Yesterday the Irish Times reported the contents of a new report by Trinity College Dublin academic Dr. James Rooney. The paper points out – accurately – that many of those who have served on the highest court in the land are drawn from the upper tiers of Irish society. Dr. Rooney points out that a disproportionate number of senior judges came from private school backgrounds, attended particular legal colleges (The UCD school of law being especially over-represented) and that the schools they attended were disproportionately catholic and single-sex.
As a series of factual assertions about the background of senior Irish judges, there is nothing amiss. The problems arise when Dr. Rooney begins to make assertions about what this means. As reported by Mary Carolan:
This article is premium content
Get unlimited access to Gript
Support Gript and get exclusive content, full archives and an ad-free experience
Subscribe
Already a member? Sign in here