Paul Gallagher SC (born 20 March 1955[1]) is an Irish barrister who was Attorney General of Ireland from 2007 to 2011 and again between 2020 and 2022.
During his first term as Attorney General, there was a period of significant economic difficulty in the Republic of Ireland, causing him to advise on the bank guarantee scheme, the establishment of the National Asset Management Agency and the Troika programme.
He has frequently appeared in the Irish courts on matters involving commercial and constitutional law.
[3] Some of his other clients have included Larry Goodman,[7] the owners of the Jeanie Johnston,[8] Microsoft,[9] Aer Rianta,[10] Eircom,[11] and Michael McDowell.
[12] In 1996, he appeared with the then Attorney General Dermot Gleeson for the state in a case taken by Des Hanafin seeking to have Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, permitting divorce, declared to be unconstitutional.
[14] He appeared for the Attorney General (with Gleeson and Gerard Hogan) in another reference made by President McAleese regarding the Health (Amendment) (No.
[16] He represented Fyffes against DCC plc in an unsuccessful action High Court on an allegation of insider trading which lasted for 87 days.
[6] He appeared again for Fyffes in an appeal to the Supreme Court of Ireland in 2007, after his appointment as Attorney General.
[18] He was nominated to the post of Attorney General by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on 14 June 2007 and renominated by Brian Cowen on 6 May 2008.
[19] In the midst of significant market turmoil,[23] Gallagher was among those present on the morning of 30 September 2008 advising the Irish government on its decision to guarantee the liabilities of Ireland's largest banks.
[3] He advised the government on legal matters arising out of it seeking emergency funding from the ECB, the Eurogroup and the IMF leading to the Economic Adjustment Programme for Ireland.
[31] He acted for the State in an appeal taken by Graham Dwyer to the Supreme Court, the man convicted of the murder of Elaine O'Hara, regarding the applicability of the Data Retention Directive.