Séamus Francis Egan (1 December 1923 – 23 January 2004) was an Irish judge and barrister who was a judge of the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

between 1991 and 1995. He previously practiced a barrister, before becoming a judge of the High Court in 1984. He died in 2004.

Early life

Egan was born in 1923 in

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 ...

to James Egan and Christian O'Donnell. He attended

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary secondary school, voluntary day school, day and boarding school, boarding Catholicism, Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, Dublin, Bl ...

and received a degree from

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 attended 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 ...

to train to become a barrister.

Legal career

He was called to the bar in 1945 and became a senior counsel in 1962. He spent the early part of his career practising on the Western Circuit. Between 1963 and 1964 he acted for Gladys Ryan in the case of ''Ryan v. The Attorney General'', challenging the constitutionality of the fluoridation of water in Ireland. Though she was unsuccessful, the case established the right to bodily integrity under the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democra ...

and developed the principles of

unenumerated rights Unenumerated rights are legal rights inferred from other rights that are implied by existing laws, such as in written constitutions, but are not themselves expressly coded or "enumerated" within the explicit writ of the law. Alternative terminolo ...

. In 1979 he represented Francis McGirl who was acquitted of the murder of

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

Judicial career

High Court

He made his judicial declaration of office to become a judge of the High Court on 2 July 1984. In addition to his duties in the High Court, he began presiding over trials 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 ...

in 1988.

Supreme Court

Egan was appointed to the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

in 1991. He was one of five judges who decided ''

Attorney General v. X ''Attorney General v X'', 992IESC 1; 9921 IR 1, (more commonly known as the "X Case") was a landmark Irish Supreme Court case which established the right of Irish women to an abortion if a pregnant woman's life was at risk because of pregnanc ...

'' in 1992, allowing the appeal of the girl, and in 1995 he issued a dissenting opinion in ''Re. a Ward of Court'' where he held that the removal of a tube providing food to a woman would be equivalent to killing her. He also wrote a dissent in a case involving

Patricia McKenna Patricia McKenna (born 13 March 1957) is an Irish Independent and former Green Party politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1994 to 2004. She is a practising barrister having been ca ...

challenging the constitutionality of the government's campaigning for the

Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland The Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1995 (previously bill no. 15 of 1995) is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which removed the constitutional prohibition on divorce, and allowed for the dissolution of a marriage provided ...

. He retired on 30 November 1995. He was replaced by

Donal Barrington Donal Patrick Michael Barrington (28 February 1928 – 3 January 2018) was an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1996 to 2000, a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 1989 to 1996 and a Judge of the High Court from ...

Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal

Following his retirement, he was appointed to chair the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal.

Personal life

Egan was married to Ada Leahy with whom he had seven children. He built a house on

Shrewsbury Road Shrewsbury Road (, ; ''Bóthar Sriúsbaire'' in Irish) is a street in Dublin, Ireland, and was the sixth-most-expensive street in the world in 2007, ahead of more well-known streets such as the Via Suvretta in St. Moritz and Carolwood Drive in ...

which he sold in 1989. He died in January 2004 at the age of 80. His removal was attended by the Chief Justice

Ronan Keane Ronan Colman Keane (born 20 July 1932) is a retired Irish judge who served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 2000 to 2004, a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1996 to 2004 and a Judge of the High Court from 1979 to 1996. Keane was educated at Bl ...

, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Rory Brady Rory Brady (20 August 1957 – 19 July 2010) was an Irish barrister who served as the Attorney General of Ireland from 2002 to 2007. He served as a Member of the Council of State, and was a mediator on the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The ...

and the aide-de-camp to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Seamus 1923 births 2004 deaths People from County Dublin Irish barristers People educated at Blackrock College Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns High Court judges (Ireland) Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland 20th-century Irish judges 20th-century Irish lawyers