Francis Murphy
Judge of the Supreme Court
In office
15 April 1996 – 19 October 2002
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMary Robinson
Judge of the High Court
In office
12 February 1982 – 15 April 1996
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byPatrick Hillery
Personal details
NationalityIrish

Francis Dominick Murphy[1] is a former Irish judge and barrister who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1996 to 2002 and a Judge of the High Court from 1982 and 1996. He was also the chair of the group which produced the Ferns Report in 2005.

Early life

Murphy became a senior counsel in 1969. In addition to practice, he taught as a professor at the King's Inns.[2] He served a term as chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland.[3] He became a bencher of the King's Inns in 1975.[2]

Judicial career

High Court

He became a judge of the High Court in 1982.[2] He was in charge of insolvency matters in the High Court during the 1990s and oversaw the insolvency process related to The Irish Press.[4][5] Murphy served on an advisory committee to the Law Reform Commission.[6]

Supreme Court

Murphy was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ireland in April 1996.[7] He acted at various points as presiding judge in the Court of Criminal Appeal.[8]

In 2000, he conducted an inquiry into Donnchadh O'Buachalla, a judge of the District Court, over allegations of bias in overseeing the grant of a licence to operate the Jack White's Inn pub to Catherine Nevin, who was a friend of O'Buachalla's.[9] He found there while there were errors of judgement, there was no abuse of the legal process.[10]

In the Supreme Court's decision in Maguire v. Ardagh, arising out of an Oireachtas inquiry into the death of John Carthy, he was one of two judges to dissent. The majority found that the Oireachtas could not inquire into a Garda operation. Murphy and the Chief Justice Ronan Keane held that the Oireachtas did have such power.[11]

He retired in October 2002.[12] His position was filled by Brian McCracken.[13]

Post-judicial career

Murphy was appointed to chair the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal in 2007.[14] He chaired the Residential Institutions Review Committee until November 2019.[15]

Ferns Report

In 2002, he was appointed to chair a three-person non-statutory commission to review historic allegations of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns.[16][17] The need for the inquiry was prompted by a preliminary report by George Birmingham.[18] The Ferns Report was published in 2005 and was strongly critical of the handling of allegations by the Catholic Church.[19]

Revenue Powers Group

Charlie McCreevy appointed him to chair a Revenue Powers Group in 2003 to make recommendations on the powers of the Revenue Commissioners, particularly in relation to its investigative powers related to tax evasion.[20] Its report was published in February 2004.[21] It recommended that the Revenue Commissioners be given additional powers.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Former Judges of the Supreme Court". www.supremecourt.ie. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Honorary Conferrings Speeches Archive". University College Cork. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Ó Fátharta, Conall (5 June 2010). "Dr Tóibín chuffed at college honour". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Kennedy, Geraldine. "Supreme Court faces unprecedented change". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Gleeson, Colin. "Former Enterprise Ireland chairman Hugh Cooney dies". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Annual Report 1994" (PDF). Law Reform Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Supreme and High Court judges appointed". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Ward starts challenge to life sentence for murder of Guerin". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Inquiry into judge's conduct concludes". RTÉ News. 23 October 2000. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Report finds O'Buachalla carried out functions without bias". RTÉ News. 5 December 2000. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Roe, David. "O'Donoghue recommends inquiry into Abbeylara". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "Judicial Retirements. – Tuesday, 4 Mar 2008 – Parliamentary Questions (30th Dáil) – Houses of the Oireachtas". www.oireachtas.ie. 4 March 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Cullen, Paul. "McCracken receives seal of appointment". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Financial appeals board nominees published". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "State Board membership: Residential Institutions Review Committee". www.gov.ie. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Ferns Diocese abuse inquiry gathers pace". RTÉ News. 13 August 2003. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "Inquiry set up into handling of Ferns abuse allegations". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "Background to the Ferns Inquiry". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  19. ↑ "Change in law to follow Ferns report on 40 years of abuse". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "Ex-Judge To Head Ireland's New Revenue Powers Group". www.tax-news.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "Revenue Powers Group. – Tuesday, 23 Nov 2004 – Parliamentary Questions (29th Dáil) – Houses of the Oireachtas". www.oireachtas.ie. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  22. ↑ "Extra powers recommended for the Revenue". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
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