Paul Coffey (judge)
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Paul Coffey is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the High Court since September 2016. He has been predominantly involved in criminal trials as a judge and formerly as a barrister. He was the chair of an examination into the
Stardust fire The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine's Day) 1981. More than 800 people were attending a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were ...
between 2008 and 2009.


Education

He was educated at
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
. He received a BCL degree in 1981 and an LL.M. degree in 1983. He received further education at the
King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...
and
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
.


Legal career

He was called to the Bar in 1984 and became a senior counsel in 2002. His practice was focused on criminal law and civil law, with experience in the law of personal injuries, medical negligence, planning law, Constitutional law, chancery and judicial review. His criminal law work included working on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions as a prosecutor and on behalf for defendants. He represented the Minister for the Environment in 2003 in a challenge by
Kathy Sinnott Kathy Sinnott (; born 29 September 1950) is an American-Irish disability rights activist and politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South constituency from 2004 to 2009. Early life Sinnott was born in Chicag ...
against the result of the
2002 Irish general election The 2002 Irish general election to the 29th Dáil was held on Friday, 17 May, just over three weeks after the Dissolution of parliament, dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday, 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoise ...
. On 10 July 2008, he was appointed to chair to an examination into the cause of the
Stardust fire The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine's Day) 1981. More than 800 people were attending a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were ...
. His investigation found that the Stardust Victims' Committee had not established any new evidence which could change the conclusion as to how the fire was started. He concluded that he did not believe that public interest would be served by establishing a further inquiry. The Government accepted his recommendation. His draft report however recommended the establishment of an independent inquiry. A further examination by Pat McCartan in 2017 also did not recommend a full inquiry.


Judicial career

Coffey was appointed to the High Court in September 2016. He has presided over criminal trials involving serious sexual offences and homicide. He has been the presiding judge in cases in the
Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish "special courts" with ...
involving
dissident republican Dissident republicans () are Irish republicans who do not support the Northern Ireland peace process. The peace agreements followed a 30-year conflict known as the Troubles, in which over 3,500 people were killed and 47,500 injured, and in whi ...
s and the Hutch–Kinahan feud. Other than criminal trials, he has heard cases involving Garda compensation, defamation, insolvency, and company law. As of 2021, he is the judge in charge of the Personal Injuries List of the High Court.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffey, Paul Living people High Court judges (Ireland) Irish barristers Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns Year of birth missing (living people)