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Patrick Connolly

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Patrick Connolly
20th Attorney General of Ireland
In office
9 March 1982 – 17 August 1982
TaoiseachCharles Haughey
Preceded byPeter Sutherland
Succeeded byJohn L. Murray
Personal details
Born
Patrick James Connolly

(1927-05-25)25 May 1927
Oldtown, Dublin, Ireland
Died7 January 2016(2016-01-07) (aged 88)
Dalkey, Dublin, Ireland
Political partyFianna Fáil
Alma mater

Patrick James Connolly (25 May 1927 – 7 January 2016)[1] was an Irish barrister who served as Attorney General of Ireland from March 1982 to August 1982.[2]

Early life and career

Connolly was born in May 25, 1927, the elder of the two sons of a headmaster and a teacher in Fingal, in Dulin He was educated at St Joseph's College and then attended University College Dublin whereupon he obtained his bar license in 1949. His practice, whch focused on personal injury cases, was widely successful. In 1982, then-taoiseach (President) Charles Haughey appointed him Attorney General of Ireland.

MacArthur Scandal

Connolly resigned after Malcolm MacArthur, who had been a house-guest of Connolly's, was arrested for murder (see GUBU).[3][4] MacArthur, the domestic partner of Connolly's friend Brenda Little, had committed a horrific double murder in the midst of a botched carjacking and robbery in 1982. Though Connolly was not implicated in the murder or in knowingly harboring the assassin, he was forced to resign at midnight the night of MacArthur's arrest and never again served in government.

Later life and death

Connolly returned to practice at the Irish bar and to work as a senior counsel in Dublin. A life-long bachelor, Connolly was in his 80s when he died in January 7, 2016. Though he never married, he had a very close relationship with his extended family, including his two nieces who spoke at his funeral Mass. He was buried in Deansgrange Cemetery, where he remains to this day[5]

References

  1. ^ "AG whose life changed after Macarthur entanglement". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  2. ^ http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/act-of-kindness-to-a-vile-murderer-destroyed-patrick-connollys-career-34349605.html
  3. ^ "Obituary: Charles Haughey". BBC News Online. 13 June 2006.
  4. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/17/world/irish-attorney-general-quits-had-murder-suspect-at-home.html
  5. ^ "Ex-attorney general in Gubu case dies". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Ireland
1982
Succeeded by