Mary Laffoy

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

| office = President of the Law Reform Commission

| term_start = 20 October 2018

| term_end = 22 July 2022

| nominator = Government of Ireland

| predecessor = John Quirke

| successor = Frank Clarke

| office1 = Chair of the Citizens' Assembly

| taoiseach1 = Enda Kenny
Leo Varadkar

| term_start1 = 14 July 2016

| term_end1 = 21 June 2018

| predecessor1= New office

| successor1 = Catherine Day

| office2 = Judge of the Supreme Court

| term_start2 = 27 July 2013

| term_end2 = 16 June 2017

| nominator2 = Government of Ireland

| appointer2 = Michael D. Higgins

| office3 = Judge of the High Court

| term_start3 = 23 June 1995

| term_end3 = 27 July 2016

| nominator3 = Government of Ireland

| appointer3 = Mary Robinson

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|6|17|df=y}}

| birth_place = North Circular Road, Dublin, Ireland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Irish

| spouse =

| children =

| education = Tourmakeady College

| alma_mater = {{Ubl|University College Dublin|King's Inns}}

|}}

Mary Eleanor Laffoy, SC (born 17 June 1945) is a retired Irish judge who served as President of the Law Reform Commission from 2018 to 2022, a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2013 to 2017, and a Judge of the High Court from 1995 to 2013.{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0725/464628-high-court-judges-announced/|title=Two new Supreme Court judges announced|work=RTÉ News|date=25 July 2013|access-date=25 July 2013|archive-date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823045300/http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0725/464628-high-court-judges-announced/|url-status=live}} She also chaired the Citizens' Assembly between 2016 and 2018.

Early life

Laffoy was born on North Circular Road, Dublin, moving to Manorhamilton and Swinford, before returning to Dublin to live in Donabate following the death of her father.{{cite news |last1=Gilhooly |first1=Stuart |title=Reluctant Heroine |url=https://issuu.com/256media/docs/parchment_winter_2017 |accessdate=30 May 2020 |work=The Parchment |issue=Winter 2017 |archive-date=23 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923032320/https://issuu.com/256media/docs/parchment_winter_2017 |url-status=live }} She attended Tourmakeady College in Toormakeady.

Initially, after leaving school, she tried primary school teaching at Carysfort College and joined the civil service. She was subsequently educated at University College Dublin and King's Inns.{{cite web|url=http://www.merrionstreet.ie/index.php/2013/07/two-new-judges-for-the-supreme-court/|title=Two new judges for the Supreme Court|work=MerrionStreet.ie|date=25 July 2013|access-date=25 July 2013|archive-date=26 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140526034942/http://www.merrionstreet.ie/index.php/2013/07/two-new-judges-for-the-supreme-court/|url-status=live}} She received the John Brooks Scholarship at the Inns for achieving the highest marks.{{cite news |title=Justice Mary Laffoy retires |url=https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/in-depth/mary-laffoy-retires/ |accessdate=30 May 2020 |work=www.lawsociety.ie |archive-date=23 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923032323/https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/in-depth/mary-laffoy-retires |url-status=live }} She received a BA degree from UCD in 1968 and a BCL degree in 1971.{{cite web |title=Current Judges of the Supreme Court |url=http://www.supremecourt.ie/supremecourt/sclibrary3.nsf/0/5C73008BBE0F9BB98025741800405F3C?opendocument&l=en |publisher=Supreme Court |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924111955/http://www.supremecourt.ie/supremecourt/sclibrary3.nsf/0/5C73008BBE0F9BB98025741800405F3C?opendocument&l=en |archivedate=24 September 2015}}

Legal career

She was called to the Bar in 1971 and to the Inner Bar in 1987. She devilled for Brian McCracken. She became a Senior Counsel on the same day as future Supreme Court colleagues Susan Denham and Liam McKechnie and at the time was only one of four women seniors.{{cite news |title=Two women among four called to the Inner Bar |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=6 October 1987 |page=10}}

Her expertise at the Bar was in property law. She appeared in the Cityview Press case which clarified the law on the nondelegation doctrine in Ireland. In 1983, she was appointed by the Supreme Court to argue against the constitutionality of the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 1983 following a reference made by President Patrick Hillery under Article 26 of the Constitution of Ireland. She appeared in another Article 26 reference made by Mary Robinson regarding the Matrimonial Home Bill 1993. For both references, the Supreme Court found for her side.{{cite web |last1=Denham |first1=Susan |authorlink1=Susan Denham |title=A Farewell to The Hon. Ms. Justice Mary Laffoy on the occasion of her retirement |url=https://scoirl.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/farewell-speech-to-the-hon-ms-justice-mary-laffoy.pdf |accessdate=30 May 2020 |archive-date=23 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923032318/https://scoirl.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/farewell-speech-to-the-hon-ms-justice-mary-laffoy.pdf |url-status=live }}

In 1986, she appeared on The Late Late Show in a simulated court case to argue for a vote against the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.{{cite news |title='Late Late' divorce special tonight |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=20 June 1986 |page=8}}

Judicial career

=High Court=

She was appointed as a judge of the High Court in 1995.{{cite news|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/mary-laffoy-elizabeth-dunne-nominated-for-supreme-court-1008225-Jul2013/|title=Two judges nominated for the Supreme Court|work=TheJournal.ie|date=25 July 2013|access-date=25 July 2013|archive-date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823050454/http://www.thejournal.ie/mary-laffoy-elizabeth-dunne-nominated-for-supreme-court-1008225-Jul2013/|url-status=live}} She primarily presided over cases involving chancery law.{{cite web |title=COMMISSIONERS |url=https://www.lawreform.ie/law-reform/who-we-are.329.html |website=LRC |accessdate=30 May 2020 |archive-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527073345/https://www.lawreform.ie/law-reform/who-we-are.329.html |url-status=live }}

She presided over the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse from 1999 to 2003, an inquiry into child abuse. Her decision to resign as chair before the commission completed its report was controversial. In her letter of resignation from the commission of 2 September 2003, Laffoy outlined her belief that the actions of the Government and the Department of Education had frustrated her efforts and had slowed the commission's work.{{cite book|last=Arnold|first=Bruce|title=The Irish Gulag|publisher=Gill and Macmillan|location=Dublin|date=2009|chapter=Chapters 9 & 10|isbn=978-0-7171-4614-7}} She felt that: "...the cumulative effect of those factors effectively negated the guarantee of independence conferred on the Commission and militated against it being able to perform its statutory functions." The commission was chaired from 2003 to 2009 by Judge Sean Ryan.

She presided over the High Court hearing in A v Governor of Arbour Hill Prison, ordering the release of a prisoner convicted of statutory rape due to an earlier finding that the offence he was convicted of was contrary to the Constitution of Ireland. Her decision was overturned on appeal to the Supreme Court. In 2012, she dismissed an action taken by Thomas Pringle regarding the legality of the European Stability Mechanism. The European Court of Justice, after reference from the Supreme Court, also rejected his claim.

During her time at the High Court, ten per cent of reported judgments were written by Laffoy.

=Supreme Court=

Laffoy was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ireland in July 2013. She retired from the Supreme Court on 16 June 2017.{{cite news| url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/tributes-paid-to-immense-contribution-of-ms-justice-mary-laffoy-1.3122574| work=Irish Times| title=Tributes paid to 'immense' contribution of Ms Justice Mary Laffoy| date=16 June 2017| access-date=23 September 2021| archive-date=12 November 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112034902/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/tributes-paid-to-immense-contribution-of-ms-justice-mary-laffoy-1.3122574| url-status=live}} A portrait of her was unveiled in the King's Inns in March 2020.{{cite news |title=Portrait of Ms Justice Mary Laffoy unveiled by The Bar of Ireland |url=https://www.irishlegal.com/article/portrait-of-ms-justice-mary-laffoy-unveiled-by-the-bar-of-ireland |accessdate=30 May 2020 |work=Irish Legal News |language=en |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811194335/https://irishlegal.com/article/portrait-of-ms-justice-mary-laffoy-unveiled-by-the-bar-of-ireland |url-status=live }}

Additional appointments

= Citizens' Assembly =

In July 2016, she was appointed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to chair the Citizens' Assembly, which she chaired until June 2018.{{cite news |title=Law Reform Commission appoints Ms Justice Laffoy as president |url=https://www.irishlegal.com/article/law-reform-commission-appoints-ms-justice-laffoy-as-president |accessdate=30 May 2020 |work=Irish Legal News |language=en |archive-date=23 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923032353/https://www.irishlegal.com/articles/law-reform-commission-appoints-ms-justice-laffoy-as-president |url-status=live }}