Seamus Wolfe appointed to supreme court
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has denied there was any political wrangling or agreement to appoint Seamus Woulfe SC, the Attorney General during Leo Varadkar’s government to the Supreme Court.
Mr Woulfe’s nomination to the country’s top court comes just two weeks after he vacated the position of Attorney General and was formally signed off upon by the Cabinet this evening.
Mr Martin denied the appointment was the subject of any discussion or agreement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil during the Programme for Government discussions.
Mr Woulfe, a well-known Senior Counsel and Fine Gael activist was appointed on foot of a recommendation from the Judicial Appointments Board which Cabinet ratified on Wednesday evening.
Mr Woulfe was appointed Attorney General in June 2017 by then new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
He courted controversy when 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”.
A graduate of Belvedere College, Trinity College Dublin and the King’s Inns, Mr Woulfe was a leading practitioner of commercial and public law as a barrister.
He is an avid sports fan, his genial manner won him many admirers during his time in government and was heavily relied upon by Mr Varadkar.
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.
