Dr Jonathan O’Rourke, editor-in-chief of the Hibernian Law Journal, presented the medal to the retired High Court judge at an event in Blackhall Place last Wednesday 16 July.

Previous recipients of the medal, awarded by the Journal since 2018, include President Mary Robinson, Professor Mary McAleese, and former chief justices Ms Justice Susan Denham and Mr Justice Frank Clark.

Speaking at the medal presentation, Dr O’Rourke said: “This year, we were moved by the number of personal well-wishes we received for tonight’s event.

“Messages from former colleagues and students, who remarked not only on his many accolades and professional roles, but referred us to his collegiality, his personal insight, and his generosity of spirit.”

Áine Dolan read out the formal citation, which said: “Originally from County Kerry, Bryan McMahon studied law in University College Dublin, before obtaining his LLM from Harvard Law School in 1965.

“In 1972, he obtained his PhD at University College Cork, where he would go on to became both professor and head of the Department of Law.

“As an academic, Bryan McMahon’s many accomplishments include the now-canonical Law of Torts, co-authored with Professor William Binchy, as well as the Casebook on Irish Law of Torts, and European Community Law in Ireland.

“As a legal practitioner and jurist, his career has been equally accomplished. In 1987, he worked as senior partner in Houlihan and McMahon, before being appointed as judge in the Circuit Court in 1999. In 2007, he was subsequently appointed as a judge of the High Court, an office from which he retired in 2011.

“In addition to his many professional accolades, which includes an honorary doctor of laws from UCD in 2012, he has applied his expertise across the breadth of Irish civic life.

“In 2005, he was appointed chairman of the board of the Abbey Theatre, in addition to his roles as chair of the National Crime Forum, the National Archives Advisory Council, and subsequently the governing body of University College Cork.

“In a career spanning 40 years, Bryan McMahon’s work has impacted not only legal scholarship and education in Ireland but has fundamentally contributed to the Irish legal tradition and its community.

“For these many accomplishments, we are honoured to formally recognise him as the recipient of the Hibernian Law Medal for 2025.”