Thomas Finlay (judge)
Thomas Aloysius Finlay (17 September 1922 – 3 December 2017) was an Irish judge, politician and barrister. He served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 1985 to 1994 and as a Judge of the Supreme Court during that time. He was also President of the High Court from 1974 to 1985 and a Judge of the High Court from 1971 to 1985. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-Central constituency from 1954 to 1957.
Born in Blackrock, Dublin, Finlay studied at Clongowes Wood College, University College Dublin and the King's Inns. While at UCD he was Auditor of the Law Society. He was called to the Bar in 1944 and became a senior counsel in 1961.
Finlay entered politics and was elected as a Fine Gael TD in 1954. He lost his seat in 1957 and then returned to his legal career. He defended Captain James Kelly in the 1970 arms trial and in 1971 he represented Ireland before the European Commission of Human Rights over ill-treatment of detainees in Northern Ireland.
In 1971 he became a High Court judge and in 1974 he became President of the High Court. In 1985 he was appointed to the Supreme Court and became Chief Justice. One notable ruling was in the X Case of 1992, which allowed a pregnant teenage rape victim to travel to the United Kingdom for an abortion.
After he left the role of Chief Justice in 1994, Finlay led several public inquiries. He chaired the 1995 Commission on the Newspaper Industry, the 1996 investigation into the Blood Transfusion Service Board, and the Lansdowne Road stadium violence inquiry. He also sat on an IRFU panel about doping in rugby.
Finlay enjoyed fishing in County Mayo when possible. He was married to Alice Blayney and had four children. He died in Irishtown, Dublin, on 3 December 2017, aged 95. He is buried at Shanganagh Cemetery in Shankill, Dublin.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:24 (CET).