Tony O'Connor is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the High Court since October 2015. He began his legal career as a commercial solicitor, before becoming a barrister in 1991.

Early life

O'Connor comes from a legal family, with his father and grandfather having run a firm of solicitors in

Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield and Meelick. It is just off the N5 road, located 18 km (11 mi) from Ireland West Airport Knock (formerly known as ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Coun ...

. His three brothers are all lawyers; his brother Pat is a partner in the family firm, John is a Judge of the Circuit Court and Tom is a consultant at

Maples Group Maples Group (previously Maples and Calder) is a multi-jurisdictional firm providing legal and financial services, headquartered in the Cayman Islands. It has offices in many financial centres around the world, including several tax neutral jur ...

. He attended

Glenstal Abbey School Glenstal Abbey School is an all boys independent day and boarding Roman Catholic secondary school, located on the grounds of Glenstal Abbey in Murroe, County Limerick. It is run by monks of the Benedictine order. The school offers seven-day ful ...

, leaving in 1977. 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 ...

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, the

Law Society of Ireland The Law Society of Ireland ( ga, Dlí-Chumann na hÉireann) is a professional body established on 24 June 1830 and is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors' profession in Ireland. As of 2020, the Law Society ha ...

and 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 ...

Legal career

He first worked as solicitor, qualifying in November 1983. He qualified at and worked for Arthur Cox Solicitors. He was later a legal adviser in

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidia ...

and a solicitor at Rory O'Donnell & Co. Solicitors. His expertise was in competition law and mergers and acquisitions. He authored a text on competition law in 1996. O'Connor was admitted to the

Bar of Ireland The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...

in 1991 and became a

senior counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel ( post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

in 2006. He had experience across civil, commercial and EU law. He has also acted in cases involving constitutional law and personal injuries. He appeared for the State against

Ali Charaf Damache Ali Charaf Damache (born 21 August 1965) is a citizen of Algeria and Ireland who was the first suspected terrorist to be extradited to the US during the Donald Trump presidency. He was alleged to have been the ringleader of a cell tasked with kill ...

and acted for

Irish Nationwide Building Society Irish Nationwide Building Society was a financial institution in Ireland from 1873 to 2011. One of the country's oldest financial institutions, it was originally called the Irish Industrial Building Society; it changed its name in 1975 when it had ...

. O'Connor also acted in maritime and fishing cases such as Gannon. He became an accredited mediator in 2009. He has been the chair of the Aviation Appeals Panel and Mental Health Tribunals. From 2007, he acted as legal assessor for hearings of the Medical Council, Nursing Board, Dental Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. He also wrote about assisted human reproduction. O'Connor was a council member of

Concern Worldwide Concern Worldwide (often referred to as Concern) is Ireland's largest aid and humanitarian agency. Since its foundation 50 years ago it has worked in 50 countries. According to its latest annual report, Concern helped 28.6 million of the world's ...

. He gave evidence to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; " Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its ...

in 2013 regarding the

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 ( Act No.35 of 2013; previously Bill No.66 of 2013) was an Act of the Oireachtas which, until 2018, defined the circumstances and processes within which abortion in Ireland could be legally perfor ...

Judicial career

O'Connor was appointed to the High Court in October 2015. He has heard cases involving tax law, extradition, insolvency, injunctions, defamation, personal injuries, and commercial disputes. O’Connor heard a case in 2015 relating to a truck driver who was alleged by Greek authorities to have had contraband cigarettes among his consignment of olive oil when his truck was inspected in 2002. The truck driver was told over 10 years later that he owed €1.5 million to the Greek authorities which the Irish revenue was obliged to collect under EU law. O’Connor referred the case to the European Court of Justice under the preliminary reference procedure. The ECJ in 2018 answered the questions posed and, in May 2018, O’Connor granted a declaration that the Irish Revenue could not fulfil the request of the Greek authorities to recover the sum sought. In 2018, he found for Graham Dwyer, the man convicted of the

murder of Elaine O'Hara Elaine O'Hara (17 March 1976 – ) was an Irish childcare worker who was murdered in August 2012 by architect Graham Dwyer. She was last seen alive at a public park in Shanganagh, Dublin, Ireland, on 22 August. The remains of her body were di ...

, ruling that the legislation relied on to secure his conviction was contrary to EU law. The decision was appealed 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 ...

, which in turn made a reference to the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just 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 Unio ...

. He is a member of the board of the

Courts Service The Courts Service is the national council of the judiciary of Ireland. It is a statutory corporation which provides administration and support services to the Courts of the Republic of Ireland. It was established in 1999 by the ''Courts Servi ...

. In July 2020, he was appointed as a member of a three-judge tribunal into the

CervicalCheck cancer scandal The CervicalCheck cancer scandal first emerged in 2018 and involved several women in the Republic of Ireland suing the Health Service Executive (HSE) after they received incorrect smear test results for cervical cancer. Background In 2011, Vi ...

with chairperson Ann Power and retired judge Brian McGovern. O'Connor continued hearing cases in the High Court during his time on the tribunal. O’Connor delivered judgment for the Court of Appeal in April 2022 which clarified the application of principles under the 2004 EU Citizens Directive. In December 2022, he awarded €365,000 to a factory worker who had sustained a back injury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Tony Living people High Court judges (Ireland) Irish barristers People educated at Glenstal Abbey School Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns Year of birth missing (living people) People from Swinford, County Mayo Lawyers from County Mayo 20th-century Irish judges 21st-century Irish judges