Adrian Hardiman

Adrian Hardiman (born 1951) has been a justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland since 7 February 2000. He received the rare honour of being appointed directly from the Bar to Ireland's highest court. Many commentators were surprised by his appointment as he was (by judicial standards) a relatively young man making it likely he would serve on the court for an unusually long time. Hardiman was also a noted bon viveur whilst a barrister and by tradition was required post appointment to not socialise in the same manner that he had done before. Prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, he was one of the leading and best paid members of the Irish bar.