Adrian Hardiman - A real patriot

THE Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, who has died suddenly aged 65, served the Irish justice system with commitment, unwavering impartiality, a sharp intellect and the kind of proactive patriotism that animates all great public servants.

He was one of the most prominent lawyers in Ireland when he was appointed directly from the Bar to the Supreme Court 16 years ago. This appointment showed him, as President Michael D Higgins said yesterday, to be “one of the great legal minds of his generation”. He was called to the Bar in 1974 and practised as a barrister for 26 years, taking silk in 1989.

Mr Justice Hardiman appeared in many of the leading cases of the day. He represented Pat Rabbitte and Des O’Malley during the beef tribunal, where his cross-examination of then Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, was groundbreaking. He stood for public office once but was not elected, and was later a founding member of the Progressive Democrats.