Adrian Hardiman offered up refreshing decisions and never afraid to 'go against the grain'

A founding member of the PDs, a taoiseach-questioning inquisitor at tribunals, and never afraid to go against the grain, the legal profession has suffered a huge loss, writes Caroline O’Doherty

IN THE usually arid language of Supreme Court legal judgments, Adrian Hardiman’s contributions delivered a welcome drop of refreshment.

Not shy about injecting passion into his conclusions, he would declare a contrary claim as “astonishing”, a perceived breach of legal principle as “horrifying”, and an ill-argued point as “bewildering”, “nonsense”, or, on a good day, both.