In his reports he was very critical of the way the prison service was being run and in particular of the lack of any focus on rehabilitation.
[1][2] He was appointed a High Court judge in 1993, having been nominated by the government of Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, particularly on the advice of Tánaiste Dick Spring of the Labour Party, in spite of his links to Fianna Fáil.
[3] He was involved in the setting up of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and Ireland.
[5] In 1997, Pope John Paul II bestowed the Order of St. Gregory on Kinlen.
[6] Kinlen's maternal grandfather, Thomas O'Donnell, had been an MP for West Kerry for 18 years, at the beginning of the 20th century.