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Former Attorney General Séamus Woulfe’s position as Supreme Court Justice is believed to be under pressure following a meeting with Chief Justice Frank Clarke.
The two men eventually met in the Four Courts to discuss the “informal resolution” of the ‘Golfgate’ dispute after four previously planned meetings had to be postponed at the request of Mr. Justice Woulfe.
No statement was issued after today’s meeting.
A formal statement is believed to be issued sometime next week after both parties have had time to further consider what was discussed.
Although a review by former Chief Justice Susan Denham found that Judge Woulfe had broken no laws by going to the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden, Co Galway, last August, it concluded that he should not have attended. .
She said he had not reflected on whether attending a celebratory dinner in the midst of a pandemic could cause controversy and discredit the Supreme Court.
But Judge Denham said it would be disproportionate for him to resign and recommended that the matter be dealt with by Judge Clarke through an informal resolution.
Legal sources have suggested that the informal resolution could involve a reprimand or request for additional public apologies.
Some senior judges are said to remain concerned about the impact the whole affair has had on the Supreme Court’s position and public confidence in the judiciary.
Concerns about Judge Woulfe’s handling of the matter were conveyed to him when three senior judges came to meet with him last month.
The meeting was to discuss what the informal resolution might entail, but it is understood that it did not go well and that Judge Woulfe “shocked” what the judges had to say.
Before today’s meeting, the justices of the Supreme Court also met, without Justice Woulfe, to discuss the issue.
The views expressed at that meeting are believed to have subsequently been transmitted to Judge Woulfe.
The Clifden dinner garnered some high-profile political casualties, with EU Commissioner Phil Hogan, Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary and Seanad leas-cathaoirleach Jerry Buttimer resigning from their positions.
The controversy sparked after it emerged that there were 81 people at the dinner, divided by a division that opened for awards and speeches.
Indoor gatherings of more than 50 people were prohibited at the time.
Judge Woulfe resisted calls to resign and his position was thought to be safe after the Denham report was issued on October 1. However, the publication the following day of a transcript of an interview that Judge Denham granted him raised more questions about his trial.
Although he publicly apologized last August, he told Judge Denham that at the time he wasn’t sure why he was apologizing.
The transcript revealed that he believed Calleary resigned “on a false premise” and had made critical comments about Taoiseach Michéal Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar. He stated that the media and politicians “did not know the facts” and “showed no interest in knowing them.”
An engineer’s report commissioned by the judge suggested that the event substantially met Covid-19 guidelines.
Judge Woulfe alleged that there were “false” and “false” reports, and that the event was presented as if it were a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan.
He claimed there was “a climate of hysteria” and feared that his colleagues in the judiciary would “prejudge” him.
A subsequent meeting with Mr. Judge Clarke was postponed for personal reasons. A second meeting was postponed for medical reasons.
A third meeting was also not held and a fourth was canceled due to illness.
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