Deirdre Malone is the Director of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, and a former Global Director within the legal policy team at Twitter. She holds an honours degree in law from Trinity College Dublin (2003) and a diploma in Charity Law, Trusteeship and Governance from the Law Society of Ireland (2020). She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2006 and practiced for several years from Garden Court Chambers, as a barrister specialising in inquests and actions against the police. She was Executive Director of the national NGO the Irish Penal Reform Trust 2014-2019 and was also Legal Manager of the Public Interest Law Alliance, a public interest law network that seeks to engage the legal community and civil society in using the law to advance social change from 2019-2021. Previously Deirdre has also worked in the legal department of Liberty (National Council for Civil Liberties UK), in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ireland), and as a legal researcher for the Irish Attorney General.