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George Birmingham

This article is about the Irish judge and politician. For the Irish novelist, see George A. Birmingham.

George Martin Birmingham (born 3 August 1954) is a retired Irish judge who served as President of the Court of Appeal from 2018 to 2024, a Judge of the Court of Appeal from 2024, and a Judge of the High Court from 2007 to 2014. He also served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-Central constituency from 1981 to 1989 and as a Minister of State from 1982 to 1987.[1]

George Birmingham
Birmingham in 2024
President of the Court of Appeal
In office
4 April 2018 – 24 July 2024
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Preceded bySean Ryan
Succeeded byCaroline Costello
Judge of the Court of Appeal
In office
24 October 2014 – 24 July 2024
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Judge of the High Court
In office
5 June 2007 – 24 October 2014
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMary McAleese
Minister of State
1986–1987European Affairs
1983–1986Education
1982–1986Labour
Teachta Dála
In office
June 1981 – June 1989
ConstituencyDublin North-Central
Personal details
Born (1954-08-03) 3 August 1954 (age 70)
Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland
Political partyFine Gael
EducationSt Paul's College, Raheny
Alma mater

Early life

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Birmingham was born in Dublin in 1954. He was educated at St Paul's College, Raheny, Trinity College Dublin and King's Inns, where he qualified as a barrister.[2] He was called to the bar in November 1976.[3]

His early legal career involved representing clients in commercial,[4] criminal,[5] and labour law matters.[6]

Political career

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First elections

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Birmingham was elected to the national executive of Fine Gael in December 1976.[7] He proposed a successful motion at the 1978 Fine Gael Ardfheis for the party to seek a referendum on divorce.[8] He was first elected to office at the 1979 Dublin Corporation election, topping the poll in the Raheny ward.[9] He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election as a Fine Gael TD for the Dublin North-Central constituency.[10] He was competing against Charles Haughey, Vincent Brady and Noël Browne.[11] He was the Fine Gael spokesperson for urban affairs in 1982.[12]

Minister of State

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Between 1982 and 1987, he served as a Minister of State under Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.[13] In December 1982 he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Labour with responsibility for youth affairs,[14] with additional duties as Minister of State at the Department of Education with responsibility for Co-ordination of Education and Training from December 1983.[15][16]

In 1983, in the Dáil, he defended the wording of the then proposed Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland on behalf of the government, specifically to ensure that the Supreme Court of Ireland could not discover an unenumerated right to abortion.[17]

In February 1986, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for European Affairs and Development cooperation. He was succeeded as Minister of State for Youth Affairs by Enda Kenny.[18] The government had considered creating a cabinet-level rank of Minister for European Affairs for Gemma Hussey to coordinate EEC affairs, but instead opted to appoint Birmingham to a Minister of State position, becoming the first Minister of State for European Affairs. Some EEC business was delegated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to Birmingham.[19] He travelled to Lusaka later that year for discussions with the African National Congress.[20]

Return to opposition

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At the 1987 general election, Birmingham was re-elected to the Dáil despite he and constituency colleague Richard Bruton together polling only achieving 24% of the vote combined.[21] Fine Gael lost office, and Birmingham was appointed party spokesperson for Labour by Alan Dukes in 1987 and subsequently Education in 1988.[22][23] He proposed that injunctions restraining strikes should be not be held ex parte and that unofficial strikes should be banned.[24] In March 1988, he introduced the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Bill 1988, an unsuccessful private members' bill, into the Dáil, to change the time limits for personal injuries.[25]

Birmingham lost his Dáil seat at the 1989 general election.[10]

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He resumed his career as a barrister in 1989, becoming a Senior Counsel in 1999.[2] He practised extensively in criminal law, prosecuting on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions.[26] He represented injured fans about the Lansdowne Road football riot.[27] He appeared for the DPP in the trials of Michael McKevitt in the Special Criminal Court in 2003 and Linda and Charlotte Mulhall in 2006.[28][29]

He served as chairperson of the Censorship of Publications Appeals Board.[30] He was appointed to chair the Advisory Group on Criminal Law and Procedure in 1996 by Minister for Justice Nora Owen.[31]

Birmingham was the sole member of the Commission of Investigation into the Dean Lyons case.[32] He conducted a preliminary investigation for the government before the Ferns Report into allegations of clerical sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns.[2]

Judicial career

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On 3 May 2007, it was announced that he had been selected to become a High Court judge. He became a Judge of the High Court in June 2007.[33]

In October 2014, he became one of the first appointees as Judge of the Court of Appeal on its establishment.[34]

President of Court of Appeal

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On 24 April 2018, the Government of Ireland nominated Birmingham to be President of the Court of Appeal.[35] As President of the Court of Appeal, he is an ex officio member of the Supreme Court.[2]

Birmingham's nomination attracted political controversy,[36][37] in light of his time as a Fine Gael TD and Minister of State during the 1980s.[38]

In 2018, he noted the difficulty posed to the court in not having enough judges to hear appeals.[39] There was a change in legislation in 2019 to increase the number of judges to speed up the appellate process, increasing the number of Court of Appeal judges to fifteen.[40]

Birmingham retired from his judicial role in July 2024. In October it was announced that from December he would become the Independent Examiner of Security Legislation.[41]

References

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  1. ^ "George Birmingham". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "Supreme Court Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Supreme Court of Ireland. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Six women among 36 called to Bar". The Irish Times. 19 November 1976. p. 14.
  4. ^ "Liquidator appointed to building firm". The Irish Times. 11 April 1978. p. 12.
  5. ^ "Conviction and sentence quashed". The Irish Times. 15 July 1978. p. 8.
  6. ^ "Unfair dismissal claim against horse trainer". The Irish Times. 15 August 1980. p. 11.
  7. ^ "FG national executive". The Irish Times. 15 December 1976. p. 6.
  8. ^ Kennedy, Geraldine (22 May 1978). "Ard Fheis calls for referendum on divorce issue". The Irish Times. p. 1.
  9. ^ Coughlan, Denis (24 March 1981). "Three Bs make it for FG in north Dublin". The Irish Times. p. 7.
  10. ^ a b "George Birmingham". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  11. ^ Murtagh, Peter (28 May 1981). "Jobs an issue in Stardust constituency". The Irish Times. p. 12.
  12. ^ "Mixed schools pledge vt FG". The Irish Times. 13 December 1982. p. 15.
  13. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State". Dáil Debates – Vol. 339 No. 3. 16 December 1982. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Keating omission causes surprise". The Irish Times. 17 December 1982. p. 1.
  15. ^ "Ministerial Appointments and Titles". Dáil Debates – Vol. 346 No. 12. 16 December 1983. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  16. ^ Walsh, Dick (14 December 1983). "Labour portfolio for Quinn in Cabinet shuffle". The Irish Times. p. 1.
  17. ^ "Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1982: Second Stage (Resumed)". Dáil Debates – Vol. 340 No. 5. 23 February 1983. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Ministerial Assignments and Titles: Announcement by Taoiseach". Dail Debates – Vol. 363 No. 12. 13 February 1986. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  19. ^ Cooney, John (15 February 1986). "Taoiseach wanted Hussey in new Euro Ministry". The Irish Times. p. 1.
  20. ^ "Irish Minister meets ANC in Lusaka". The Irish Times. 13 September 1986. p. 5.
  21. ^ "Remarkable result, says Birmingham". The Irish Times. 19 February 1987. p. 7.
  22. ^ "Bruton is deputy leader as Dukes names new team". The Irish Times. 27 March 1987. p. 1.
  23. ^ "Dukes stamps authority on FG with new front bench". The Irish Times. 1 September 1988. p. 1.
  24. ^ "FG proposes unofficial strike ban". The Irish Times. 28 October 1987. p. 6.
  25. ^ "Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Bill, 1988: First Stage". Dáil Debates – Vol. 378 No. 8. 3 March 1988. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  26. ^ "Manslaughter trial opens in Dublin". RTÉ News. 8 October 1999. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  27. ^ "English FA will challenge findings of inquiry into Lansdowne Road riot". The Irish Times. 21 January 1997. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  28. ^ "McKevitt trial hears evidence in Dublin". RTÉ News. 18 June 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  29. ^ "Sisters on trial over Dublin canal death". RTÉ News. 12 October 2006.
  30. ^ "Written Answers. – Membership of State Boards". Dáil Debates – Vol. 456 No. 3. 3 October 1995. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  31. ^ "Written Answers. - Working Groups and Committees". Dáil Debates – Vol. 475 No. 8. 5 March 1997. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  32. ^ "Dean Lyons Commission of Investigation". Department of Justice and Law Reform. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  33. ^ "Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Judicial Appointments Advisory Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  34. ^ "Appointments to the Court of Appeal". Department of the Taoiseach. 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  35. ^ "George Birmingham named president of Court of Appeal". The Irish Times. 24 April 2018. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  36. ^ "Government row erupts over top judicial appointment". The Irish Times. 25 April 2018. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  37. ^ "Judicial tensions flare up again". The Irish Times. 25 April 2018.
  38. ^ "Former Fine Gael TD named President of the Court of Appeal". Irish Examiner. 24 April 2018. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  39. ^ "Court of Appeal president struggling to find 'three judges to speak English, let alone Irish'". Irish Legal News. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  40. ^ "Seven new judges". Law Society. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  41. ^ Carolan, Mary (9 November 2024). "Retired Court of Appeal president reflects on a life in law after early political detour". The Irish Times.
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