Maurice Gaffney, Irish barrister, Died at 100

Maurice Gaffney was born on October 11, 1916, and died on November 3, 2016.

He was an Irish barrister working in the Supreme Court of Ireland,

Maurice Gaffney at the time of his death aged 100 was the oldest and longest-working barrister in the country.

He was born in County Meath to a Royal Ulster Constabulary member.

Maurice relocated to Dublin with his family following events after the 1916 Easter Rising.

Initially, he had found employment as a teacher, before becoming a practising member of the Law Library.

Maurice Gaffney was first called to the bar in 1954, and promoted to Senior Council in 1970.

In the 80s, Maurice was involved in DPP vs O’Shea, a landmark case in Irish law that determined if a jury’s verdict could be overturned.

He agreed that it could, and the law was changed.

In 1996, Maurice Gaffney presided over Fianna Fáil’s Des Hanafin’s attempt to overturn the historic divorce laws that came into force the previous year.

Gaffney considered himself an expert on railway law.

Gaffney still continued to practice law into the 21st century.

In 2014, Gaffney was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the Irish Law Awards, also known as the legal Oscars.

Gaffney continued appearing before the High Court and Supreme Court in 2015.

During the next year, he said he had no plans to retire and would continue working for as long as possible, saying “it keeps me alive”.

He recided in Monkstown, Dublin before being admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital before passing away aged 100 on 3 November 2016.

By The chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland, Paul McGarry, praised Gaffney’s work and his track record of constitutional and criminal law.

Maurice Gaffney passed away at 100 years old.