Mr Justice Woulfe discussed golfgate report with colleagues last week

Séamus Woulfe

In a report published last Thursday, former chief justice Susan Denham said Mr Justice Woulfe should not have attended a controversial Oireachtas Golf Society dinner.

She said that he had failed to consider “the advisability of the attendance by a member of the Supreme Court at a celebratory dinner, in a hotel in a public place, at a time of pandemic”.

However, Ms Justice Denham said his resignation from the bench over the matter would be “unjust and disproportionate” and the Chief Justice could instead “deal with this matter by way of informal resolution”.

Three of Mr Justice Woulfe’s colleagues on the Supreme Court bench met with him unofficially on Friday, the day after the publication of her report, and set out their personal misgivings with his approach to the review.

Transcripts of part of the meetings between Mr Justice Woulfe and Ms Justice Denham were published on Friday evening and led to a fresh round of scrutiny, with some observers criticising the judge’s attitude to the dinner and the politicians who had resigned over their attendance.

Mr Justice Woulfe is said to have been surprised by his colleagues’ feelings on the matter. He is still yet to meet Chief Justice Frank Clarke after having postponed their scheduled meeting yesterday for “personal reasons”, but they are expected to meet this week.