14 Facts About Adrian Hardiman

Adrian Hardiman was an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2000 to 2016.

Adrian Hardiman was born on 21 May 1951, in Coolock, Dublin.

Adrian Hardiman's father was a teacher and president of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland.

Adrian Hardiman was educated at Belvedere College, Dublin, and University College Dublin, where he studied history, and the King's Inns.

Adrian Hardiman was president of the Student Representative Council at UCD and Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society and won The Irish Times National Debating Championship in 1973.

Adrian Hardiman has been chair of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby homes.

Justice Adrian Hardiman and Judge Murphy had three sons, one of whom, Eoin, is a barrister and has been a member of the Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee; Hugh, who was a personal assistant to Michael McDowell, when McDowell was Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform; and Daniel, a Doctor.

Adrian Hardiman remained very friendly with the former party leader and ex-Tanaiste, Michael McDowell, who was a close friend at college, a fellow founding member of the party, and best man at his wedding.

Adrian Hardiman was called to the Irish Bar in 1974, where he had a successful practice as a barrister, focusing on criminal law and defamation.

Adrian Hardiman was described as a "colossus of the legal world" by Chief Justice Susan Denham.

Politically, Adrian Hardiman supported the liberal side in Ireland's debates over abortion, being active in the "anti-amendment" campaign during the 1983 Abortion Referendum and later represented the Well Woman Centre in the early 1990s.

Adrian Hardiman believed that certain decisions, such as those involving public spending, were better left to elected politicians rather than unelected judges, regardless of how unpopular that might sometimes be in the media and among what he described as the "chattering classes".

Adrian Hardiman wrote a number of important judgments since joining the Court.

Adrian Hardiman presided over the Court of Criminal Appeal.