He was called to the Bar in 1954[1] and became a Senior Counsel in 1970.[1] He was appointed as a Judge of the High Court in July 1979.[1] He was head of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Stardust fire in 1981,[1] and chairman of the Law Reform Commission from 1987 to 1992.[1] He has published many legal texts and papers, and participated in Council of Europe programmes developing legal systems in Post-Communist Europe.[1] He was elevated to the Supreme Court in 1996,[1] becoming Chief Justice in 2000.