery payment financing; Islamic financing; and export credit agency-supported financing.
Laura James (Commercial Real Estate)
James has over 10 years’ experience in commercial real estate law, advising clients on some of the largest and most complex real estate transactions in the Irish market.
Recently named as a “Rising Star” in the Legal 500, she was described as ‘very efficient in her dealings with clients and particularly good with international clients who are not familiar with the market’.
Based in Matheson’s Cork office, James has particular expertise in advising owners and operators of data centres in Ireland and has advised on the acquisition, disposal and letting of such assets over the last 10 years.
Shane Kennedy (Asset Management)
Kennedy practices financial services law and advises many of the world’s leading financial institutions, investment banks and asset managers carrying on business through Irish fund vehicles (ICAVs, investment companies, unit trusts, CCFs and ILPs) and Irish domiciled management companies.
He has extensive experience advising domestic and international clients on the structuring, establishment, marketing and sale of both UCITS and alternative investment funds in Ireland across the full range of investment strategies and asset classes.
Mary Liz Mahony (Construction)
Mahony joins Matheson from another leading Irish / international law firm.
Matheson’s Energy, Infrastructure and Construction Group.
She brings over 15 years’ experience acting for stakeholders in resolving challenges and mitigating risks through the full life cycle of construction projects.
Kathryn Rice (Restructuring / Insolvency)
As a partner in Matheson’s Disputes and Investigations Group, Rice provides specialist advice on all aspects of litigation with a particular focus on corporate restructuring and insolvency law.
She has extensive experience advising financial institutions, creditor groups, receivers, examiners and companies on contentious and non-contentious corporate restructuring and insolvency matters, and regularly advises clients in relation to the enforcement of security, recovery of debt and enforcement options. Kathryn has significant experience in advising on both High Court and Commercial Court debt recovery and injunction proceedings.