Cahir O'Higgins

Photo of Cahir O'Higgins outside Criminal Courts of Justice, Dublin

Cahir O'Higgins (born 1975) is an Irish solicitor and criminal law and human rights advocate. He is known for his work and advocacy in high-profile criminal defence cases. He is also known as a charity worker and minority rights activist^{[1][2] [3] [4][5][6]}

Personal life

He was born in Dublin, Ireland, named after his grand-uncle Cahir Davitt, son of Socialist Land league founder, workers rights activist and Fenian leader Michael Davitt.

He was educated in St Brigid's vocational school, Loughrea, National University of Ireland, Galway and the Law Society of Ireland. O'Higgins comes from an Irish political family, but his own political beliefs are unknown. His paternal grandfather was Thomas F. O'Higgins, a former cabinet minister. His granduncle was Kevin O'Higgins. O'Higgins's uncle was Tom O'Higgins, a former chief justice and presidential candidate in 1966 and 1973. His maternal grandmother married Patrick Hogan, who later became the first minister for agriculture after the death of her first husband Michael Davitt. His cousins sit as Judges of both the Supreme court and High court of Ireland.

His mother Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins was a former member of parliament, as was his father, Michael O'Higgins.^[7] His parents were the first married couple ever to be elected to the same Dáil.

His involvement in Human Rights law originated in student politics where he served as anti-discrimination officer on the National University of Ireland Galway, Students Union.^[8]

O'Higgins is a keen sportsman having represented Ireland in two different sports (Karate and Triathlon.) He obtained the grade of 2nd dan black belt in Shotokan karate and represented Ireland in the European championships in Triathlon in 35 - 40 Age Group. He has run a time of 16.43' for 5Km as an over 40 runner.

Career

O'Higgins career began as a journalist while in National University of Ireland Galway, editing the University paper. He went on to write for Time Magazine, (New York Stock Exchange edition) ultimately becoming an online editor with a national newspaper. At 24 years of age he set up an internet company with two college friends to pay his way through law school. The sites Antonom.ie and Studentireland.com were later sold on to an international media organisation. A year after selling the company he returned to full-time education and pursued his career in law.

He trained in the well known commercial law firm Byrne Wallace and on completion of his training joined Michael Staines and Company. He then established Cahir O’Higgins and Company Solicitors. He has represented numerous celebrities, minorities and high profile cases before the courts.^[9] He campaigned and litigated in respect of the access to services and rights issue of the Roma community in Ireland establishing access to health, Education and Court Services for them. In 2012, O'Higgins earned more than €670,000 from Ireland's legal aid system.^[10]

His work involving the Irish Water protest cases was marked out by the release of protestors when the president of the Irish High court overturned a contempt detention order imprisoning four protestors on a writ of habeas corpus.^[11] He also represented Heather Perrin who was the only Irish judge to be prosecuted before the courts as a sitting judge.^[12]

On the 17th February 2016 O'Higgins acted in the "protest trials" of a serving member of parliament, Joan Collins, local politician Patrick Dunne and 9 other defendants. All of the defendants were exonerated and acquitted of offences arising out of a political protest. The trials lasted three days and were held a week before a general election, which Collins was contesting. The defendants argued the prosecutions were politically motivated. This did not form part of O'Higgins defence strategy where he instead highlighted inconsistencies in police evidence and relied on European court precedent judgements on freedom of expression. This was the first time in Irish courts were a serving member of parliament was successfully defended of offences in connection with protest.^[13][14][15]

In 2016 O'Higgins created legal history by becoming the first solicitor to have three cases published in one volume of the Irish reports, Curtis, Sterling and Douglas. The reports publish notable legal judgments, usually containing about 8 cases. Typically a lawyer would have one or perhaps two cases published over the course of a career.^[16]

In April 2016 the legal mechanism allowing suspended sentences to be activated for serial offenders in Ireland was deemed unconstitutional, as a result of noteworthy litigation taken on behalf a client by Cahir O'Higgins, in the case of Mihai Stancu.^[17] The case caused a governmental crisis as emergency legislation was required to deal with the situation but due to an electoral impasse no government was in place to propose or pass legislation.^[18]

References