Charles Casey (21 September 1895 – 11 February 1952) was an Irish lawyer and judge who served as a Judge of the High Court from 1951 to 1952 and Attorney General of Ireland from 1950 to 1951. He was born in Dublin in 1895 to an affluent family, second son of Dr. Charles Casey and his wife Mary Genevieve Conran. He was educated at the

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 ...

s and Castleknock College.Dempsey, Pauric J. "Charles Francis Casey" ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' During World War I he served in the

16th (Irish) Division The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the 'National Volunteers', i ...

. He was called to the

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in 1923 and made a Senior Counsel in 1941. Taoiseach

John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959, and Attorney General of ...

chose him as

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 ...

in 1950 to replace Cecil Lavery. The following year he was made a judge of the High Court, but he died after only fifteen months on the Bench.Casey, James ''The Irish Law Officers'' Round Hall Sweet and Maxwell Dublin 1996 He married in 1928 Helen Hanlon, who outlived him by many years, and they had eight children. Casey, like Lavery, continued to take private work while Attorney General, with the approval of Costello. He showed questionable judgment in appearing for a private party in ''Re Tilson, infants 951I.R. 1'' since while still Attorney General he was required to urge the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution in the way which suited his client's private interests. While it was never suggested he had acted improperly, such cases fully justify the present rule that the Attorney General takes no private cases. He was also unusual among Irish Attorneys General in acting as the Government's spokesman when it refused to introduce legislation on

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

, on the ground that such legislation would be contrary to Roman Catholic teaching.

References

Attorneys General of Ireland Irish barristers 1895 births 1952 deaths High Court judges (Ireland) People educated at Castleknock College {{Ireland-law-bio-stub