William Binchy facts for kids
William Binchy is an Irish lawyer. He was the Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College Dublin from 1992 to 2012.
Education
Binchy was educated at University College Dublin. He is a Barrister-at-Law and practised at the Irish Bar from 1968 to 1970.
Legal career
He was a Research Counsellor to the Irish Law Reform Commission and special legal advisor on family law reform to the Department of Justice. He has been a consultant to the Department of Foreign Affairs and represented Ireland at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Professor Binchy is a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission. He specialises in private international law, the law of torts and family law. In 2010, he was made an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of King's Inns.
He has been involved in a number of campaigns in connection with proposed amendments to the Constitution of Ireland. In particular, he campaigned:
- against the introduction of divorce in Ireland (successfully in 1986, and unsuccessfully in 1995);
- against the restriction of the automatic, constitutional right to citizenship of all of those born on the island of Ireland (unsuccessfully in 2004);
- against the Marriage Equality Bill 2015, to provide for same-sex marriage (unsuccessfully).
Since 2012, he has returned to the Irish bar. and now holds a Professoriate Emeritus at Trinity College Dublin.
Personal life
His uncle was the historian D. A. Binchy. He is the brother of novelist Maeve Binchy. His daughter is the RTÉ producer and former College Tribune editor Sarah Binchy.
