Colm Patrick Condon (16 July 1921 – 9 August 2008) was an Irish barrister who served as Attorney General of Ireland from 1965 to 1973. Condon served in office as Attorney General of Ireland during the beginning of

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in the late 1960s. He was born in Ashbourne, County Meath, the third child of Thomas Condon, an accountant and

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

(IRA) activist, who had taken part in the 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

. His mother was Margaret McGuire, a teacher in Ashbourne. Thomas Condon was also briefly a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

representing

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

as well as having been a member of Meath County Council. Condon was educated at Terenure College in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and subsequently at University College Dublin. He practised cases including those involving defamation and personal injury. Condon was called to the Bar in 1944, and became a senior counsel in 1959. He was appointed as Attorney General of Ireland, serving under

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Seán Lemass. He remained in office under Lemass's successor, Jack Lynch. He argued on behalf of the State during the 1970 Arms Trial which involved future Taoiseach Charles Haughey. In 1972, he helped draft legislation that set up the Special Criminal Court. In 1997, Condon appeared before the Moriarty Tribunal in which he sided with Haughey challenging the powers of the tribunal. Condon was married twice. He had two sons and two daughters by his first marriage.Meath Chronicle, 27 August 2008 (retrieved on 20 October 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Condon, Colm 1921 births 2008 deaths Attorneys general of Ireland Irish barristers Lawyers from County Meath 20th-century Irish lawyers 21st-century Irish lawyers People from Ashbourne, County Meath People educated at Terenure College