Statement by the Council of The Bar of Ireland on the death of the Hon. Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman

March 7, 2016:  The Chairman of The Council of The Bar of Ireland Mr. David Barniville SC said that the Honourable Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman was ‘a colossus at the Bar and on the Supreme Court’ and that his sudden and untimely death last night has greatly shocked and saddened the entire legal profession in Ireland.

A judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since 2000, Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman was called to the Bar in 1974 and practised successfully as a barrister for many years, taking Silk in 1989 and appearing in countless landmark cases and tribunals. On the Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Hardiman wrote many leading judgments, perhaps most notably on the Separation of Powers.

On behalf of the Council of The Bar of Ireland and on behalf of all of the Bar, Mr. David Barniville SC has expressed his deepest sympathy to Justice Hardiman’s wife Yvonne Murphy (formerly a judge of the Circuit Court) their three sons Eoin (also a barrister), Hugh and Daniel, his daughter in law Alison, and his three grandchildren.

Chairman of the Council of The Bar of Ireland David Barniville SC said: “It was with great sadness and shock this morning that we learned of the sudden death of Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman. Mr. Justice Hardiman was a colossus at the Bar and on the Supreme Court and was highly regarded and deeply respected by all who knew him. He was arguably the leading advocate of his generation at the Bar and one of Ireland’s finest jurists. While at the Bar he practised across a vast range of specialist areas including crime, defamation, Constitutional and commercial law. While on the Supreme Court he sat on nearly every significant constitutional case heard by that Court, leaving an indelible mark on Irish history”.

One of our most recent fond memories of Mr. Justice Hardiman was his role in presiding over a mock trial held with students from Cook Street’s St Audoen’s National School last December. He was unfailingly generous with his time and knowledge and took enormous pride in mentoring students and new barristers.

His interests were varied, but perhaps amongst the most notable were Irish politics, history and culture – in particular James Joyce. He wrote extensively on legal history and just last month delivered a very memorable lecture about the trial of Robert Emmet, in Green Street Court House where the trial took place in 1803.

We have lost one of the greatest legal minds of his generation, as well as a respected and much loved colleague. May he rest in peace.” he said.

Mr. Justice Hardiman was a member of the executive committee of the Association of Judges of Ireland, an elected member of the Royal Irish Academy, and also a former Judge-in-Residence in University College Dublin. As well as a member of the Bar of Ireland he was also a member of the Northern Ireland Bar and a Master of the Bench of the Middle Temple, London. He graduated in history at University College Dublin and in Law at the Honourable Society of Kings Inns.