Aindrias Micheál Ó Caoimh (4 October 1912 – 30 December 1994) was an Irish judge and barrister who served as a Judge of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

from 1975 to 1985, President of the High Court and a Judge of the High Court from 1966 to 1975 and

Attorney General of Ireland The attorney general of Ireland () is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabine ...

from January 1950 to June 1950 and 1957 to 1965.

Personal life

Ó Caoimh was educated at

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 olde ...

and at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. He was a brother of

Brian Ó Cuív Brian Ó Cuív (20 November 1916 – 14 November 1999) was an Irish scholar who specialised in Celtic history and philology. Life Ó Cuív was professor of Celtic Studies at University College Dublin and later at the Dublin Institute for Advanc ...

and uncle of

Éamon Ó Cuív Éamon Ó Cuív (; born 23 June 1950) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 1992 to 2024. He previously served as deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 2011 to 2012, a ...

. He and his wife Sheila had seven children, one of whom, also Aindrias Ó Caoimh, was, like his father, appointed a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

, in 2004. Ó Caoimh died at his home in

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; , ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of Dublin 6. Ranelagh was originally a village called Cullenswood. It has a history of conflict, including the at ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, and is buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

.Former High Court president dies, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', 30 December 1994, p.5. Ó Caoimh's son, of the same name, is an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 2004 to 2015, and as a Judge of the High Court from 1999 to 2004.

Lawless v. Ireland

During his second term as Attorney General of Ireland he represented the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

in Lawless v. Ireland (1957–1961), the first case before the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

, taken by Gerald Lawless, who was represented by

Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Republican activist, politician, and diplomat who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff o ...

, the human rights lawyer. The case concerned the detention without trial of a suspected member of the IRA who claimed that Ireland had breached Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the European Convention of Human Rights that provide rights to liberty and security, fair trial and the principle of ‘no punishment without law’. The court found in favour of the Irish Government that no violation of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

had taken place.

Arms Trial

In September 1970, Ó Caoimh withdrew from the Arms Trial, with the result that the case had to be re-heard after six days of evidence had already been given.

References

External links

Attorney General page
1912 births 1994 deaths Attorneys general of Ireland Presidents of the High Court (Ireland) European Court of Justice judges 20th-century Irish lawyers 20th-century Irish judges Irish judges of international courts and tribunals Alumni of King's Inns Lawyers from County Galway {{Ireland-law-bio-stub

Personal life

Lawless v. Ireland

Arms Trial

See also

References

External links