Judge Patrick McCartan (62) was best known in the earlier part of his career as a left-wing politician and as principal of a prominent criminal law practice in Dublin.
Born in Wexford, Judge McCartan qualified as a solicitor and was a founding partner of McCartan & Hogan Solicitors, which specialised in criminal cases.
He was a member of the Workers' Party and a political contemporary of Pat Rabbitte, Eamon Gilmore and Liz McManus.
He was elected to Dublin County Council in 1985 and was subsequently elected to the Dáil in 1987 and again in 1989.
In 1992, when there was a split in the Workers Party, he sided with Proinsias De Rossa and four other TDs who went on to form what would become Democratic Left.
Judge McCartan stood as a candidate for the party in the constituency of Dublin North East but failed to get re-elected.
He remained a councillor for a time but focused primarily on his legal career.
He was appointed a Circuit Court judge in January 1997, only the second solicitor to be elevated to that position.
The appointment came at a time when Democratic Left was in coalition with Fine Gael and Labour.
Judge McCartan has been a Circuit Court judge for 18 years.
