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John Eoin MacMenamin (born 25 November 1952) is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2012 to 2022 and a Judge of the High Court from 2004 to 2012.

Early career

MacMenamin was born in Dublin in 1952 and educated at Terenure College. He studied history at University College Dublin, where he was involved with the UCD L&H. He subsequently attended the King's Inns. He was called to the Bar in 1975, and became a Senior Counsel in 1991. He was a council member of the Free Legal Advice Centres while studying. While working at a FLAC centre in Tallaght, he spoke to the mother of a young defendant who had not had representation and initiated contact with other lawyers on the matter which eventually led to the case State (Healy) v Donoghue. The case established a constitutional right to legal aid in criminal cases.

At the bar, he had a mixed practice, with an emphasis on administrative law, defamation and commercial law. He represented the Sunday Independent in a libel case taken by Proinsias De Rossa and again in the first blasphemy case taken since the country's foundation in Corway v. Independent Newspapers. He was a legal adviser to the Medical Council of Ireland and was involved in a long-running case involving neurosurgery at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.

He appeared for several clients at the Mahon Tribunal and for the Department of Education at the Laffoy Commission.

He was Chairman of the Bar Council from 1997 to 1999. During his tenure, there was an increase in the fees paid to barristers taking part in the criminal legal aid scheme, following a dispute between the government and the barristers. He was a member of the board of the VHI between 1995 and 1997.

Judicial career

High Court

He was appointed a High Court judge in 2004 on the same day as future Supreme Court colleagues Frank Clarke and Elizabeth Dunne. He presided primarily over judicial review and constitutional cases. He was a member of the Special Criminal Court from 2009. Towards the end of his time at the High Court he was the Judge-in-Charge of the Minors' List, dealing with sensitive cases involving children.

Supreme Court

He was appointed to the Supreme Court in March 2012.

In January 2020, he marched in Warsaw, Poland, with other senior judges from across Europe arising out of issues surrounding the 2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis. He carried letters of solidarity from the Association of Judges of Ireland.

MacMenamin retired in November 2022.

Personal life

He married Lia O’Hegarty, a lawyer, in 2004, in Rome. They have one daughter.

He was formerly involved with Fine Gael, working as speechwriter for Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and a lead adviser to Michael Noonan during the 2002 general election.

References

1. ^ "Appointments to the Supreme Court". MerrionStreet.ie. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
2. ^ Carolan, Mary (25 November 2022). "There 'cannot be one law for the rich and one law for others', says retiring Supreme Court judge". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
3. ^ "Mr John MacMenamin SC". The Irish Times. 10 November 2004. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
4. ^ Mac Cormaic, Ruadhán (2016). The Supreme Court. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-1844883400.
5. ^ "2018 Supreme Court Annual Report" (PDF). Supreme Court. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
6. State (Healy) v Donoghue, 1 I.R. 325 (Supreme Court of Ireland 1976).
7. Coulter, Carol (31 July 1999). "Court unable to state what blasphemy is". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
8. Coulter, Carol (2 September 1997). "Chairman has long link with FG". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
9. "Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse: Third Interim Report" (PDF). childabusecommission.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
10. "Iris Oifigiúil - 19 November 2004, No. 93, 1234" (PDF). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
11. "Government announce new judge appointments". www.irishexaminer.com. 9 November 2004. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
12. ^ "Supreme Court jobs go to former FG stalwarts". Irish Independent. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
13. "Diary President Appoints The Hon. Mr. Justice Frank Clarke". president.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
14. "EU judges join Polish colleagues to protest 'muzzle law'". France 24. 11 January 2020. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
15. "Irish judge to join march in Poland against legal 'threat' to judiciary". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
16. "Attorney General tells Supreme Court he is to step down". RTÉ News. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
17. "Legal Diary - Supreme Court". Courts.ie. 25 November 2022. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
18. "IRISH FULBRIGHT NEWS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
19. "Fake News, Forgery and Dirty Tricks: the British Secret Service, Parnell and Ireland, 1885 to 1892". The Old Athlone Society. 14 January 2020. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.

• 1952 births
• Living people
• Irish Senior Counsel
• Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland
• Alumni of University College Dublin
• Lawyers from County Dublin
• High Court judges (Ireland)
• Alumni of King's Inns
• People educated at Terenure College
• People from Ranelagh
• 20th-century Irish lawyers
• 21st-century Irish judges