merrion street

Statement from the Attorney General Máire R. Whelan S.C. on the death of Mr. Justice Kevin Feeney

I was saddened to learn last night of the death of Mr. Justice Kevin Feeney, who served with great distinction as a High Court judge since 2006.

As a judge, Mr. Justice Feeney combined enormous intellectual ability with a compassion and courtesy which left an abiding impression on litigant and lawyer alike. His deft handling of the Criminal Assets Bureau cases was illustrative of his absolute professionalism and his mastery of a developing area of the law.

As counsel, he acted in a series of landmark commercial actions, and he was unquestionably the leading defamation lawyer of his generation, making the sometimes recondite nature of libel law accessible for a jury. He brought the skills he acquired from his practice in the law library to the Bench, where his judgments were informed by his deep knowledge of the law, his robust commonsense and his zeal for fairness.

He leaves a legal legacy of incalculable value in his body of reported caselaw, which will continue for many years to be the bedrock of jurisprudence in matters which concern the recovery of the proceeds of crime.

His steadfast commitment to public service was also underlined by his chairmanship of the referendum commission during the Fiscal Stability Treaty referendum last year, a role he undertook willingly and performed with great success.

He was a man of great ability and integrity, and his sudden and unexpected death leaves a great void in the Irish legal community. I extend my deepest sympathy to his wife and children on their loss.

Máire R. Whelan SC