Edmund Honohan

Edmund Honohan (born April 1952)[1] is an Irish barrister who was the Master of the High Court from 2001 to 2022.

Edmund Honohan
Master of the High Court
In office
14 May 2001 – 8 April 2022
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Preceded byHarry Hill
Succeeded byVacant
Personal details
BornApril 1952 (age 71)
NationalityIrish
Alma mater

Early life

Honohan is from Glasnevin and is the brother of Patrick Honohan.[2] He was called to the Bar in 1975 and became a senior counsel in 1995.[3] He was involved with Fianna Fáil early in his career, where he assisted with the writing of the party's manifesto for the 1977 general election. Bertie Ahern was selected ahead of him to contest the 1977 election in Dublin Finglas.[4] He advised the Minister for Economic Planning and Development Martin O'Donoghue between 1977 and 1979.[3] He acted in cases involving company law, judicial review, chancery, employment law and personal injuries.[5][6][7][8][9]

Master of the High Court

He was interviewed for the position of Master of the High Court in 2001 and was appointed in May 2001.[3][10] He succeeded Harry Hill.[11] He unsuccessfully asked to be nominated to the European Court of Justice in 2008 and the Supreme Court of Ireland in 2014.[12][13]

He criticised the regulation of solicitors in 2005.[14] In 2018, he used a hammer to a break a window in the Four Courts due to his concerns over the ventilation in the Master's Court.[15][16][17]

He retired in April 2022.[18]

Debt cases

Since the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, much of his case load has involved debt enforcement and repossession cases, often dealing with up to 200 cases a week.[19][20] According to the Business Post, he has been considered a "debtors' champion".[21] The President of the High Court Peter Kelly transferred the hearing of motions to seek final judgment in debt enforcement proceedings from the Master to judges of the High Court in January 2019.[19][22]

The High Court granted an injunction in 2014 restraining him from acting upon a referral he made to the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding alleged perjury by Allied Irish Banks in a debt recovery case.[23] Iseult O'Malley later held in 2015 that he had no power to make such a referral and quashed his order to strike out the action.[24][25][26]

In 2018, Honohan drafted the National Housing Co-Operative and Fair Mortgage Bill, which he provided to Fianna Fáil. It sought to stop the eviction of homeowners in arrears until the house was sold and to provide for co-operatives to purchase such houses.[19][27]

References
  1. "Births, Marriages, Deaths". The Irish Times. 29 April 1952. p. 11.
  2. "Respected economist with wide experience". The Irish Times. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  3. "Master of High Court appointed". The Irish Times. 9 May 2001. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. Ahern, Bertie (2009). Bertie Ahern: The Autobiography. Arrow. pp. 34–35. ISBN 9780091931322.
  5. "Purchase of shares in print company disputed". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. "Court challenge to plan for Kill allowed". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  7. Reilly, Miriam. "Expenditure on property on foot of testator's promise creates an equity". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  8. "Diplomat refused order for allowances challenge". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  9. "Army deserter has case for alleged hearing loss dismissed with costs". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  10. "Parliamentary Questions". Justice.ie. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  11. "Ex-Master of the High Court and champion cricketer". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  12. "Ahern was lobbied for promotions to judiciary". independent. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  13. Tighe, Mark. "Master's five pleas in bid to become judge". The Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  14. "Master of High Court calls for reform of legal complaints system". No. The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  15. "Master of High Court defends breaking courtroom windows". RTÉ News. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  16. Halpin, Hayley. "Master of High Court defends breaking windows in Four Courts with hammer". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  17. "'I'd do it again' - senior counsel who broke windows in courtroom in protest at stuffy 'fug' conditions". independent. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  18. Sanz, Catherine. "Master of High Court Edmund Honohan retires". Business Post. Retrieved 4 May 2022. ... worked his last day at the end of the previous court term earlier this month. 8 April 2022 was the final day of the 2022 Hilary Term. "High Court Sittings | The Courts Service of Ireland". www.courts.ie. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  19. O’Doherty, Caroline; O’Loughlin, Ann (25 January 2019). "Honohan told to stop dealing with debt cases". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  20. O'Halloran, Marie. "Removal of debt cases from Master of High Court 'deeply sinister and worrying'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  21. Comyn, Francesca (9 July 2017). "Mortgage crisis" (PDF). The Sunday Business Post. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  22. Tighe, Mark (27 January 2019). "Edmund Honohan blocked from ruling on debt cases because of possible 'bias against the banks'". The Sunday Times Ireland. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  23. "High Court grants injunction against Master over referral decision". independent. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  24. "Senior court official acted outside his powers when he sought to refer €3m mortgage case to DPP, High Court rules". independent. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  25. Carolan, Mary. "High Court rules against Master's referral of AIB statement to DPP". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  26. Allied Irish Bank Plc -v- Honohan [2015] IEHC 247 (17 April 2015).
  27. "High Court Master writes new legislation to help keep people in their homes". The Journal. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
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