[2] As a barrister, he was senior counsel to the inquiry into abuse in the Catholic diocese of Ferns (the Ferns Report),[3] and was chairman of the Compensation Advisory Committee that prepared guidelines on compensation to be paid to abuse survivors at the Residential Institutions Redress Board.
[4] In September 2003, Ryan was selected to head the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse following the controversial resignation of the previous chair, Judge Mary Laffoy,[5] who claimed her work had been systematically obstructed by the Department of Education.
[4] The government appointed him a High Court judge, without seeking a recommendation from the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board,[6] "to guarantee that the integrity and independence of the chairperson will be maintained.
"[3] Ryan published the commission's public report on 20 May 2009 and it was immediately hailed as "a work of incalculable value to this country"[7] and praised for its "meticulous gathering of evidence",[8] though "Justice has not been done as many of the abusers will never face the rigours of the law.
"[9] In 2014, he was named by the Government as the president designate of the newly established Court of Appeal.