Liam Hamilton (8 September 1928 – 29 November 2000) was an Irish judge and barrister who served as

Chief Justice of Ireland The Chief Justice of Ireland ( ga, Príomh-Bhreitheamh na hÉireann) is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and most senior judge in Ireland. The role includes constitutional and admini ...

and a Judge of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 1994 to 2000, President of the High Court from 1985 to 1994 and a Judge of the High Court from 1974 to 1994.

Early life

He was born in

Mitchelstown Mitchelstown () is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 3,740. Mitchelstown is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains, 12 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Caves, 28 km from Cahir, 50& ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

to Richard Hamilton and Mary Ellen Hamilton (née Lyons). He was educated at C.B.S.

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 ...

and

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

. He initially worked as a civil servant and was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1956 and to the Inner Bar in 1968.

Career

He acted for

Neil Blaney Neil Terence Columba Blaney (1 October 1922 – 8 November 1995) was an Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) representing Donegal East. A high-profile member of the party, Blaney ...

when Blaney and

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

were charged with conspiracy to import arms in 1970. He was a member of the Labour Party and acted as its legal advisor. After the Labour Party formed a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

with

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

in 1973, he was appointed to the High Court. He was regarded as sociable and visited former legal colleagues after becoming a judge. In 1985, on the nomination of the Labour Party, he was appointed President of the High Court, where he was successful in reforming procedures and clearing a backlog of cases. He was the sole member of a tribunal of inquiry established by the government in 1991 to investigate allegations of illegal activity, fraud and malpractice in the beef processing industry, known as the

Beef Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Beef Processing Industry, also known as the Beef Tribunal, was established on 31 May 1991, chaired by Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton. It was set up to inquire into malpractice in the Irish beef processing industry, m ...

, which sat from 1991 to 1994. Shortly after the report of the tribunal, he was nominated as Chief Justice. In 1999 he was asked by Minister for Justice John O'Donoghue to investigate the

Philip Sheedy Affair The Philip Sheedy affair was an Irish political and judicial controversy which resulted in the resignation of both a Supreme Court and High Court judge. Background Philip Sheedy, an architect, was involved in a road traffic accident in March 199 ...

. On retirement as Chief Justice in 2000, he was appointed to the enquiry into the 1974 Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk bombings, but stepped down on health grounds. He died on 29 November 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Liam 1928 births 2000 deaths People from County Cork Chief justices of Ireland Alumni of University College Dublin Presidents of the High Court (Ireland) Alumni of King's Inns

Early life

Career

See also

References