Paul Coffey is an Irish lawyer who was appointed a Judge of the High Court in September 2016. He has been predominantly involved in criminal trials as a judge and formerly as a barrister. He was the chair of an examination into the

Stardust fire The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine's Day) 1981. Some 800 people had attended a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injure ...

between 2008 and 2009.

Education

He was educated 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 received a BCL degree in 1981 and an LL.M. degree in 1983. He received further education at the

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 ...

and

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

Legal career

He 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 (un ...

in 1984 and became a senior counsel in 2002. His practice was focused on criminal law and civil law, with experience in the law of personal injuries, medical negligence, planning law, Constitutional law, chancery and judicial review. His criminal law work included working on behalf of the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members of ...

as a prosecutor and on behalf for defendants. He represented the

Minister for the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

in 2003 in a challenge by Kathy Sinnott against the result of the

2002 Irish general election The 2002 Irish general election to the 29th Dáil was held on Friday, 17 May, just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday, 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. The g ...

. On 10 July 2008, he was appointed to chair to an examination into the cause of the

. His investigation found that the Stardust Victims' Committee had not established any new evidence which could change the conclusion as to how the fire was started. He concluded that he did not believe that public interest would be served by establishing a further inquiry. The Government accepted his recommendation. His draft report however recommended the establishment of an independent inquiry. A further examination by

Pat McCartan Patrick John McCartan (born 5 May 1953) is an Irish lawyer who was a Circuit Court judge and a former politician. A native of Wexford, he first practiced as a solicitor working in criminal defence. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a W ...

in 2017 also did not recommend a full inquiry.

Judicial career

Coffey was appointed to the High Court in September 2016. He has presided over criminal trials involving serious sexual offences and homicide. He has been the presiding judge in cases in the

Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ga, Cúirt Choiriúil Speisialta) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to ...

involving

dissident republican Dissident republicans, renegade republicans, anti-Agreement republicans or anti-ceasefire republicans ( ga, poblachtach easaontach) are Irish republicans who do not support the current peace agreements in Northern Ireland. The agreements follo ...

s and the

Hutch–Kinahan feud The Hutch–Kinahan feud is a major ongoing feud between two criminal organisations in the Republic of Ireland that has resulted in the deaths of eighteen people, the majority of which have been perpetrated by the Kinahan family. The Hutch gan ...

. Other than criminal trials, he has heard cases involving Garda compensation, defamation, insolvency, and company law. As of 2021, he is the judge in charge of the Personal Injuries List of the High Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffey, Paul Living people High Court judges (Ireland) Irish barristers Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns Year of birth missing (living people)