Foreword

AuthorMr Justice Gerard Hogan
Pages1-2
Foreword
The last few months have seen important events roll by in the decade of
centenaries 100 years of female suffrage, the establishment of Dáil
Éireann and the commencement of the War of Independence were all
three notable dates. But the delivery in the last few weeks of two seminal
judgments by the Supreme Court concerning the scope of parliamentary
privilege Kerins v McGuinness and O Brien v Clerk of Dáil Éireann
reminds us once more of the vital role which the Supreme Court has
played in consolidating the constitutional architecture of this State and
by providing a neutral forum for the ultimate resolution of disputes in a
manner which, by and large, attracts a high degree of public confidence.
This, in its own way, is a salutary reminder of the fact that the 100th
anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Court is coming around
in June 2024.
How different it must have been in those difficult days as the first
three members of the Court led by Chief Justice Hugh Kennedy were
sworn in on a rainy afternoon on 24 June 1924 in Dublin Castle. The
difficulty of the occasion must have been underscored by the fact that
the Four Courts had been left in ruins in the aftermath of the Civil War
so that the courts were obliged to sit in Dublin Castle until they could
move back to the Four Courts in October 1931. The event seems to have
occasioned so little fanfare that the Registrar of the new Supreme Court
continued doubtless in the interests of national economy with the
same courtbook as had been used up to a few days previously by the
former Court of Appeal.
In the meantime, however, the prestige and status of the Court has
grown. At its best, the Court has played a key role in protecting the
separation of powers, the rule of law and fundamental liberties. In this
respect one need look no further than the classic judgments in Buckley v
Attorney General, McGee v Attorney General and, more recently, NHV
v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Like all human
institutions it has, however, made its mistakes the injustice and
unfairness of decisions such as The State Nicolaou v An Bord Uchtála
and Norris v Attorney General still echo through the decades.
Nor should the vital and important role played by the Court’s
female members led by its first female member and Chief Justice,

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