Warm tributes were paid yesterday to the leading barrister and Fianna Fáil strategist, Mr Eamon Leahy SC, who died suddenly at the age of 46.
Mr Leahy was attending the Morris tribunal in Donegal, where he was representing the Garda Commissioner. The tribunal was adjourned as a mark of respect.
Educated at Belvedere College, UCD and the King's Inns, Mr Leahy was called to the Bar in 1979 and became a senior counsel in 1997. He had quickly built up a large and successful practice in criminal law, working on both the prosecuting and defence sides, most recently representing the prosecution side in John Gilligan's appeal. He also served as a member of the Bar Council.
Mr Leahy was equally well known in political circles, and he had been an active member of Fianna Fáil from his student days. He was married to the former Minister for Children and present Government Chief Whip, Ms Mary Hanafin. He sat on the party's justice policy committee, and was an adviser and close personal friend of the former Minister for Justice, Mr John O'Donoghue. Mr O'Donoghue said in a statement yesterday: "Eamon was a close personal friend, confidant and adviser. He was one of the finest minds of his generation. He was as gentle as he was humble, and as kind as he was loyal."
The present Minister, Mr McDowell, said: "Mr Leahy was a brilliant lawyer who exemplified the best in the profession he so loved. While he was well known for his superb skills of advocacy in representing the State or individuals in criminal cases, Mr Leahy also made an enormous contribution in recent years to the development and modernisation of the wider criminal justice system. In that regard, he served as a member of the Release of Prisoners Commission and the expert group appointed to consider changes in the criminal law, which were recommended in the Garda SMI Report. Mr Leahy was also chairman of the Legal Aid Board."
The Attorney General, Mr Rory Brady SC, a friend of Mr Leahy's since they were at UCD together, paid tribute to him in his capacity as leader of the Bar, and offered his sympathy to Ms Hanafin and Mr Leahy's family.
The chairman of the Bar Council, Mr Conor J. Maguire SC, said Mr Leahy "was a great colleague and friend".
Tributes also were paid in courtrooms yesterday, including in Galway and Cork, where the High Court was sitting. In Cork, Mr Justice O'Higgins said he was "stunned, shocked and numbed" by the news of Mr Leahy's untimely death.
"He was a very serious practitioner. He was meticulous, very thorough and painstaking in his work. His style of advocacy was direct, upfront and vigorous. The Bar and the criminal Bar in particular is much the poorer for his passing. We have been diminished by his death," he said.