Tony O'Connor (judge)

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The Hon. Mr. Justice
Tony O'Connor
Judge of the High Court
Assumed office
1 October 2015
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Personal details
BornSwinford, Mayo
NationalityIrish
Alma mater

Tony O'Connor is an Irish lawyer who has been 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, County Mayo. 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.[1]

He attended Glenstal Abbey School, leaving in 1977.[2] He was educated at University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, the Law Society of Ireland and the King's Inns.[3]

Legal career[]

He first worked as solicitor, qualifying in November 1983.[4] He qualified at and worked for Arthur Cox Solicitors.[5] He was later a legal adviser in Aer Lingus and a solicitor at Rory O'Donnell & Co. Solicitors.[6][7] His expertise was in competition law and mergers and acquisitions.[6] He authored a text on competition law in 1996.[8]

O'Connor was admitted to the Bar of Ireland in 1991 and became a senior counsel in 2006.[3] He had experience across civil, commercial and EU law.[3] He has also acted in cases involving constitutional law and personal injuries.[9][10] He appeared for the State against Ali Charaf Damache and acted for Irish Nationwide Building Society.[11][12] O'Connor also acted in maritime and fishing cases such as Gannon.[13][14]

He became an accredited mediator in 2009.[6] He has been the chair of the Aviation Appeals Panel and Mental Health Tribunals.[15][16] From 2007, he acted as legal assessor for hearings of the Medical Council, Nursing Board, Dental Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.[17] He also wrote about assisted human reproduction.[18]

O'Connor was a council member of Concern Worldwide.[19] He gave evidence to Seanad Éireann in 2013 regarding the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013.[20]

Judicial career[]

O'Connor was appointed to the High Court in October 2015.[21] He has heard cases involving tax law,[22] extradition,[23] insolvency,[24] injunctions,[25] defamation,[26] personal injuries,[27] and commercial disputes.[28]

In 2018, he found for Graham Dwyer, the man convicted of the murder of Elaine O'Hara, ruling that the legislation relied on to secure his conviction was contrary to EU law.[29] The decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of Ireland, which in turn made a reference to the European Court of Justice.[30]

He is a member of the board of the Courts Service.[31]

In July 2020, he was appointed as a member of a three-judge tribunal into the CervicalCheck cancer scandal with chairperson Ann Power and retired judge Brian McGovern.[32] O'Connor continued hearing cases in the High Court during his time on the tribunal.[33][34]

References[]

  1. ^ "Family affair as former solicitor sworn in as Circuit Court judge". www.lawsociety.ie. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Tony O'Connor (1977) appointed Judge of the High Court". GOBS.ie. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Appointments to the Supreme Court, High Court and District Court". merrionstreet.ie. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Solicitors qualify". The Irish Times. 18 November 1983. p. 14.
  5. ^ "Swinford man qualifies as solicitor in Dublin". Connaught Telegraph. 24 November 1983. p. 14.
  6. ^ a b c "MARITIME LAW CONFERENCE 2011" (PDF). leanbusinessireland.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. ^ "The Competition Law Bill 1991 - Preparing Irish Business". The Irish Times. 30 April 1991. p. 14.
  8. ^ O'Connor, Tony. Competition law source book. Round Hall Sweet & Maxwell. ISBN 1858000483.
  9. ^ "Deaf brother and sister settle High Court action". Breaking News. 25 November 2008. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Garda sergeant who had leg smashed awarded €67,000". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Muslim went on hunger strike over Irish prison conditions". independent. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Tuesday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International Stories - - December 15, 2009". www.finfacts.ie. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  13. ^ Gannon v Walsh [1998] 3 IR 245
  14. ^ "Final submissions in appeal over fishing rights on Moy". The Irish Times.
  15. ^ "Appeal Panel Decision" (PDF). aviationreg. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Former legal adviser to Labour called to High Court". independent. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  17. ^ McGee, Harry. "Iseult O'Malley to be appointed as Supreme Court judge". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Legal certainty on assisted reproduction needed". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  19. ^ Concern Worldwide Annual Report and Accounts 2013, page 10 https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/concern_annualreport2013_web.pdf Archived 2021-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ "As it happened: Final day of the Oireachtas hearings on planned abortion laws". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Annual Report 2015" (PDF). JAAB. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  22. ^ O'Donnell, Orla (20 December 2019). "Pizza firm loses appeal in delivery drivers' PAYE case". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  23. ^ "Man charged in connection with double murder in Belfast". RTÉ News. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  24. ^ "Court approves appointment of examiner to Limerick FC". RTÉ News. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  25. ^ "HSE secures injunction against IT worker over data". RTÉ News. 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  26. ^ "Defamation actions over alleged Red Bull theft dismissed". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  27. ^ "High Court: Garda awarded over €40,000 for finger broken by violent detainee". Irish Legal News. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Row between medical negligence solicitors returns to court". Irish Legal News. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  29. ^ O'Donnell, Orla (6 December 2018). "Graham Dwyer wins legal action over phone data". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  30. ^ O'Donnell, Orla (24 February 2020). "Appeal in Dwyer case referred to EU Court of Justice". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Courts Service Board". Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Two more judges appointed to CervicalCheck Tribunal". RTÉ News. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  33. ^ "Politician's case against RTÉ is unstateable and should be struck out, court told". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  34. ^ "Appeal over €1.4m stamp duty bill on Walford should not be reconsidered". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
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