Séamus Egan (judge)

Séamus Egan
Judge of the Supreme Court
In office
3 May 1991 – 30 November 1995
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMary Robinson
Judge of the High Court
In office
29 June 1984 – 3 May 1991
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byPatrick Hillery
Personal details
Born(1923-12-01)1 December 1923
Dublin, Ireland
Died23 January 2004(2004-01-23) (aged 80)
Dublin, Ireland
Spouse
Ada Leahy
​
(m. 1951)​
Children7
EducationBlackrock College
Alma mater

Séamus Francis Egan[1] (1 December 1923 – 23 January 2004) was an Irish judge and barrister who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1991 to 1995 and a Judge of the High Court from 1984 to 1991.

Early life

Egan was born in 1923 in Dublin to James Egan and Christian O'Donnell. He attended Blackrock College and received a degree from University College Dublin. He attended the King's Inns to train to become a barrister.[2][3]

He was called to the bar in 1945 and became a senior counsel in 1962.[2][4] He spent the early part of his career practising on the Western Circuit.[5]

Between 1963 and 1964, he acted for Gladys Ryan in the case of Ryan v. The Attorney General, challenging the constitutionality of the fluoridation of water in Ireland.[6][7] Though she was unsuccessful, the case established the right to bodily integrity under the Constitution of Ireland and developed the principles of unenumerated rights.[8] In 1979, he represented Francis McGirl who was acquitted of the murder of Louis Mountbatten.[9]

Judicial career

High Court

He made his judicial declaration of office to become a judge of the High Court on 2 July 1984.[10]

In addition to his duties in the High Court, he began presiding over trials in the Special Criminal Court in 1988.[11]

Supreme Court

Egan was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ireland in 1991.[2] He was one of five judges who decided the X Case in 1992, allowing the appeal of the girl, and in 1995 he issued a dissenting opinion in Re. a Ward of Court where he held that the removal of a tube providing food to a woman would be equivalent to killing her.[4][12] He also wrote a dissent in a case involving Patricia McKenna challenging the constitutionality of the government's campaigning for the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.[13]

He retired on 30 November 1995.[11] He was replaced by Donal Barrington.[14]

Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal

Following his retirement, he was appointed to chair the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal.[15]

Personal life

Egan was married to Ada Leahy with whom he had seven children.[2] He built a house on Shrewsbury Road which he sold in 1989.[16] He died in January 2004 at the age of 80. His removal was attended by the Chief Justice Ronan Keane, the Attorney General Rory Brady and the aide-de-camp to the President.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Former Judges of the Supreme Court". www.supremecourt.ie. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Highly popular and well-respected judge". The Irish Times. 31 January 2004. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. ^ TAF (23 February 2004). "Seamus Egan". The Irish Times. p. 15.
  4. ^ a b "Mr Justice Egan, former Supreme Court judge, dies". The Irish Times. 24 January 2004. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  5. ^ "The Bar Review" (PDF). Vol. 9, no. 2. April 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  6. ^ Ryan v. The Attorney General [1965] 1 IR 294.
  7. ^ Mac Cormaic, Chapter 4.
  8. ^ Mac Cormaic, Ruadhan. "A pillar of the nation-building project". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Seamus Egan SC (1979)". RTE. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  10. ^ "The new High Court judge..." The Irish Times. 3 July 1984. p. 8. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Supreme Court judge retires". The Irish Times. 1 December 1995. p. 4. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  12. ^ Mac Cormaic, Chapter 14.
  13. ^ Browne, Vincent. "Judgment on funding may cause havoc in election". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Barrington for Supreme Court". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Paying for our Sins". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Buyer on Shrewsbury plans to demolish Killowen and start over". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  17. ^ Newman, Christine. "Judge remembered as a man of humility". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.

Works cited