Cahir O'Higgins is an Irish solicitor and criminal law and human rights advocate.
Background
He was born in Dublin, Ireland, named after his grand-uncle Cahir Davitt, son of Land league founder, workers rights activist and Fenian leader Michael Davitt. His mother Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins was a former member of parliament, as was his father, Michael O'Higgins.
Education
He was educated in St Brigid's vocational school, Loughrea, National University of Ireland, Galway and the Law Society of Ireland.
Career
He is known for his work and advocacy in high-profile criminal defence cases. O'Higgins career began as a journalist while in National University of Ireland Galway, editing the University paper. He went on to write for Time Magazine, (New York Stock Exchange edition) ultimately becoming an online editor with a national newspaper.
At 24 years of age he set up an internet company with two college friends to pay his way through law school. The sites Antonom.ie and Studentireland.com were later sold on to an international media organisation. A year after selling the company he returned to full-time education and pursued his career in law.
He trained in the well known commercial law firm Byrne Wallace and on completion of his training joined Michael Staines and Company. He then established Cahir O’Higgins and Company Solicitors. He has represented numerous celebrities, minorities and high profile cases before the courts.
He campaigned and litigated in respect of the access to services and rights issue of the Roma community in Ireland establishing access to health, Education and Court Services for them. In 2012, O'Higgins earned more than €670,000 from Ireland's legal aid system. His work involving the Irish Water protest cases was marked out by the release of protestors when the president of the Irish High court overturned a contempt detention order imprisoning four protestors on a writ of habeas corpus.
He also represented Heather Perrin who was the only Irish judge to be prosecuted before the courts as a sitting judge. All of the defendants were exonerated and acquitted of offences arising out of a political protest. The trials lasted three days and were held a week before a general election, which Collins was contesting.
The defendants argued the prosecutions were politically motivated. This did not form part of O'Higgins defence strategy where he instead highlighted inconsistencies in police evidence and relied on European court precedent judgements on freedom of expression. In 2016 O'Higgins created legal history by becoming the first solicitor to have three cases published in one volume of the Irish reports, Curtis, Sterling and Douglas.
The reports publish notable legal judgements, usually containing about 8 cases. Typically a lawyer would have one or perhaps two cases published over the course of a career.
Views
This was the first time in Irish courts were a serving member of parliament was successfully defended of offences in connection with protest.
Membership
On the 17th February 2016 O'Higgins acted in the "protest trials" of a serving member of parliament, Joan Collins, local politician Patrick Dunne and 9 other defendants.