Our people

Robert Bourke

Robert Emmet Bourke is the Principal of the firm. He practised at the Bar of Ireland for eight years before qualifying as a solicitor, and his practice is concentrated on corporate and commercial litigation, contentious insolvency, tax disputes and regulatory matters before the High Court, the Commercial Court and professional regulatory bodies.

He was also called to the Bar of Northern Ireland and to the Bar of England and Wales at the Middle Temple in London. He is a Notary Public.

rbourke@reb.ie

Philip Kelly

Philip Kelly is a solicitor with over 40 years’ experience in practice. He founded Kelly Kennedy & Co. in 1979 and was a partner in the firm until 2026, when he joined Robert Emmet Bourke & Co.

Philip is an expert in residential and commercial real estate, with his experience spanning all areas of property law, including real estate investment, development and financing transactions. He acts for residential and commercial developers, investors and both private and corporate clients in relation to sales and acquisitions and development projects.

Philip provides responsive, commercial and solution-focused advice tailored to each client’s individual needs. He places a strong emphasis on building lasting client relationships and delivering a high level of personal service drawing on his extensive practical experience.

philip@reb.ie

Adam McCarthy

Adam McCarthy is a Senior Litigation Solicitor whose practice covers civil and commercial litigation, insolvency, employment, regulatory matters, personal injuries, medical negligence and family law.

He was called to the Bar of Ireland before qualifying as a solicitor, and brings an analytical and practical approach to his work, with a focus on solutions tailored to the client's position.

adam@reb.ie

Alan Brophy

Alan Brophy is Head of Conveyancing and practises in residential and commercial property. With more than ten years of conveyancing experience across purchases, sales, leases, voluntary transfers and refinancing, he acts for private and commercial clients, landlords, tenants and developers.

He has particular experience of complex title issues and of the reconstitution of title. That work includes unregistered and defective titles, first registration in the Land Registry, lost or destroyed title deeds, rights of way, boundaries and other burdens, adverse possession, and the title difficulties that come to light on a sale or a refinance and would otherwise prevent the transaction from completing. He is regularly instructed to put a title in order before it goes to market or to a lender.

Beyond property, Alan recently completed the acquisition, by way of a full share purchase agreement, of an aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul company in Ireland. His interest in aviation is a longstanding one. He previously published an Aviation English book written for trainee aeronautical engineers and trainee commercial pilots, and clients in the aviation sector tend to find that he is already at home with their world when they come to the firm on an aviation matter.

He is committed to clear communication at every stage of a transaction and to a completion that runs to time.

alan@reb.ie

Oonagh Meade

Oonagh Meade is a solicitor with forty years in practice, concentrated on residential and commercial conveyancing and on probate and the administration of estates.

She joined the firm on the amalgamation of Philip Kelly & Co. and leads the firm's probate work, bringing to it the judgement that comes from four decades of acting for families, executors and property owners.

oonagh@reb.ie

Lisa Costello

Lisa Costello is a Senior Legal Executive in the conveyancing team. She joined the firm in 2026 on the amalgamation of Philip Kelly & Co., bringing with her significant experience of large residential and commercial developments.

Much of her work is on large-scale residential developments, which she carries through from the commencement of the site purchase to the completion of the scheme and the sale of the individual units. That includes the acquisition of the site, the preparation of the title and the scheme documentation, the planning, services and management company arrangements that purchasers’ solicitors will require, the replies to requisitions for the units, and the exchange and closing of each unit sale as the scheme is built out.

She manages the progress of transactions from instruction to completion and is the day to day point of contact for many of the firm’s property clients, including developers, lenders and private purchasers.

lisa@reb.ie