13 Facts About Cecil Lavery

Cecil Patrick Linton Lavery was an Irish lawyer, judge and politician who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1950 to 1966 and Attorney General of Ireland from 1948 to 1950.

Cecil Lavery served as a Teachta Dala for the Dublin County constituency from 1935 to 1938.

Cecil Lavery was a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel from 1948 to 1950.

Cecil Lavery was educated at St Patrick's School, Armagh, Castleknock College, Dublin; and later at University College Dublin, where he became one of the first auditors of the UCD Law Society.

Cecil Lavery was elected to Dail Eireann on his first attempt, at a by-election held on 17 June 1935 in the Dublin County constituency, after the death of Fine Gael TD Batt O'Connor.

Cecil Lavery was returned to the 9th Dail at the 1937 general election, but the following year at the 1938 general election, he lost his seat to his Fine Gael running-mate Patrick Belton.

Cecil Lavery did not stand for election again until 1948, when he was elected to the 6th Seanad as a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel, and was appointed as Attorney General of Ireland by Taoiseach John A Costello.

Costello made two controversial decisions on Cecil Lavery's appointment; reversing the practice of many years he decided that Cecil Lavery could continue in private practice and that such fees as were paid to him as Attorney General should count as part of his income rather than be paid into the Exchequer.

Costello justified both decisions on the ground that Cecil Lavery was one of the Bar's top earners and had taken a considerable pay cut as Attorney General.

Cecil Lavery left the Seanad on 21 April 1950, when he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, where he served till his retirement in 1966.

Cecil Lavery was offered the presidency of the High Court but withdrew his name, apparently after the Department of Justice raised a question about his qualifications.

In 1961, on the retirement of Conor Maguire, Costello lobbied hard for Cecil Lavery to be appointed Chief Justice of Ireland, calling him with perhaps some exaggeration "the outstanding Irish legal figure of the last half-century".

Cecil Lavery later lobbied, unsuccessfully, for Lavery to be appointed a judge of the International Court of Justice.