Séamus Woulfe: The squash fan who has courted controversy
Experience As And A Maxwell’s Was At A To Sit Ag Cabinet It 'fascinating' The Said Table Seamus Woulfe: 'privilege' Picture:
Séamus Woulfe, the sociable judge, is no stranger to controversy.
The 58-year-old, who is an avid supporter of Dublin GAA, joined the Supreme Court in July of this year, a month before a dinner meeting of 81 people in a hotel in Clifden would engulf him and a number of leading politicians in scandal.
Mr Woulfe, who is well known as an affable senior counsel and Fine Gael activist, is now firmly in the spotlight over his refusal to resign for attending the 'golfgate' event over the summer.
However, he has previously hit the headlines on a number of occasions and even his appointment to the Supreme Court sparked suggestions that political wrangling had been at play.
At the time, Taoiseach Micheál Martin denied that the appointment of the former attorney general to the highest court in the land had been part of the horse-trading between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in government formation talks.
Before that, he courted controversy when as attorney general, he branded a bill spearheaded by then transport minister Shane Ross aimed at reforming the process of appointing judges as a “dog’s dinner”.
He later recanted and apologised to Mr Ross for the “ill-judged comments” made during a lunch event for the Association of European Journalists in 2018.
Born in Raheny in 1962, Mr Woulfe attended Belvedere College, Trinity College, and Canada's oldest law school Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.
He then returned to Ireland where he qualified as a barrister from the King’s Inns in 1987.
He quickly gained a name for himself in the 1990s, acting for Pat Rabbitte at the Beef tribunal and appearing in the X Case, a case which would rock the nation and would go on to shape abortion laws in this country.
The father-of-two, who is married to barrister Sheena Hickey, built up a successful commercial and public law practice.
As he was an active member of Fine Gael in Dublin Bay North, Mr Woulfe built strong ties with the party. It is understood that it was through former minister Richard Bruton that he was suggested to then taoiseach Leo Varadkar for the position of attorney general in 2017.
He acted for Fine Gael in 2015 in a High Court case taken by party member John Perry, who had claimed that he had been unfairly dropped from the party ticket ahead of the general election.
Viewed as an approachable attorney general, he was often to be seen regaling TDs and officials in the Dáil bar during his time in Leinster House.
He won praise for his decision to order a new inquest into the deaths of 48 people who perished in the Stardust tragedy in 1981.
The role of AG was one he clearly relished. In an interview with the Bar Review in November 2017, he said it was a "fascinating" experience and a "privilege" to sit at the Cabinet table.
"In some ways, Cabinet is like any board of a company, it has its own dynamics and personalities. For somebody with an interest in politics and Government, it's particularly interesting and exciting to be there and be part of it."
A keen squash player and sports fan, he also told the Bar Review: "When you're on the squash court, you can't think about anything else. The ball is going so fast, so you clear the head."