Chief Justice's 'golfgate' meeting with Seamus Woulfe postponed

The Denham report concluded that it would be “unjust and disproportionate” to remove Mr Justice Woulfe over his attendance at the infamous Oireachtas Golf Society dinner Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

The planned meeting between the Chief Justice and Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe to discuss the fallout from the ‘golfgate’ report has been postponed again.

Chief Justice Frank Clarke acceded to a request from Mr Justice Woulfe citing “medical grounds”, but told the judge of the “urgency” in dealing with the matter.

The Chief Justice was initially due to meet judge Woulfe last Monday, but this was postponed, on request of the Supreme Court judge, until this coming Friday.

That arrangement has now changed again after the Chief Justice received a request for a further postponement for medical reasons.

It follows the publication last Thursday of a report of a non-statutory inquiry carried out by former Chief Justice Ms Susan Denham into the affair.

A statement issued on behalf of the Chief Justice on Tuesday evening said: “This week the Chief Justice had postponed his intended meeting with Mr Justice Woulfe until Friday next.

"The Chief Justice has received a request for a further postponement on medical grounds, and has agreed to fix the meeting for Tuesday of next week.

"The Chief Justice has emphasised to Mr Justice Woulfe the urgency of bringing this process forward.” 

The Denham report, requested by the Supreme Court, concluded that it would be “unjust and disproportionate” to remove Mr Justice Woulfe over his attendance at the infamous Oireachtas Golf Society dinner at the Clifden House Hotel in Galway on August 19.

But Ms Justice Denham found that the judge erred in his decision to attend the dinner, but cited mitigating factors.

The publication of the report was followed, unexpectedly, by the release of transcripts from the inquiry, last Friday.

It was further reported that three senior judges met Mr Justice Woulfe last Friday to discuss the issue.

Based on the evidence and submissions received, Ms Justice Denham concluded that Mr Justice Woulfe did nothing involving impropriety such as would justify calls for his resignation.

But she said, that, in her opinion, the 58-year-old “did not consider separately the propriety, or if there would be an appearance of impropriety, for a judge of the Supreme Court to attend a celebratory dinner in a public place while there is a pandemic in the State”.

She added: “He should have considered whether the community may regard the judge’s participation as an impropriety.”