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Frank Clarke (judge)

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Frank Clarke
12th Chief Justice of Ireland
In office
28 July 2017 – 10 October 2021
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Preceded bySusan Denham
Succeeded byDonal O'Donnell
Judge of the Supreme Court
In office
15 March 2012 – 10 October 2021
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Judge of the High Court
In office
15 November 2004 – 15 March 2012
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMary McAleese
Personal details
Born (1951-10-10) 10 October 1951 (age 73)
Walkinstown, Dublin, Ireland
Spouse
Jacqueline Hayden
(m. 1977)
Children2
EducationDrimnagh Castle
Alma mater
Profession

George Bernard Francis Clarke[1] (born 10 October 1951[2][3]) is an Irish barrister who was Chief Justice of Ireland from July 2017 to October 2021.

Clarke had a successful career as a barrister for many years, with a broad practice in commercial law and public law. He was the chair of the Bar Council of Ireland between 1993 and 1995. He was appointed to the High Court in 2004 and he became a judge of the Supreme Court in February 2012. Following his retirement from the bench, he returned to work as a barrister. He is currently the President of the Irish Society for European Law.[4]

Across his career as a barrister and a judge, he has been involved in many seminal cases in Irish legal history.

Early life and education

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Clarke was born on 10 October 1951, in Walkinstown, Dublin.[5] He is the son of a customs officer who died when he was aged eleven; his mother was a secretary.[1] He was educated at Drimnagh Castle Secondary School, a Christian Brothers secondary school in Dublin.[5] He won the Dublin Junior High Jump Championship in 1969.[6] He studied Economics and Maths at undergraduate level in University College Dublin, while he concurrently studied to become a barrister at King's Inns.[1][7] He was the first of his family to attend third level education and was able to attend university by receiving grants.[8][6] While attending University College Dublin, he lost an election to Adrian Hardiman to become auditor of the L&H.[9]

He joined Fine Gael after leaving school. He was a speechwriter for Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and election agent for George Birmingham, he then subsequently, himself, ran for election to Seanad Éireann.[10] He campaigned against the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland in 1983 and in favour of the unsuccessful Tenth Amendment of the Constitution in 1986.[1][11] He chaired a meeting of family lawyers in 1995 supporting the successful second referendum on divorce.[12]

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He was called to the Bar in 1973 and to the Inner Bar in 1985.[13] He had a practice in commercial, constitutional and family law. Two years after commencing practice he appeared as junior counsel for the applicant in State (Healy) v Donoghue[14] before the Supreme Court, which established a constitutional right to legal aid in criminal cases.[1]

Clarke represented Michael McGimpsey and his brother Christopher in a challenge against the constitutionality of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which was ultimately unsuccessful in the Supreme Court in 1988.[15]

He appeared for the plaintiff with Michael McDowell and Gerard Hogan in Cox v Ireland in 1990, where the Supreme Court first introduced proportionality into Irish constitutional law and discovered the right to earn a livelihood.[16] He represented Seán Ardagh and the Oireachtas Subcommittee formed after the death of John Carthy in a constitutional case which limited the powers of investigation of the Oireachtas,[17] which led to the unsuccessful Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution.[18] In an action taken by tobacco companies to challenge the legality of bans on tobacco advertising, he appeared for the State.[19]

Clarke was twice appointed by the Supreme Court for the purpose of Article 26 references.[20] He argued on behalf of the Law Society of Ireland in a referral regarding the Adoption (No. 2) Bill 1987.[21] He was appointed by the Supreme Court to appear to argue on behalf of the rights of the mother in In re Article 26 and the Regulation of Information (Services outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Bill 1995.[22] In 1994, President Mary Robinson requested him to provide her with legal advice on the presidential prerogative to refuse to dissolve Dáil Éireann.[23]

He was external counsel to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and represented the Flood Tribunal in its case against Liam Lawlor and the State in Charles Haughey's challenge to the legality of the Moriarty Tribunal.[24][25] He and George Birmingham also appeared for Fine Gael at the Flood Tribunal, and he represented the public interest at the Moriarty Tribunal.[26][27] He was a legal advisor to an inquiry into Deposit interest retention tax conducted by the Public Accounts Committee, along with future judicial colleagues Paul Gilligan and Mary Irvine.[28]

He was Chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland from 1993 to 1995.[9] Between 1999 and 2004, he acted as chair of Council of King's Inns.[29] He was a professor at the Kings's Inns between 1978 and 1985 and was appointed an adjunct professor at University College Cork in 2014.[20] He has also been an adjunct professor at Trinity College Dublin.[29]

Clarke acted as a chair of the Employment Appeals Tribunal while still in practice.[30] He was also a steward of the Turf Club and was the chairman of Leopardstown Racecourse.[31] He was due to take over as senior steward of the Turf Club but did not do so due to his appointment to the High Court.[32]

Clarke was appointed as a High Court judge in 2004. He was appointed to the Supreme Court on the 9 February 2012 and served as Chief Justice from October 2017 until his retirement on 10 October 2021.

Following his retirement from the judiciary, Clarke resumed his practice as a barrister and is currently a member of the Bar of Ireland. Under the rules of the Bar of Ireland, he cannot appear before a court of equal or lesser jurisdiction to that on which he sat as a judge. Given that he was the most senior judge in Ireland, he cannot appear in any court in Ireland. He can appear in the EU courts. However, he has indicated that he intends to focus on mediation and arbitration work.[33]

High Court judge

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He was appointed a Judge of the High Court in 2004.[34] He was chairman of the Referendum Commission for the second Lisbon Treaty referendum in 2009.[35] As a High Court judge he gave a ruling, on the Leas Cross nursing home case against RTÉ, that the public interest justified the broadcasting of material that otherwise would have been protected by the right to privacy.[24] He frequently presided over the Commercial Court during his time at the High Court.[9] He was involved in the establishment of two High Court lists in Cork, Chancery and a Non-Jury List.[29]

In the High Court he heard a broad range of civil cases during his eight years serving on the court. He was the judge in cases involving injunctions, personal injuries, judicial review, immigration law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, land law, insolvency law and tax law.[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]

In 2007 he presided over a dispute involving the lease of Bewley's of Grafton Street and unsuccessful claims by Catherine Murphy and Finian McGrath over the composition of electoral constituency boundaries.[45][46] Beginning in 2009 he oversaw the examinership process of Liam Carroll's Zoe Developments Group and separately an action involving the Irish branch of HSBC related to Bernie Madoff.[47][48] He sat in a three-judge division of the High Court with Nicholas Kearns and Peter Kelly in 2010 in challenge by Paddy McKillen over the transfer of loans to the National Asset Management Agency.[49] Their decision was overturned in part on appeal to the Supreme Court in Dellway Investment Limited v. NAMA.[50][51] He presided over hearings arising from an action taken by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation against Seán Quinn in 2011.[52]

Supreme Court judge

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Clarke was first appointed to the Supreme Court in March 2012.[53][13]

Judgments

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Ruadhán Mac Cormaic of The Irish Times said on his appointment as Chief Justice, that Clarke has a "reputation for fair-mindedness and authority, and for judgments that were incisive and clear".[9] He also noted that he tended not to share an "absolute pro-defendant" attitude to criminal law matters with some Supreme Court colleagues, while also having the perception of more liberal positions than other judges on surrogacy and social issues.[9]

The judges of the Supreme Court have frequently relied on Clarke to write judgments for the court in cases involving public law. He delivered the judgments of the court in Kerins v. McGuinness[54] and O'Brien v Clerk of Dáil Éireann[55] which clarified the law of parliamentary privilege in Ireland.[56] In 2018 he wrote an opinion on behalf of a seven-judge panel which held that references of "unborn" under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referred to an unborn child and the rights conferred upon an unborn child were confined to that section.[57] His judgment in Friends of the Irish Environment v Government of Ireland "recharacterized" the approach of the Supreme Court to unenumerated rights, instead considering them "derived rights" under the Constitution of Ireland.[58]

He has contributed significantly to the Supreme Court's 2010s jurisprudence on the rights of persons accused of crimes. Clarke wrote the opinion of a unanimous court in a combined judgment of DPP v Gormley and DPP v White, holding that police questioning cannot begin until an accused person has received legal advice.[59] He was part of the majority in DPP v. JC in 2015 where the court departed from its precedent regarding the exclusionary rule in Ireland, with Clarke devising a new test to assess the constitutionality of evidence obtained by Gardaí.[60][61]

His judgment in Okunade v. Minister for Justice & Others laid down the test for the courts to grant a mandatory injunction.[62] In 2020, John MacMenamin and Clarke co-authored a judgment in University College Cork v. ESB which presented a new authoritative statement regarding liability in negligence in Ireland.[63] His judgment in Morrissey v. HSE developed the law on the standard of care in clinical negligence cases.[64]

Chief Justice of Ireland

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On 26 July 2017, it was announced that the Government of Ireland had agreed to nominate Judge Clarke for appointment by the President of Ireland as the next Chief Justice of Ireland, to succeed Susan Denham on the expiry of her term of office.[5][65] He was the sole name put forward to cabinet for consideration.[10] He applied for the position which included a 500 word application. Upon his appointment, he said it was not "unreasonable" to suggest that he was "socially progressive", while acknowledging his oath of judicial independence.[1] He was appointed in July 2017.[66]

Clarke identified his priorities upon appointment to be to increase access to justice and the legal profession, to improve support and training for judges, and to expand the use of technology in the courts.[67] Some of these priorities were realised with the creation of a Judicial Studies Committee with a High Court judge serving as Director of Judicial Studies and the COVID-19 pandemic causing a substantial increase in the use of technology.[68] He oversaw the first live broadcast of the Supreme Court on television in October 2017.[69] The Supreme Court held sittings in Limerick and NUI Galway in 2018 and 2019, the second and third times hearings took place outside of Dublin.[70][71]

Clarke serves on a judicial advisory committee for appointments of judges and advocates general to the Court of Justice of the European Union.[72]

In his role as Chief Justice, he was involved in the second inauguration ceremony of President Michael D. Higgins on 11 November 2018 at Dublin Castle. He read out the Declaration of Office for Higgins to sign and then presented the president with his seal of office.[73][74]

Golfgate

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The Supreme Court and Clarke in particular came under significant public scrutiny as a result of the Oireachtas Golf Society scandal ("Golfgate").[75] In August 2021, Séamus Woulfe attended a dinner organised by the Oireachtas Golf Society in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, one month after being appointed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court asked formed Chief Justice Denham to investigate Woulfe's attendance. After the publication of her report, Clarke sought on several occasions to meet with Woulfe.[76][77] Eventually Clarke published correspondence between himself and Woulfe where he said in his opinion Woulfe should resign.[78] Woulfe did not resign and began hearing cases in February 2021, following Clarke's suggestion to informally resolve the dispute.[79]

Clarke's handling of Golfgate received widespread commentary and mixed reaction. His options to discipline Woulfe were limited as the judicial council legislation was not yet fully commenced.[75] The Director General of the Law Society of Ireland said Clarke's actions were a "misstep" and that "irreparable damage" had occurred.[80]

Retirement

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Clarke was required by law to retire on 10 October 2021, his 70th birthday,[81][82][83] and in March 2021 the Cabinet began the process of identifying his successor.[84] Donal O'Donnell was selected to replace him. His final day in court was on 8 October 2021, where judges, lawyers and civil servants made a large number of tributes to him.[85] Mary Carolan of The Irish Times said that under his leadership the Supreme Court is "perhaps the most collegial it had been in some time".[75] Following his retirement, he returned to work as a barrister and rejoined the Bar of Ireland, although in line with Bar Council rules, he cannot appear before any court of equal or lesser jurisdiction to the court he sat on, meaning he cannot appear before any Irish court.[33]

In June 2022 he was sworn in as judge of the court of appeal of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts but resigned a few days later following criticism from barrister and Labour Party leader, Ivana Bacik.[86][87]

Clarke is a board member of the Child Law Project.[88]

Personal life

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He has been married to Dr. Jacqueline Hayden since 1977.[24] They sold their house on Sorrento Terrace, facing Dalkey Island, in 2004.[89] They have a son who is a barrister and a daughter who is a carer.[67] He is interested in rugby and horse racing,[1] at one point owning several horses.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Chief Justice Frank Clarke - Marian Finucane Show". RTÉ Radio. 30 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Birthdays today". The Times, Ireland edition. 10 October 2017. p. 25.
  3. ^ "Clarke, Frank, (born 10 Oct. 1951), a judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland, since 2012". Who's Who. 1 December 2013. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U258020.
  4. ^ "President's Welcome". Irish Society for European Law.
  5. ^ a b c "Supreme Court judge Frank Clarke chosen as new chief justice". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Frank Clarke recalls life on the Long Mile Road with the Christian Brothers". The Irish Times. 7 November 1995.
  7. ^ a b "Mr Frank Clarke SC". The Irish Times. 10 November 2004. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  8. ^ "STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL". Bar Council. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d e Cormaic, Ruadhán Mac (26 July 2017). "Judge with radical edge may take Supreme Court in new direction". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  10. ^ a b Minihan, Mary; Cormaic, Ruadhán Mac. "Frank Clarke was only name to go to Cabinet". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  11. ^ "250 barristers back divorce amendment proposal". The Irish Times. 21 June 1986. p. 8.
  12. ^ Coulter, Carol (21 November 1995). "Most practising lawyers back divorce, says SC". The Irish Times. p. 6.
  13. ^ a b "Appointments to the Supreme Court". MerrionStreet.ie. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  14. ^ State (Healy) v Donoghue, 1 I.R. 325 (Supreme Court of Ireland 1976).
  15. ^ "Constitutional challenge to Anglo-Irish pact rejected". The Irish Times. 30 July 1988. p. 5.
  16. ^ Cox v Ireland, 2 I.R. 503 (Supreme Court of Ireland 1992).
  17. ^ Maguire v Ardagh, 1 I.R. 385 (Supreme Court of Ireland 2002).
  18. ^ "Government publishes inquiries Bill". The Irish Times. 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  19. ^ Carolan, Mary. "Taxpayers face €1m costs for tobacco firms". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  20. ^ a b "The Honorable Mr Justice Frank Clarke". University College Cork. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Adoption Bill hearing date fixed". The Irish Times. 1 July 1988. p. 10.
  22. ^ Information (Termination of Pregnancies) Bill, 1995, IESC 9 (Supreme Court of Ireland 1995).
  23. ^ Gwynn Morgan, David (1999). "Mary Robinson's Presidency: Relations with the Government". Irish Jurist. 34: 256–275. JSTOR 44026473. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  24. ^ a b c "Two new Supreme Court judges chosen". The Irish Times. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  25. ^ McNally, Frank (31 March 1998). "SC stresses Haughey's lavish lifestyle Mr Charles Haughey has only himself to blame for the Moriarty Tribunal, the High Court was told yesterday". The Irish Times. p. 5.
  26. ^ "Planning tribunal representation". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  27. ^ Coulter, Carol. "Public interest counsel named". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  28. ^ O'Halloran, Marie (12 October 1999). "Mitchell winds up inquiry". Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  29. ^ a b c "2018 Supreme Court Annual Report" (PDF). Courts Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  30. ^ "Sacking of woman found to be unfair". The Irish Times. 12 January 1985. p. 5.
  31. ^ Phelan, Shane (11 November 2020). "Proof of how much the Chief Justice cares about public standing of court". Irish Independent.
  32. ^ "Second term for Molony". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  33. ^ a b Gallagher, Conor. "Retired chief justice Frank Clarke to resume work as a barrister". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  34. ^ "Iris Oifigiúil - 19 November 2004, No. 93, 1234" (PDF). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  35. ^ "Referendum Commission". Citizens Information. 16 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  36. ^ "Turkish firm wins right to challenge inquiry decision". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  37. ^ "Dublin Bus not to seek costs from couple". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  38. ^ "Bupa in court challenge to risk equalisation plans". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  39. ^ "Bulgarian couple allowed to appeal deportation". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  40. ^ "Rapist loses High Court challenge to Sex Offenders Act". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  41. ^ "Jaguar loses its High Court challenge to patent decision". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  42. ^ "Kenny claiming squatter's rights in land row". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  43. ^ "Examiner appointed to mobile phone data firm". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  44. ^ "Judge reveals why he refused to allow tax case anonymity". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  45. ^ "Legal battle over lease of Bewley's cafe in Dublin". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  46. ^ "High Court dismisses constituency claim". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  47. ^ Carswell, Simon. "Developer seeks court protection over group's €1.2bn debt". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  48. ^ "HSBC must detail monies paid to Madoff, says judge". Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  49. ^ Carolan, Mary. "McKillen 'has no entitlement to any special treatment'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  50. ^ "Developer McKillen wins appeal against NAMA". RTÉ News. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  51. ^ O'Donnell, John. "NAMA AND THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD - MCKILLEN AND BEYOND" (PDF). Law Library. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  52. ^ "Contempt of court action against Sean Quinn adjourned". BBC News. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  53. ^ "Diary President Appoints The Hon. Mr. Justice Frank Clarke". president.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  54. ^ "Kerins v McGuinness & Ors". bailii.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  55. ^ "O'Brien v Clerk of Dáil Éireann & ors". bailii.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  56. ^ Kenny, David. "Does the House always win? Kerins, O'Brien and judicial challenges to Oireachtas proceedings". bloomsburyprofessionalonline.com. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  57. ^ Ní Aodha, Gráinne. "Supreme Court rejects definition of 'unborn' as an unborn child in Constitution". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  58. ^ Gallagher, Hugh (15 March 2021). "Environmental Constitutional Rights After Friends of the Irish Environment". Trinity College Law Review (TCLR) | Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  59. ^ Carolan, Mary. "Supreme Court ruling on right to lawyer will impact Garda inquiries". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  60. ^ O'Connell, Aisling (2017). "Case Comment D.P.P. v. J.C." (PDF). Irish Judicial Studies Journal. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  61. ^ "DPP v J.C. 2015 IESC 31". Fieldfisher. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  62. ^ "Navigating the injunction junction". www.lawsociety.ie. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  63. ^ "The Bar Review" (PDF). Vol. 25, no. 6. December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  64. ^ McKeown, Andrew (20 March 2020). "Supreme Court: HSE and labs' appeal dismissed in Ruth Morrissey cervical smear case". Irish Legal News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  65. ^ "Appointment of Chief Justice". MerrionStreet.ie. 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  66. ^ "President Higgins appoints Chief Justice". President.ie. 28 July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  67. ^ a b "The Bar Review" (PDF). Vol. 22, no. 6. December 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  68. ^ Baker, Noel (22 July 2020). "Chief Justice: Courts have developed 'five years in five months'". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  69. ^ Carolan, Mary (24 October 2017). "Supreme Court gets first-ever live TV broadcast". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  70. ^ "University of Limerick welcomes the Supreme Court". Irish Legal News. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  71. ^ "Landmark day as Supreme Court sits in NUI Galway". www.lawsociety.ie. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  72. ^ "Appointments to the EU Court of Justice: sixth activity report of the Article 255 panel published". www.consilium.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  73. ^ Brophy, Daragh. "Michael D Higgins has been sworn in for a second term as President of Ireland". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 16 August 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  74. ^ "Pomp, ceremony and laughter as Michael D takes office for second stint in the Áras". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  75. ^ a b c Carolan, Mary (7 January 2021). "Successor to Chief Justice must be chosen as Supreme Court reels from Golfgate". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  76. ^ O'Keeffe, Cormac (6 October 2020). "Chief Justice's 'golfgate' meeting with Seamus Woulfe postponed". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  77. ^ O'Donnell, Orla (15 October 2020). "Meeting between Chief Justice and Woulfe cancelled". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  78. ^ Carolan, Mary; Leahy, Pat. "Government seeks legal advice over stand-off between judges". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  79. ^ "Justice Seamus Woulfe sits with judge who subjected him to 'traumatic' ordeal". BreakingNews.ie. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  80. ^ Keena, Colm. "'We really need to be able to deliver the entire legal system online'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  81. ^ "Appointment to the Office of the Chief Justice". merrionstreet.ie. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  82. ^ Leahy, Pat. "Supreme Court judge Donal O'Donnell to become next Chief Justice". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  83. ^ Section 47, Courts and Court Officers Act 1995
  84. ^ McConnell, Daniel (22 March 2021). "Government to start process to replace outgoing Chief Justice". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  85. ^ "Chief justice steps down after four years in office". www.lawsociety.ie. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  86. ^ "Former chief justice and ex-High Court president sworn in as judges of Dubai international financial court". The Irish Times.
  87. ^ "Frank Clarke's resignation as judge of Dubai financial courts 'sensible and appropriate' - Labour Party leader". The Irish Times.
  88. ^ "Child Law Project celebrates 10th anniversary". IrishLegal.com. 20 June 2023.
  89. ^ "Birth of an urban village and a new attitude to landlords". Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
Legal offices
Preceded by Chief Justice of Ireland
2017–2021
Succeeded by
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