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 by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | Michael D. Higgins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 November 1964 Limerick, Ireland |
| Party | Fianna Fáil |
| Alma mater | |
Gerard O'Brien (born 14 November 1964) is an Irish lawyer and former judge 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.
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]
Legal and political career
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]