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Gerard O'Brien (judge)

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Gerard O'Brien
Judge of the Circuit Court
In office
18 February 2015 – 5 January 2024
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Personal details
Born (1964-11-14) 14 November 1964 (age 60)
Limerick, Ireland
Political partyFianna Fáil
Alma mater

Gerard O'Brien (born 14 November 1964) is an Irish judge and lawyer who served as a Judge of the Circuit Court from 2015 to 2024. Prior to his appointment, he was state solicitor for North Tipperary and practiced as a solicitor in Thurles. He was formerly a secondary school teacher and a local politician.

In December 2023, he was found guilty of attempted rape and sexual assault. He resigned as a judge the following month.

Early life

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O'Brien was born in 1964. He was born without arms and with one leg as a result of the thalidomide drug.[1] A documentary on RTÉ Radio 1 in 1992 profiled O'Brien and his mother and their experiences of his disability.[2] He attended University College Dublin, from where he graduated in 1986 with a law degree. He later obtained a higher diploma in education in 1987 and master of law in criminology and criminal justice in 2012 from UCD.[3]

He was a secondary school teacher in a Dublin school during the 1990s.[4] He founded Phoenix Productions, a youth musical theatre group in Thurles, in 1998.[5]

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Following his teaching career, O'Brien qualified as a solicitor in March 2003.[6] He first worked at two Dublin firms, Garrett Sheehan & Co Solicitors and Roger Greene & Sons Solicitors.[1]

O'Brien established his own practice in Thurles, Gerard O'Brien Solicitors, in 2006.[1] His practice was involved in childcare, mental health and criminal cases in the courts.[7][8][9] The firm was frequently retained by the Child and Family Agency to act for people appointed to the role of guardian at litem.[10] In 2013, he acted for the guardian ad litem appointed to Samantha Azzopardi in the High Court. It was initially believed that Azzopardi was a child, but it was subsequently determined that she was a woman in her twenties.[11][12] The case attracted media attention in several countries and was featured on Con Girl, a documentary on Paramount+.[12][13][14]

O'Brien was elected to Thurles Town Council in the 2009 local elections for Fianna Fáil and served as deputy mayor of Thurles.[15][2] He was appointed state solicitor for North Tipperary in April 2012 and resigned his position as councillor.[16] He was replaced on the council by Gerard Fogarty.[17] As state solicitor, he brought a prosecution against Michael Lowry for tax law offences in 2014, serving the book of evidence on Lowry in April 2014.[18][19]

Judicial career

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O'Brien was nominated to the Circuit Court to fill a vacancy created by Margaret Heneghan.[20] He was appointed in February 2015.[21] Initially based in Dublin,[1] he was later assigned to the Cork circuit.[22] He heard cases including those involving drugs offences, sexual offences, criminal damage, assault, theft, arson, and road traffic offences.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29] In 2018, O'Brien reviewed an essay written by a man appealing a conviction of drugs possession. On the basis of the essay, he dismissed the conviction.[23] He has heard civil cases involving personal injuries and mental distress.[30][31]

Following his criminal conviction, O'Brien resigned on 5 January 2024.[32][33]

Trial and conviction

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In 2019, the Garda Síochána received formal complaints from six men about O'Brien relating to events from 1991 to 1997.[2] Four complainants were students in the school where he taught and two knew O'Brien from his home town.[34] He initially denied to Gardaí having had sexual contact any with the complainants, but later claimed he had consensual relations with three of them.[35] He was charged in 2021[2] with one count of attempted rape and eight counts of sexual assault.[35]

The four-week trial presided over by Alexander Owens in the Central Criminal Court concluded on 22 December 2023. O'Brien pleaded not guilty.[34] Five of the complainants said that they were sexually assaulted after waking up next to O'Brien and the sixth said that he was sexually assaulted in the toilet of a pub.[35] A ten-person jury found O'Brien guilty of the nine charges.[35][36]

As a result of his conviction, O'Brien is on the sex offender register. He will be sentenced in March 2024.[34][36]

Following the trial, the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that she was consulting with the Attorney General Rossa Fanning on "the options open to the Government and the Oireachtas".[37] One the complainants and several politicians made statements seeking his resignation.[38][39][40] He later resigned.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "North tipp state solicitor appointed to circuit court". Nenagh Guardian. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Carolan, Mary; Roche, Barry (22 December 2023). "Gerard O'Brien: Convicted judge overcame severe physical disability to teach and pursue legal career". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Recent judicial appointments for our alumni". Facebook. UCD School of Law. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Disgraced judge Gerard O'Brien convicted of sexual abuse of six young men while he was teacher in Dublin". Independent.ie. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  5. ^ Dundon, Noel. "Tipperary youth musical theatre group Phoenix Productions to celebrate 20 years tonight". www.tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Newly-qualified solicitors at the presentation of their parchments on 12 March 2003" (PDF). Law Society Gazette. 97 (10): 65. December 2003. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  7. ^ "The case for reforming the childcare system". Business Post. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Court rejects plea to transfer woman to Dundrum hospital". The Irish Times. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  9. ^ Roche, Barry (2 August 2010). "Four men charged over series of burglaries in Munster and Leinster". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  10. ^ Deegan, Gordon (24 December 2014). "Shatter's legal firm receives second-highest fees from CFA". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  11. ^ Barry, Aoife (7 November 2013). "GPO girl moving into HSE adult mental health care". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Samantha Azzopardi, woman found in Dublin, returns to Australia". The Guardian. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  13. ^ Drape, Julian (6 November 2013). "Aust woman in Dublin free to leave care". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Whatever happened to GPO Girl? The mind-boggling tale of a serial scammer who landed in Ireland". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Local Elections 2009 Results, Transfer of Votes and Statistics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Health Minister had no recollection of commitment to restore 22 respite beds in Tipperary". www.tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  17. ^ "'No decision made on my future in public life' - Gerard Fogarty". www.tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Lowry tax case: Matters need to be clarified". Independent.ie. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Judge gets Michael Lowry to attend court for book of evidence". Independent.ie. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Seven new Circuit Court judges nominated". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  21. ^ "AN CHÚIRT CHUARDA" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 16: 279. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  22. ^ "The Judges | The Courts Service of Ireland". www.courts.ie. Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  23. ^ a b Heylin, Liam (16 March 2018). "Man writes essay on court sittings as part of appeal". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Man guilty of indecent assault on child in 1990". echo live. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Hotelier says she no longer feels safe in her hometown". The Southern Star. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  26. ^ Kelleher, Olivia (3 July 2019). "Cork man described as 'menace to society' gets two years for attack on woman". Cork Beo. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Suspended sentence for Macroom woman who stole over €200k from her employer". The Southern Star. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  28. ^ Heylin, Liam (17 July 2018). "Arsonist avoids jail for attempted €200k fraud". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  29. ^ Heylin, Liam (16 June 2018). "Man gets five years as Garda patrol car rammed". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  30. ^ Heylin, Liam (22 July 2017). "Dunnes employee wins €40k after slip on wet floor". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  31. ^ Heylin, Liam (22 March 2017). "Woman sues HSE over videoing of birth for study". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  32. ^ MacRedmond, David (6 January 2024). "McEntee confirms resignation of judge Gerard O'Brien following sexual assault conviction". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  33. ^ a b "Circuit Court judge Gerard O'Brien resigns". RTÉ News. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  34. ^ a b c Dodd, Claire Henry and Eimear (22 December 2023). "Judge found guilty of sexually assaulting six young men while he was a teacher in the 1990s". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  35. ^ a b c d Lynch, Sharon (22 December 2023). "Judge guilty of sexual assault during time as teacher". RTÉ News. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  36. ^ a b Carolan, Mary (22 December 2023). "Judge convicted of sexually assaulting six males on dates in the 1990s". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  37. ^ "Minister seeks AG's advice after judge convicted". RTÉ News. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  38. ^ "Convicted judge Gerard O'Brien should resign, sexual assault survivor says". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  39. ^ Pownall, Sylvia (7 January 2024). "Judge Gerard O'Brien resigns following sexual assault conviction". Dublin Live. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  40. ^ "Sinn Féin pushes for removal of judge convicted of sexual assaults". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
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