Séamus Woulfe

Séamus Philip Woulfe (born 1962) is an Irish lawyer who is a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since July 2020. He served as Attorney General of Ireland from 2017 to 2020. Prior to holding public office, he was a barrister practising in the areas of commercial and public law.

The Hon. Mr. Justice

Séamus Woulfe
Judge of the Supreme Court
Assumed office
23 July 2020
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
31st Attorney General of Ireland
In office
14 June 2017 – 27 June 2020
TaoiseachLeo Varadkar
Preceded byMáire Whelan
Succeeded byPaul Gallagher
Personal details
Born
Séamus Philip Woulfe

1962 (age 58–59)
Raheny, Dublin, Ireland
NationalityIrish
Spouse(s)Sheena Hickey
Children2
EducationBelvedere College
Alma mater

He studied law at Trinity College Dublin and Dalhousie University before becoming a barrister in 1987. He acted in cases before Irish and European courts, was a legal assessor at professional misconduct tribunals and lectured in law.

He became Attorney General in June 2017 to the Fine Gael minority government. During his tenure he advised on the referendum to replace the Eighth Amendment, the constitutionality of the Occupied Territories Bill and legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was succeeded by Paul Gallagher in June 2020 on the formation of a new government.

Woulfe was appointed a Supreme Court judge in July 2020. In August 2020, he attended a dinner of the Oireachtas Golf Society in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions which led to the Supreme Court asking former Chief Justice Susan Denham to produce a report on his attendance. Following the publication of the report and ensuing public controversy, the Chief Justice Frank Clarke wrote to Woulfe in November 2020. He said that in his view Woulfe should resign and that all members of the Supreme Court believed he had caused "significant and irreparable" damage to the Supreme Court.

Early life

Séamus Philip Woulfe was born in 1962[1][2] in Raheny, Dublin.[3] He was educated at Belvedere College, taking his Leaving Certificate in 1980.[4] He obtained a BA (Mod) (Legal Science) from Trinity College Dublin in 1984.[5] He played squash for the university.[6] He then obtained an LLM degree from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1986, and a BL degree from the Honourable Society of King’s Inns in 1987.[7]

Woulfe began practising at the Irish bar in October 1987 and was called to the Inner Bar as senior counsel in March 2005.[1] His practice was focused on commercial and public law.[8] He held several appointments, including Legal Assessor to the Fitness to Practise Committees of the Irish Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.[7]

As a junior counsel, Woulfe acted in the Beef Tribunal for Pat Rabbitte.[9] He appeared with Adrian Hardiman and Iseult O'Malley in 1993 for Rabbitte and Tomás MacGiolla in Attorney General v Hamilton which clarified the law on parliamentary privilege in Ireland.[10] Woulfe and Michael White took the Government of Ireland to the European Court of Human Rights due to a long delay in their professional fees being discharged at the tribunal.[2] The State was liable to pay the fees, but appealed a 1996 decision of the Taxing Master as to the level of the fees. The appeal took many further years to be determined.

Along with Mary Robinson, he represented defendants including Ivana Bacik, Trinity College Dublin Students' Union and the University College Dublin Students' Union in actions taken by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children in the High Court, the Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice.[11][12][13] He acted for the defendant in Attorney General v. X in 1992 with John Rogers, one of the leading cases on abortion in the Republic of Ireland.[14]

In 2013, he was appointed as investigator for a land deal by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.[15] In 2015, he represented John Perry in the High Court in a challenge against Fine Gael decision to drop him as a general election candidate.[16]

Woulfe lectured part-time for many years at Trinity College Dublin.[7] He was part of a Working Group on Judicial Review at the Law Reform Commission in 2002.[17] As vice-chairman of the Bar of Ireland, in 2016 he established a Wellness Committee.[18] He was a member of Irish Sport's Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel.[19]

Attorney General

He was appointed as Attorney General in June 2017 on the nomination of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, at the formation of the 31st Government of Ireland, succeeding Máire Whelan. At the time of his appointment, he was active with Fine Gael in Dublin Bay North.[16] He was seen by ministers to be a trusted adviser to Varadkar.[20]

In 2018, he described the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017, which had been promoted by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross, as "a dog’s dinner".[21][22][23][24][25] The Bill reached the final stage of debate in Seanad Éireann and was subject to a series of amendments which delayed its progression through the Oireachtas. The bill lapsed in January 2020 on the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil when the 2020 general election was called.[26]

He recommended that the text of the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, to replace the Eighth Amendment, should contain text enabling the Oireachtas to legislate for abortion, rather than simply removing provisions related to abortion from the Constitution.[27] The advice was published in abbreviated form.[28] He advised that the Occupied Territories Bill would be open to Constitutional challenge, which led to the government deciding not to support it.[29] Following the death a candidate in the Tipperary constituency during the 2020 Irish general election, he advised the government that the election could go ahead.[30]

Following the 2020 general election and several months where no government was in place, he appeared on behalf of the State in a three-judge division of the High Court on a case taken by a number of senators about whether the Seanad could sit without the nominated members of Seanad Éireann. Woulfe on behalf of the State argued that it could not.[31] The three judges found in favour of the State.[32]

His department advised on legislation restricting activity during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, including in regard to its constitutional implications.[33]

Negotiations between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party for a new government resulted in the role of Attorney General being rotated over the term of the government, with Fianna Fáil selecting the first Attorney General.[34] Woulfe was succeeded by Paul Gallagher on 27 June 2020.[35][36]

Supreme Court

Appointment

Woulfe briefly returned to practice at the bar in June 2020 following the end of his period as Attorney General.[37] In July 2020, he was nominated by the Government to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Ireland that had been left following the retirement of Mary Finlay Geoghegan.[37] Taoiseach Micheál Martin said his appointment was recommended by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board and had not been part of government negotiations.[38] Serving judges made expressions of interest to the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, but only Woulfe's name was brought to cabinet.[39] Woulfe informed Leo Varadkar in February 2020 that he would apply to the JAAB for a Supreme Court position.[40] He was appointed on 23 July 2020 and made his judicial declaration the following day in the Supreme Court.[41][42]

Oireachtas Golf Society Dinner

In August of 2020 Woulfe became embroiled in the Oireachtas Golf Society Scandal ("Golfgate"). On 19 August 2020, Woulfe attended a dinner hosted by the Oireachtas Golf Society in a hotel in County Galway.[43] The dinner was subject to media and public controversy due to it being contrary to government guidelines regarding COVID-19.[44] He apologised for his attendance on 21 August 2020, attributing responsibility for the breach to the organisers of the event; however there were increasing calls for him to resign.[45][46] He had not yet heard a case by the time he attended the dinner.[47]

Denham report

The Courts Service announced on 24 August 2020 that former Chief Justice Susan Denham was appointed to review his attendance at the dinner and to consider possible new guidelines and make recommendations.[48][49] He retained barristers John Rogers and Michael Collins to advise him during the process.[50] Woulfe and Collins met with Denham and her legal adviser Shane Murphy on 8 September 2020 in Green Street Courthouse.[51]

Denham's report was published on 1 October 2020. She concluded that in the circumstances Woulfe should not have attended the dinner, but she observed that he did not break the law or guidelines.[52] She said that a resignation would be "unjust and disproportionate". She referred to mitigating factors, including his short tenure as a judge and the lack of a judicial code of conduct.[53] The Supreme Court accepted her findings.[52]

Informal resolution

Following the publication of the report, the Chief Justice Frank Clarke sought to meet with Woulfe.[54] Their meeting was postponed for the third time on 13 October 2020 until 15 October 2020 at the request of Woulfe.[55] The Chief Justice said the "damage" from the delays caused him to be "very seriously concerned".[56] The 15 October meeting was subsequently cancelled on account of the Chief Justice receiving a "cogent medical report" from Woulfe describing an illness.[57]

Clarke met with Woulfe as part of an "informal resolution" on 5 November 2020 where he read the contents of a draft letter to Woulfe. Clarke said that all of the judges of the Supreme Court, including the Presidents of the Court of Appeal and the High Court, believed that Woulfe's actions had caused "significant and irreparable" damage to the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice said that he would not list Woulfe to hear a case in the Supreme Court until February 2021 and that in his "personal opinion" Woulfe should resign.[58] He referred to developments since the report was published based on the transcripts of Woulfe's meeting with Denham, doubting Woulfe's understanding of "genuine public concern" and questioning Woulfe's critical remarks of the Taoiseach, the government, and his judicial colleagues.[59]

Woulfe's response and a subsequent reply from Clarke on 9 November 2020 were published that day with the first letter.[60] Woulfe reiterated his apology, asked the Chief Justice not to publish their letters and stated that he would not resign, citing judicial independence, his belief that he had not breached any law or guidelines and that there had been a "shift in the goal posts".[59]

The divergent positions between the two judges created political controversy. The Attorney General Paul Gallagher briefed a cabinet meeting on 10 November where he relayed the development of "serious constitutional issues".[61] The Taoiseach Micheál Martin met leaders of opposition parties on 13 November to discuss how the Oireachtas may approach the impasse and to consider the relevance of judicial impeachment,[62][63] but they did not agree on a common approach.[64] On 17 November Martin said the government would not pursue any further action against Woulfe.[39]

Impeachment motion

On 22 November 2020 Paul Murphy announced that he and Bríd Smith would table a motion in Dáil Éireann to begin a process of impeachment against Woulfe on 25 November.[65][66][67]

Personal life

A longtime resident of Clontarf, Dublin, Woulfe is married to Sheena Hickey,[68] with two children.[69]

References
  1. "MR SEAMUS PHILIP WOULFE SC". Law Library. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  2. Michael White & Seamus Woulfe v Ireland, Application No 18595/04, Chamber decision 24 November 2005
  3. Phelan, Shane (25 August 2020). "Profile: Seamus Woulfe's sociable nature means he is well-liked - but it has also been his Achilles heel". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  4. "Seamus Woulfe is appointed Attorney General - Belvedere College". www.belvedereunion.com. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. "The Princes of the Law - Class of 1984 Reunion". TCD.ie. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  6. "Ireland face Wales in opening clash". The Irish Times. 25 March 1983. p. 2.
  7. O'Higgins, Kevin (Winter 2017). "A Day in the Life of the AG". Parchment. p. 32–35. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  8. "Annual Construction Law Conference" (PDF). cba-ireland.com. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  9. "The legal counsel who appeared at the beef tribunal yesterday". The Irish Times. 8 July 1992. p. 4.
  10. Attorney General v Hamilton (no. 2) (1993) 3 IR 227
  11. "Judgment expected today in Spuc High Court action". The Irish Times. 11 October 1989. p. 12.
  12. SPUC v Grogan [1989] IR 753
  13. Case C-159/90 The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children Ireland Ltd v Stephen Grogan and others. (4 October 1991)
  14. Attorney General v X [1992] 1 IR 1
  15. O'Brien, Tim. "Verdict due in councillors' defamation case". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  16. Ryan, Philip (14 June 2017). "Barrister Seamus Woulfe to replace Maire Whelan as Attorney General". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  17. "Twenty Fourth Annual Report" (PDF). LRC. 2002. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  18. "ANNUAL REPORT 2016/2017" (PDF). Bar Council. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  19. "Anti-Doping Annual Review" (PDF). drugsandalcohol.ie. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  20. "Special Report: Army councils and civil service tensions - life inside Leo Varadkar's Cabinet". www.irishexaminer.com. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  21. "New judicial appointments bill a 'dog's dinner' - Attorney General". RTE. 23 March 2018.
  22. "'Dog's dinner' remark raised hackles but it has the ring of truth". Irish Times. 27 March 2018.
  23. "Attorney general's 'dog's dinner' comments perhaps best kept for his memoirs". Irish Times. 27 March 2018.
  24. "Judges Bill is 'complete dog's dinner', claims AG". Independent.ie. 28 March 2018.
  25. "The AG and a salmon luncheon that turned into a dog's dinner". Independent.ie. 26 March 2018.
  26. O'Halloran, Marie; Keena, Colm. "Judicial appointments Bill can be revived by next government - Ross". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  27. "Govt publishes summary of Attorney General advice on Eighth Amendment referendum". www.irishexaminer.com. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  28. Finn, Christina. "This is the advice that convinced the Cabinet to seek the 'repeal and replace' option". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  29. "Attorney General warns Israeli goods bill would be 'impractical' to enforce". Irish Legal News. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  30. "Legal challenge over Tipperary poll now seems inevitable". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
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  40. O'Connell, Hugh (17 July 2020). "Varadkar knew of Woulfe application as Martin insists it was 'no big deal'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  41. "President Appoints New Judge Of The Supreme Court". president.ie. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
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Legal offices
Preceded by
Máire Whelan		 Attorney General of Ireland
2017–2020		 Succeeded by
Paul Gallagher
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