Bryan M. E. MacMahon (born 10 April 1941Gaughan, J. Anthony: "Listowel and its vicinity: Since 1873", page 79. Currach Press, 2004) is a former judge of the Irish High Court and the author of textbooks on

Irish law Law of Ireland or Irish law may refer to: * Early Irish law (Brehon law) of Medieval Ireland * Alternative law in Ireland prior to 1921 * Law of the Republic of Ireland * Law of Northern Ireland The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system ...

. He is the son of short story writer Bryan MacMahon, and a native of

Listowel Listowel ( ; , IPA: �lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the CSO Census 2016. Descr ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Legal career

McMahon received his BCL and LLB degrees from University College of Dublin; subsequently, having been awarded the Harvard Fellowship, he undertook further postgraduate study at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class i ...

. He returned to Ireland in 1967 to take up a post as a Statutory Lecturer in the Law Faculty, University College Cork (UCC). During his time at UCC Judge MacMahon went on to become Professor of Law and Head of the Department of Law. In 1987 McMahon joined the law firm of Houlihan and McMahon,

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,276, ...

Co. Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 a ...

, as a senior partner. While continuing to practise law he simultaneously held a part-time Chair of Law at the

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. In 1999 he was appointed a judge of the Circuit Court. In 2007, he was promoted to the High Court in recognition of his status as a leading Irish jurist. A noted and oft cited jurist, he is deemed to be an authority on the bench in relation to tortious matters. He was appointed Adjunct Professor of the Faculty of Law at University College Cork in 2004. McMahon is also Chair of the Irish Universities Quality Board and the National Archives Advisory Council. In 2005, McMahon (a lifelong theatre fan) was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Abbey Theatre by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue. The Abbey was the venue often used to showcase many plays written by McMahon's late father. MacMahon lived in Kells, where he married Mary O'Neill, the sister of a well renowned football club manager

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his pla ...

having managed teams such as Aston Villa. He retired from the bench on 8 April 2011 having served for 12 years, 4 of which were as a judge of the High Court. He subsequently served as chairman of the Referendum Commission on Judges' pay which made recommendations to Government regarding the 29th Amendment to the Constitution.

Legal textbooks

MacMahon has co-authored many legal textbooks including: *''Law of Torts'', co-authored with

William Binchy William Binchy is an Irish lawyer. He was the Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College Dublin from 1992 to 2012. Education Binchy was educated at University College Dublin. He is a Barrister-at-Law and practised at the Irish Bar from 1968 t ...

(Butterworths: 1980, 1989, 3rd Edition 2000); *''Casebook on Irish Law of Torts'', also co-authored with William Binchy, (Butterworths 1983, 2nd Edition 1991); *''European Community Law in Ireland'', co-authored with Finbarr Murphy (Butterworths: 1989).

References

1941 births Living people Harvard Law School alumni High Court judges (Ireland) People associated with the University of Galway People from Listowel Chairpersons of the Referendum Commission {{Ireland-law-bio-stub