Daniel McConnell: Seamus Woulfe has displayed ignorance of public mood

Supreme Court Judge Seamus Woulfe

The transcripts of Supreme Court Judge Seamus Woulfe’s discussions with ex-Chief Justice Susan Denham are damning for a man who has single-handedly brought his court into significant controversy.

While Denham ultimately gave him the benefit of the doubt in relation to his position, the 140-pages of transcript reveal a level of hubris, arrogance and stunning ignorance to the public mood from Woulfe who had just vacated his role as Attorney-General.

While we were all aware of his qualified apology on the day after the Irish Examiner broke the story on August 20, the transcript reveals a different feeling towards such apologies.

“I spoke to one or two people and I decided I would make an apology because one or two other people had apologised, for any unintentional breach of any guidelines on my part,” he said.

“Now, I was a bit hesitant about doing it because I wasn't sure what I was apologising for... And I think what's very interesting is - and I've only noticed this yesterday when I went back to the apology - the fact that I said ‘do apologise for any unintentional breach of any of the new guidelines on my part,’” he told Denham.

As for the reporting of the story in the first place by my colleagues Aoife Moore and Paul Hosford, Judge Woulfe was dismissive and disparaging.

“So going to bed on Thursday night I had driven back, another very long drive back up to northeast Donegal and before I went to bed that night I was back to my news addiction and I flicked the news headlines on, I know I shouldn't, on The Examiner newspaper and I was astonished to see that they had as a lead story, something about Dara Calleary attending a golf dinner and I said, 'this is the greatest load of rubbish ever now.'”

“I don't know, on the Thursday night, had they mentioned my attendance or anybody else, but they had a breaking story that Dara Calleary attended a dinner. I thought nothing of it. I thought, 'Jesus, they're really scraping the barrel here during the silly season in August,’” he said.

“When I saw the news of Dara Calleary resigning and I was astonished,” he said.

Judge Woulfe also sought to have a go at the very politicians who appointed him to his premier post in the country’s highest court.

Judge Woulfe said Taoiseach Micheál Martin had failed to contact Donie Cassidy, a former senator who organised the golf event, for an account of the facts.

“I mean if the governments themselves don’t understand, or if the attorney-general can’t explain it to them — I’m sure he’s trying hard — what hope have we got?” 

Judge Woulfe said to Judge Denham that the treatment of the Oireachtas Golf Society was appalling and claimed it was “presented like it was the Ku Klux Klan”.

Judge Woulfe also expressed concern that his colleagues on the Supreme Court might have “prejudged” him. 

“Unfortunately I think even judges are not above prejudging, judge, and in this mood of hysteria I can’t be sure if some of my colleagues have prejudged me.”

So, everyone to blame but him it seems.