John Joseph Blayney (13 March 1925 – 17 June 2018) was an Irish rugby player, barrister and judge who served a Judge of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 1992 to 1997 and a Judge of the High Court from 1973 to 1992. John Blayney was the son of Alexander Joseph Blayney, who was a prominent Dublin surgeon at Mater Hospital. On 12 December 1991, he was nominated as a Judge of the

Supreme Court of Ireland The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...

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 ...

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

. On 9 January 1992, he was appointed to the position by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

. Upon retirement from a long legal career, his position on the bench was filled by Judge Henry Denis Barron. During his retirement, he acted as chairman to the Blayney Inquiry into the "professional and business conduct" of a number of major Irish accountants and accounting firms. Blayney has, on several occasions, sat on the bench for the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

. Blayney played

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, earning one cap in 1950 in which he ran a 40-yard try against a Scottish side.

References

1925 births 2018 deaths Ireland international rugby union players Irish barristers Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland High Court judges (Ireland) Alumni of King's Inns People educated at Belvedere College Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Irish rugby union players Rugby union centres Lawyers from County Dublin 20th-century Irish judges {{Ireland-law-bio-stub