Paul Anthony McDermott

Paul Anthony McDermott, SC (4 February 1972 – 10 December 2019) was an English-born Irish lawyer and academic. He was a prominent criminal barrister who often prosecuted cases in the Irish superior courts. He was also known as a lecturer in law at University College Dublin and for frequent commentary on legal matters in the Irish media.

Early life and education

McDermott was born in London and studied in St Paul's College, Raheny when his family returned to Ireland. He held a PhD from UCD. He won the Irish Times Debate for the King's Inns in 1996.

Career

He was called to the bar in 1996 and became a Senior Counsel in 2015.

McDermott was a prominent criminal lawyer. He appeared with Úna Ní Raifeartaigh and Paul O'Higgins in actions taken on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions against Seán FitzPatrick arising out of the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank. He successfully represented the State in the High Court in the first Irish case to consider the admissibility of CCTV evidence.

He frequently represented the Data Protection Commissioner, including in the European Court of Justice in 2017 in a case which found that professional exam papers and examiner comments constitute personal data. He often appeared on behalf of the Law Society of Ireland and the Medical Council of Ireland in prosecuting professional malpractice cases. He also worked with the Central Bank of Ireland in inquiries, including into Quinn Insurance and the misselling of tracker mortgage products by Irish banks.

He taught criminal law at University College Dublin and the law of evidence at the Law Society of Ireland. He often appeared on Morning Ireland, Today with Seán O'Rourke, RTÉ News: Six One, and Newstalk on legal topics such as criminal and constitutional law. He received attention for his analysis and comments on the referendum to establish the Court of Appeal and the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment. In 2017, a murder trial at the Central Criminal Court was collapsed by the judge after the jury heard comments McDermott made describing the defence of provocation in an unrelated discussion on Prime Time.

Personal life and death

McDermott was married to Annick and had two sons. He died on 10 December 2019 after an illness. Micheál P. O’Higgins, the Chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland, said he was "unparalleled" in his "ability to explain complex legal subjects and distil them for better public understanding".