THE chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Brian McCracken, was appointed to the High Court in January 1995. He filled the vacancy created by the appointment of Mr Justice Costello as President of the High Court.
Last November, Mr Justice McCracken presided over the libel action taken by the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, against the Sunday Independent newspaper, arising from an article by the columnist Eamon Dunphy in 1992. He discharged the jury on the eighth day of the trial after a report on the case by Gene Kerrigan was published in the same paper.
Mr Justice McCracken said the report could have influenced members of the jury, and should not have been published. He awarded all legal costs to Mr De Rossa.
Earlier, when he was a senior counsel, he represented the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Spring, at the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Beef Processing Industry.
A native of Cork, Mr Justice McCracken is in his late 50s. He was called to the Bar in 1957 and took silk in 1975. He operated a large legal practice, mainly chancery and commercial. He has been chairman of the National Pensions Board and a member of the board of the Adelaide Hospital.
