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

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 1991 to 1995 and a Judge of the High Court from 1984 to 1991.

Early life

Egan was born in 1923 in

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 ...

to James Egan and Christian O'Donnell. He attended

Blackrock College Blackrock College () is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 1860 as a school and later became al ...

and received a degree from

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 attended the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () 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 environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

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 (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...

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 stated or "enumerated" in law. Alternative terms are implied rights, natural righ ...

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

Louis Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, Royal Navy of ...

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; ) 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 establish "special courts" with ...

in 1988.

Supreme Court

Egan was appointed to the

Supreme Court of Ireland The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...

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

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

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 politician (Ireland), independent and former Green Party (Ireland), Green Party politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin (European Parliament ...

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 (law), bill no. 15 of 1995) is an Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland, amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which removed the constitutional prohibition on divorce, ...

. 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, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Seamus 1923 births 2004 deaths Lawyers from County Dublin Irish Senior Counsel 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