Séamus Woulfe

Séamus Philip Woulfe (born 1962) is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since July 2020. He previously served as Attorney General of Ireland from 2017 to 2020. Prior to holding public office, he was a barrister with a practice in the areas of commercial and public law.

He studied law at Trinity College Dublin and Dalhousie University before becoming a barrister in 1987. He acted in cases before Irish and European courts, was a legal assessor at professional misconduct tribunals and lectured in law.

He became Attorney General in June 2017 in the Fine Gael minority government. During his tenure in office, he advised on the referendum to replace the Eighth Amendment, the constitutionality of the Occupied Territories Bill and legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was succeeded by Paul Gallagher in June 2020 on the formation of a new government.

Woulfe was appointed a Supreme Court judge in July 2020. In August 2020, he attended a dinner of the Oireachtas Golf Society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a report by former Chief Justice Susan Denham on his attendance, the Chief Justice Frank Clarke wrote to Woulfe requesting his resignation. Woulfe declined to resign and began hearing cases in February 2021.