Aindrias Ó Caoimh (4 October 1912 – 30 December 1994) was an Irish judge and barrister who served as a Judge of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

from 1975 to 1985, President of the High Court and a Judge of the High Court from 1966 to 1975 and Attorney General of Ireland from January 1950 to June 1950 and 1957 to 1965.

Personal life

Ó Caoimh was educated at

O'Connell School The O’Connell School is a secondary and primary school for boys located on North Richmond Street in Dublin, Ireland. The school, named in honour of the leader of Catholic Emancipation, Daniel O’Connell, has the distinction of being the oldes ...

and at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. He was a brother of

Brian Ó Cuív Brian Ó Cuív (1916 – 14 November 1999) was a Celtic scholar who specialised in Irish history and philology. Life Ó Cuív was professor of Celtic Studies at University College Dublin and later at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Hi ...

and uncle of

Éamon Ó Cuív Éamon Ó Cuív (; born 23 June 1950) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency since the 1992 general election. He previously served as Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2011 to 2 ...

. He and his wife Sheila had seven children, one of whom, also Aindrias Ó Caoimh, was, like his father, appointed a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

, in 2004. Ó Caoimh died at his home in

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06. History The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and is buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

.Former High Court president dies, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', 30 December 1994, p.5. Ó Caoimh's son, of the same name, is Irish judge who served as a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 2004 to 2015, and as Judge of the High Court from 1999 to 2004.

Lawless v. Ireland

During his second term as Attorney General of Ireland he represented the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

Lawless v. Ireland ''Lawless v Ireland'' (1957–61) was the first international court case decision that involved the interpretation of international human rights law and the first one filed against a country. It was referred to the European Court of Human Rights a ...

(1957–1961), the first case before the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

, taken by Gerald Lawless, who was represented by

Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff of the IRA from 193 ...

, the human rights lawyer. The case concerned the detention without trial of a suspected member of the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

who claimed that Ireland had breached Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the European Convention of Human Rights that provide rights to liberty and security, fair trial and the principle of ‘no punishment without law’. The court found in favour of the Irish Government that no violation of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

had taken place.

Arms Trial

In September 1970, Ó Caoimh withdrew from the Arms Trial, with the result that the case had to be re-heard after six days of evidence had already been given.

References

External links

Attorney General page
1912 births 1994 deaths Attorneys General of Ireland Presidents of the High Court (Ireland) European Court of Justice judges 20th-century Irish lawyers 20th-century Irish judges Irish judges of international courts and tribunals Alumni of King's Inns Lawyers from County Galway {{Ireland-law-bio-stub

Personal life

Lawless v. Ireland

Arms Trial

See also

References

External links