Pilkington attended University College Dublin, from where she obtained a BA degree in 1981.
[3] She was a member of the Property Registration Authority and was appointed to the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal in 2013.
[8] She has heard cases involving defamation, contractual disputes, procurement law, injunctions, bankruptcy, insolvency, company law and judicial review.
[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] In 2018, she rejected an application by Nóirín O'Sullivan to bring defamation proceedings against the Irish Examiner.
[19] In August 2020, she was nominated to fill a vacancy on the Court of Appeal following the retirement of Brian McGovern.