After the Labour Party formed a coalition government with Fine Gael in 1973, he was appointed a High Court judge.
[2][3][4] In 1985, on the nomination of the Labour Party, he was appointed President of the High Court, where he was successful in reforming procedures and clearing a backlog of cases.
[citation needed] He was the sole member of a tribunal of inquiry established by the government in 1991 to investigate allegations of illegal activity, fraud and malpractice in the beef processing industry, known as the Beef Tribunal, which sat from 1991 to 1994.
In 1999, he was asked by Minister for Justice John O'Donoghue to investigate the Philip Sheedy Affair.
[2][3] On retirement as Chief Justice in 2000, he was appointed to the enquiry into the 1974 Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk bombings, but stepped down on health grounds.